Forum: General Discussion

I got a 90% on the quiz, so I feel pretty confident in my Netiquette skills. I have a LiveJournal? account and I go into chat rooms sometimes, so I can relate to some, if not most, of the rules. I definitely agree with the Lurk Before You Leap rule. It annoys me when I go into a Florida chat room and I meet people who live in India. If I wanted to meet people from India, I would have gone to an Indian chat room. One of the problems I see a lot where I go online, although it’s the norm there, is cussing. I don’t particularly mind, I know I cuss, but Netiquette does dictate that swearing should be avoided. There was time a while back when a former friend of mine decided to insult my girlfriend behind her back, which was a breach Netiquette’s rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior that you follow in real life. I flamed her for it and got myself into a lovely three-way flame war, which was a breach of Netiquette by all involved. The most common problem I find online, in the chat rooms and forums, are simple conventions errors. I understand that when you’re typing quickly and don’t re-read your work you could spell that T-H-T-A? or forget a comma in the right spot, but when the errors are so bad it interferes with how well the reader can understand the point of the post, then it becomes a problem. On LJ, a lot of my friends like to post extremely long blogs and have very little to say in those blogs. I love my friends, I love to hear about what is going on in their lives, but I don’t want to read the equivalent of a three page essay when all they’re saying is, “Hi. I went to a concert on Friday�. That isn’t respecting my time and I have had to take one friend off my Friend’s List because of it.

I got a 70% on the test that Netiquette gave. I dont remember which ones I missed. I believe that I often break two rules that are on the Core rules. Sometimes; Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life. This one often gets me becuase i feel that no-one is really taking feeling on the other side and if they wanted to they could say things I wouldnt like. I would just think that it was easier for them to say it online then it would be in person. I have some examples of what i am talking about. I think this one is stupid, but people break up online all the time cause they feel better not to see the persons face. Or there is the one where people get on others screen names and tell that persons friends things that that person would of siad to them. Which leads into the privacy rule but also consists of the one i just talked about.
The other rule I often forget is; Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace. This often gets me cause I always leap before I lurk. I like to say what is one my mind, or try to be funny. I just try to be funny when my humor is not the same as others. Some may take it offensively and others may like it. It doesnt matter where I am either I will always say unnecessary things to people who do not have to hear it.
Those are the rules I often break constantly. I will have to try hard to keep my lurking open so that I dont get myself into trouble.

I got a score of 40 % on my quiz. I knew that I wasn't going to do that good in the first place. Most of my wrong answers had to do with the definitions of certain terms. If I do anything that seems rude it's because I don't know any better. I took a computer class before but I didn't have to deal with those types of questions that were asked in the quiz. Remembering the human is a rule that I don't really break a lot. I am actually very careful what I say to people because of the simple fact that I can't take it back. I know that the same rule applies face to face but on the computer it is in print and I can't argue against it. I know that my friends don't follow that rule at all because they don't put any thought into what they type or the consequence of it. On the rule of concerning ethics, many people that I know do not follow a code of ethics. It doesn't even pass through the mind that something is wrong because there is no punishment for it. I think that some of my friends are pretty ethical on the net because they have boundaries. There are some things that they just won't do like downloading movies. I have some friends that are completely the opposite. They do anything and everything on the net. They download movies, music, programs, and many other things that I didn't even know was possible. Those are the people that seem to know a lot about computers though. I follow all the other rules pretty good. I don't do a lot of different things on the computer so I don't really have to deal with most of the rules. The flame wars rule I probably woudn't keep if I did encounter it because I never really go crazy on the computer so I wouldn't care enough to start any problems like that.

