Concepts Assignment

Concept #7: Netiquette

"Good communication practice on the Internet is not something one 'learns', but something one 'practices' so as to teach others, less familiar than yourself, how it is done" (Allen, n.d.)

Every one who uses the cyberspace should be aware of good conduct on the internet communication and web publishing. There are codes of practices we follow at school, work, and clubs or even in a public place. Like wise we should follow similar code of practice in the cyberspace.

“Netiquette is the rules for online behaviour especially in newsgroups, forums and chat rooms. It is derived from the two words internet and etiquette” (What is netiquette, 2007)

According to Shea (1994) there are 10 rules should be followed in on line communication like wise you would follow in off line. Considering other’s privacy, security, freedom of speech, honesty and emotions since there are human beings who is sitting on the other side of the computers.

Netiquette is not some thing that every one learns by going to classes, it is some thing we practice by looking at others. That is in a newsgroup if the people are friendly, uses acronyms and emoticons then the new comers also will try to use the same. If you do not respect the ethics in the offline community, you will get kicked out or banned from the site.

This netiquette not only applies to newsgroup but also to email, chats and your own webpage or web log. The cyberspace is a place for everyone. Kids, adults, oldies, newbie’s, students and many more categories of people uses the net, so we have to consider everyone in that world when publishing something on the world wide web.

In my personal opinion I consider the chain emails to be a bad etiquette. Every one would have at some stage received an email saying “Please pass this to at least 10 people otherwise bad luck will come