I just took the essay and got a 70% on it. I guess I was never really familiar with some of the terms they used until after reading the Core Rules. I, however, am rarely online to talk to people in chat rooms. I sometimes use instant messenger to talk to my friends who are long distance, but I don't talk to people I do not know. I personally find that creepy. You never know who you could be talking to. In some situations though, such as the forums, I find at least in these that people are generally following the rules. I don't see many people swearing or saying things that they would not usually say. People express their opinions usually in a calm and polite manner. I do remember when I was twelve and spent my life on AOL instant messenger. I can remember talking to my friends and people would always talk about each other behind their backs. A lot of times, the person would print the entire conversation out and show it to the person who had been spoken badly about. I remember how many people were hurt by this back in middle school and I am sure it still goes on today, I just don't have the time to sit on the computer all day and talk to people I don't know. I have school and a job so I don't have too much to say on the situation. I guess the only rules I really ever broke is one: when I was younger and thought I was really cool and would curse every other word and got caught by one of my friends parents, and now I don't check my grammar and spelling as I should. I type over 90 words per minute and I don't look at the keyboard or even the screen sometimes. I will watch T.V. and be typing about something and forget to look at what I am typing. I will often have some grammatical errors from not paying attention to what I am doing. I also used to get really brave when talking to the boys I liked and would say stuff that I would probably never have been able to say in person. I never regretted anything I said, but it's just funny how when you are talkin to somebody that you cannot see, it is easier to express how you really feel. Now I would probably get mad if somebody did that because it's totally immature.

A 70% on the Netiquette quiz is surprising. I always thought that I knew a fair amount about online etiquette. Guess not . However, the rules introduced in the Core Rules section are very interesting. These rules make you remember that although your words are being transfered, the recipient is a person with feelings and intelligence. I would consider talking online to cellphone conversations. I usually reread my posts after I submit them in order to spot any mistakes, or sentences that could be made clearer. I guess that best way to practice netiquette i s to apply it in every situation, not just online.
One of the violation of etiquette rules that I used to find in chatrooms among friends was rule applying to flame wars. Some of my friends love to argue (simple arguaments), but people who just enter the chatroom don't appreciate the discussion. It's very hard to keep a conversation when people are constantly scrolling and quoting unnecessary remarks. Netiquette rules would definitely solve this problem if most people would be aware of them. As far as my addition of rules to the Core Rules, I believe that the Core Rules covers the general and doesn't need any further rules.

One point I wanted to bring up was how most people do not engage in professional blogging or commentary because of how they practice their english. I noticed that by trying to make myself understand a concept, I can explain it so much better to other people. In a way netiquette blends in with this. Consider yourself the recipient of the message, and your understanding of the user. You must convince your mind to use proper etiquette to help you understand a subject. With the mind going off in tangents and introducing unnecessary ideas (such as thoughts one would get from looking at a nice car), your mind, or the user, would not serve you any good. Once you achieve the goal of allowing yourself to respect your thoughts and to understand an argument as non offensive, then those ideas can then be shared with others.

I received a 70 on the Netiquette Quiz. I knew that I would not do too well because I really don’t use the computer for chatting or other things besides looking up information. I have never gone into chat rooms and had conversations with other people I have never met. I think that it is a weird concept. I did fairly well on the quiz considering I guessed on many of the questions. I had never heard of “flaming� or “scrolling a chat room�. I have never done these things. I think that The Core Rules are interesting but mainly common sense. People have to remember that they are online and talking to real people. I think that the “Remember the Human� concept is very important. It is very easy to say things to others when you don’t have to look them in the eye. People need to remember that others are actually seeing what they are saying. I think that all of the rules are ideas that people have learned when they were young. You should think about what you say, treat others with respect, and know who and what you’re dealing with while online. I don’t think that these concepts are very difficult to follow. I don’t think that I have broken any of these rules and I don’t know any one who has. I don’t know people who spend a great deal of time on the computer. I think that people who use the computer frequently should always follow these rules because they may not realize how it can affect others. They may say things that are hurtful and rude and they must think about the consequences of their actions as they do in real life.

I received a 90% on the quiz; I used to be very active in the online chat rooms and forums. To be honest, this is how I learned how to type. I never actually took a formal typing class, but after a few years of chatting I realized my typing speed improved dramatically. I don’t know how many words I type per minute but I am now able to type without looking at the keys, most of the time.

I became very familiar with all the chat room lingo and proper etiquette. Some of which I learned the hard way. I actually developed a bad reputation for severely butchering the English language. I would repeatedly misspell words and arrange sentences in ways that people would practically think I was typing a foreign language. I think this happened because I would try to type fast to keep up with the conversation. I would not proof read anything before I would post it. Eventually the people who got to know me well enough understood my gibberish and what I was trying to say. Needless to say I became embarrassed for being known as such an abusive language beater that I started taking my time and watching what I say and how I spell it, through the use of spell and grammar check of course.

One of the great things about meeting people online is that you are first judged on what you have to say rather than your appearance. Also people are forced to listen to each other by reading the responses. Nothing irritates me more than when I am having a conversation with someone in person that is constantly looking off in other directions or watching the television. How many times have you spoke to someone on the phone and they give you one word answers to everything you say? You just know they are multi-tasking.

It’s very important to understand that you are talking to a human on the other end; the cyber world is a small world, even though it may seem large and if you make others mad, word travels and you won’t find anyone that will talk with you for any length of time. First impressions mean everything.

I received a score of 100% on the NetEtiquette? quiz at the website http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netiquiz.html. Many of the terms and issues covered were familiar to me. I have experience some of the actions that I did not know the proper name for like “scrolling� in a chatroom, or sending “Flaming� emails. These are annoying habits of people who are trying to get attention in the chatroom, listserve or newsgroup. Although everyone who uses these electronic forms of communication experiences these actions almost daily and it does take away a lot of time just sorting through the mess to get to the substantive postings that people need to do their classes, hobbies or jobs. Many times the administrators of such communication platforms have a difficult time controlling such action, or if inexperienced themselves can actually make things worse by publicly disciplining offenders and thus creating their own “spam� for the users to wade through.

One of my favorite pet peeves is the rampant use of acronyms in modern communication. The NetEtiquette? quiz at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netiquiz.html used the example of “brb� which is an acronym for “be right back�. Such acronym usage became very popular with text messaging and game chatrooms that limited the ease of typing full words and sentences. Used in the appropriate venue such acronyms are convenient and serve a useful purpose. However, such usage is creeping into more proper forms of communication like discussion groups, emails and blogs. Not all users understand the meaning of these acronyms and so reduces the clarity of communication. In the Core Rules of NetEtiquette? listed at the website http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html , such inappropriate use of acronyms violates the first four rules listed. “Rule 1: Remember the Human� would have the acronym users remember that you are writing for human beings and because they are real people they have different levels of understanding and to reach the largest audience a user should write clearly for the majority. “Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life� should send users back to their elementary school textbooks to review the proper usage of acronyms in writing, how to prepare the reader for seeing the acronym and how to avoid their overuse. “Rule 3: Know where you are in Cyberspace� clearly indicates that users should “lurk before they leap�, or in this example see if the venue they are using is appropriate for regular acronym usage. Finally in applying “Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwith� the user should realize that if the audience is confused by the use of unfamiliar acronyms they will have to spend time finding out what they mean which becomes very tiresome very quickly.

I received an 80% on the Netiquette quiz. First of all, I did not know there were online etiquette rules for chatrooms, but found it interesting and learned a few things. I have not been in a chatroom since a few years ago, and found that I am "out of the loop" with some of the cyber vernacular. When I took the quiz, I learned a few new words such as "flaming" and "scrolling the screen." "Flaming" is when someone gives a very strong opinion, that may sometimes offend certain people. "Scrolling the screen" is when someone types a single letter or symbol and repeatedly hits the return button. I didn't know there was an actual phrase for annoying people like that, I just would call them, well, annoying people who have nothing better to do.

There is one rule that I would like to add to the list: Using someone else's name in chatrooms, which might fall under respecting someone's privacy. I recently had my screen name stolen, and found it being used in homosexual and bisexual chatrooms. I most often used my AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) when I am online for long periods of time. Doing so allows other family memebers to go online and check their e-mails and such. One day I was on my AIM name and a homosexual male is yelling at me to get out the chatroom for homosexual males. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about in which he responded that I should stop playing stupid and just get the hell out of the room. I am a heterosexual female and having homosexual males yelling at me online caught me a little off-guard. I immediately called AOL and reported the incident, but all they could do was have my password changed, which is something I could do. I later found out that the person who took my name was also selling different pills through my e-mail. I guess I was a little careless with my name since I didn't realize that someone else was sending spam mail through my name, but I never thought anyone would do that in the first place. I now am careful and aware of protecting my name, and am happy to say that I no longer have angry gay men yelling at me to leave their chatrooms.

When I took the netiquette quiz, I received a 90%. I was surprised to find out that there were even rules on this type of subject. I was extremely surprised to take a test on the subject and do well on it. I do not even go near chatrooms. I do not see the point in going in them or talking in them.
I know many people who often break these rules of netiquette on regular occasions. When I was younger, I knew people who would constantly curse people out on the internet or chat rooms. I now learned that this type of thing is not considered proper "netiquette." While reading the course rules, I learned such things as scrolling the screen. Scrolling the screen is when you type single word messages over and over again to disrupt the other chatter's conversation. This is not proper netiquette. They should consider what they are doing because it may come back and happen to them. Someone could possibly find out who they are. The rule I would like to add to the list is when someone figures out your password and then proceeds to talk to people on your screen name and make them believe its you. I have had this happen numerous times and it is not fun. I recommend that this rule should be placed on the list of the course rules.

I received a 90 percent on the NetEtiquette? quiz because I was familiar with the terms and rules. I learned about them in high school while being a part of an organization called the Academy of Information Technology. In the Academy of Information Technology we learned a lot about programming, information systems, and the internet. While learning about the internet we also learned about Net Etiquette and common basic rules to consider while using the internet. I also learned a lot about Net Etiquette by encountering others with a lack of it.

I have witnessed many people over the internet in a chat room or on a discussion board who forget that they are speaking to another person and say things that they would never say to someone else’s face. This is breaking the golden rule of Net Etiquette and forgetting that you are interacting with an actual human being. This is a rule that is very easy to break. It is easy to forget that you are communicating with another human being when you don’t see or hear them.

The fifth rule of Net Etiquette is to make yourself look good. I have also encountered many people over the internet that I have lost interest in quickly because of the horrible grammar they use. It is extremely important to make yourself look good by using good grammar on the internet because your words are all that you have. It is imperative that you communicate effectively over the net. Using bad grammar will most likely get yourself looked over very quickly on the net.

I think that the eighth rule is a part of the golden rule. Rule eight states to respect other people’s privacy which is a part of “do unto others as you'd have others do unto you.� If you wouldn’t like someone going through your things and violating your privacy than you shouldn’t do it to anyone else. Basically, treat people on the internet the way you would treat them in day-to-day life.

When I took the nettiquette quiz, I got a 70%. In the beginning I did good, but then I started half reading the answers. Reading the rules though was very interesting. I never knew that there were actually written rules for ettiquette on the internet, but I thought that these rules were important. I don't think that I really have broken these rules because I hardly eve use the internet to communicate with others, but I still agree with the rules.

Rule number one was very important: "Remember the human." That rule should really be considered. The rule states that is not acceptable to be rude to others on the internet. It said to ask yourself the question, "Would you say it to their face?" And that is a very important question to ask yourself. Would you say it to the other person's face. Just because you can not see the person, does not give you the right to talk them any way you want. They have feelings whether you can see them or not, and their feelings can be respected. Even though I'm never on chat lines, I don't think that my feelings would be hurt by something that someone said because they would not know anything about me, and for that reason, I would care nothing about their opinions about me. Still though, there are those people who would care. And even if they don't care, the whole pooint is that you need to respect others.

Rule number two also seemed very important to me; it is kind of somilar to rule number one. It states: "Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life ." And that is so true. If you are not going to do something in real life, do not do it on the internet because you are still dealing with real people, you just can't see them. Manners are always necessary no matter where you are.

Rule number eight deals with respecting other people's privacy, and that is something that everyone should do. The example was given about the man who was snooping in other people's emails. That is unclled for, and I am sure that people would not want others snooping in their emails. Even if they don't care and say that they havenothing to hide, it is still re\ude to do things like that.

Rule number nine is a little related to rule number eight. The example was given that system administrators should not read other peoples emails, and that goes back to respecting other people's privacy.

I think that these rules are important, and should be followed.

Forum #9
I received an eighty percent on the net etiquette quiz. Many of the terms I had never heard of before and I did not know what it was talking about when it was talking about scrolling in a chat room. I don’t use my computer for chat rooms and to meet people. I use the Internet to communicate with my friends, not necessarily with strangers. Although I consider myself knowledgeable about computers I was unaware that there were written rules, or net etiquette. I took a computer class that taught us about the rules of using computers and copyright laws, but it never talked about net etiquette. Even though I was not aware of all of the rules, I do not believe many of them. I know I have broken the respect people’s bandwidth rule. I have a high-speed connection and I forget that many other people are still using dial up. The whole concept of waiting for your computer to load seems foreign to me; I do not have patience for that. Often times when friends ask me to send them photos I forget that it is almost impossible to download on dial-up a 7-megapixel image, and I forget to compress the photos before sending them. Usually when I realize the mistake I apologize and realize that was just plain mean, but I never imagined that I was breaking a written rule.
Rule #8, respect other people’s privacy, is an important one. A lot of times people forget that e-mail is someone’s mail and it’s a felony to open someone else’s paper mail, so it’s also illegal to open someone else’s e-mail.
Rule #2, adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life, seems to go along with the rule that says, remember the human. When on the computer it is simple to forget about the feelings of the person with whom you are talking or criticizing. This seems like a very important rule, especially when talking to strangers on instant messenger.

I took the quiz and got a 90% on it. I had all of the questions down except the one that mentioned "flaming." I have never heard of this term so I just guessed. It makes a lot of sense though. It would be pretty bad if a whole group was talking about a certain subject that most of them agree on, and then somebody comes in and trashes everybody. Pretty much all the netiquitte asked was to be polite. Just because a person is probably hundreds of miles away does not make it a good reason to swear at them or say something offensive. I don't really run into people that break a lot of the rules, but I have come across people who scroll in chat rooms. I don't go into chat rooms very often, but when I do there is usually a person that likes acting stupid and ends up ticking everyone off with a dumb remark. I think I like rule #1 the best. Remember the Human. It sounds catchy too, kind of like a futuristic sci-fi movie. It does have the best role though. It pretty much tacks on to every rule thereafter. Rules 2 - 10 all seem to be related to the first rule. It's not like people on the internet don't have feelings, so treat them with the respect you would like to receive. Most of the stuff mentioned is pretty common sense. Just try not to get carried away with a remark or tell somebody off for making a mistake.

Although I agree with Virginia Shea about the need for some form of etiquette on the internet, think a lot of her “rules� are a little exaggerated. I agree specifically with the need to think twice before sending a message to someone. It’s not okay to hurt people’s feelings intentionally in real life so why should it be permitted in cyberspace. The beings that you communicate with are not extraterrestrials. They’re humans and it is important to remember that. Hence the chapter, “Remember the Human�. I also agree that, if you are not permitted to do so by the sender, copying and sending messages that you receive is not appropriate. I do feel thought that there are exceptions. If you receive a cute picture from someone you know and you want to send it to a mutual friend, I don’t think that would be a big deal.
The issue of the understanding of net grammar is another thing. While it can be useful to understand, I don’t find it to be necessary to know right away or even to know all of it ever. Eventually everyone will know that lol means “laugh out loud� and brb means “be right back�. I hardly think it’s important to memorize little abbreviated phrases when, if you are confused, you can always clear it up in English.
I break some of these rules sometimes. Some of them I didn’t even understand specifically what she was talking about. Therefore I’m assuming that I have never been in the situations that she was referring to. I think that the main important core rule that she listed was the one about respecting others. As long as you do that you are not likely to offend others in cyberspace. I got a 60% and I’m surprised that I scored that high. At least I’m nice.

When I took this quiz on netiquette I received an eighty percent. Which is a pretty good score I think, since I was not sure what netiquette was and I do not generally participate in online chatting or postings. I had no idea that there were actual rules for correspondence on the internet. I would describe myself, as a pretty courteous person is why I believe I did so well on the quiz. I also believe that most of these rules are common sense and good manners. Overall, I think there are many people that break most of the netiquette rules on regular occasions whether it is on-line or in real life. A lot of people only get on the internet to start trouble and have “flame wars,� that is described in rule seven. Some people have nothing better to do in life than to yell at people. I must admit that I would probably find the “flame wars� humorous to read, but not participate in. Unfortunately, there are also many people who actually still don’t follow rule one, which is what most of us have been taught since birth. The golden rule to treat people, as you want to be treated, is for some reason a hard concept for some people to comprehend. I think this rule is an automatic response, but some people could care less about hurting the feelings of other people. People need to realize that there are more productive things to do than hurt people. If people are criticized they may never want to conversate on the internet again. So, it would indeed be nice if people could just simply have courtesy and respect for one another, then everyone could enjoy himself or herself when communicating on the internet.

I received an 80% on the Netiquette Quiz. I looked through the “Core Rules,� and I have to agree that the Golden Rule of Netiquette should be “remember the human.� It’s so easy to forget that when you’re talking to a person online, you have almost no control over how they will interpret your tone or meaning. Also, we too often forget that behind the computer lies a person. We need to keep in mind that we are talking to a person and not a machine.

There are two rules that contradict each other. Rule 3 states that you should be aware of where you are at all times; the term “lurk before you leap� is the expression the rule utilizes. In order to get a better understanding of where you are, you should “…take a look around. Spend a while listening to the chat or reading the archives.� However, Rules 8 wants you to respect other people’s privacy; but isn’t “listening to the chat or reading the archives� a violation of a person’s privacy?

I must admit that I have broken a few of the Core Rules, but I’m only human and humans make mistakes. I have learned through each of my mistakes and try not to make the same mistakes again. Its one thing to make an error but it’s another thing to keep making the same errors. I try to hold myself to good morals and values online or not, because when I’m online, I’m still talking to a real person. I believe that a score of 80% shows that I do practice good netiquette, but there is still some improvement that can be had.

When I was younger, around 14-16, I would frequent AOL chatrooms. Every day you would find someone that is a prime example of why these rules exist. People would constantly play sounds, scroll the chat, and annoy others. I no longer go into chat rooms as often as I used to, but I still run across examples of bad netiquette. I frequent several car forums daily, and occasionally I run across people who will flame someone for the car they drive, or the modifications they have made.

People that break these rules will find themselves alone online. They'll be banned from forums and chats, and the word will spread in some groups about them. People are people, whether they're online or off. While they may be anonymous and you cannot see the person, they should still get respect.

It might not be considered as much of netiquette but I believe there is a problem with online gaming. I play games such as Final Fantasy XI and Halo 2, and there are a lot of great people, but a few bad seeds that can frustrate others. People assume they can hide behind an avatar or character and do whatever they like, and that mentality can ruin someone elses gaming experience.

I scored a 90% on the quiz. This was kind of surprising to me because before this class I never participated in online forums. I don’t have enough experience to comment on what rules I’ve seen other people breaking. Most of the rules are common sense. I find rule 5 (make yourself look good online) important to remember. You have so much anonymity online that it is easy to make an offensive or rude comment that you would never do in person. The anonymity can also work in your favor, it allows one to express opinions that they may otherwise be afraid to. I think there is less of a fear of rejection in online communication.

I find rule 1 (remember the human) most interesting. Despite the protection anonymity offers you can still hurt someone with what you write. In some ways it is more challenging to communicate in writing because you don’t have that added accompaniments of tone of voice, body gestures and facial expressions. I am probably most likely to unintentionally break this rule. It’s so easy for sarcasm to come across as blatantly offensive or a suggestion for improvement to be interpreted as harsh criticism.

Another rule I might have broken is rule 3 (look before you leap). I never thought about how different online communities have different standards for their participants. It is easy to quickly respond to a comment in a forum that you have just entered for the first time, without taking the time to acquaint yourself with the standards for that community. It seems to me that it is easy to follow Netiquette by using common sense as to what is appropriate in each new forum you visit.

I scored an 80% on the quiz. I am usually not the kind of person who participates in online forums or message boards, but I have been to a few boards. I thought that I did pretty well on the quiz; mostly I use the Internet for schoolwork and playing games over the net. The rhetoric in these settings is different than outside the net, but I sure that the same rules apply. The rule that I have seen broken the most would have to be the first rule, remember the Human. I find that the people who break this rule are young teenagers, who don't care about who they are talking to and they think they are funny talking to other people in bad ways. Another rule that I have seen being broken is rule #3, Lurk before you leap. I think that this is a really good rule and that it is a must before getting involved in forums. I have seen people break this rule, they come in the middle of a conversation thinking that they know what is going on and they just irritate everyone who is involved. I have also people ask the dumbest questions and they get angry responses from people telling them to read the FAQ, which they should have in the first place. I see these rules as more of guidelines than I do as rules, because sometimes you have to break the rules. These "rules" pretty much guild you so you don't cause problems for yourself and everyone else who is participating in the forum. Overall I think that the netiquette rules are the same as rules of life, basically you just have to be respectful and read before you write and you will probably be fine.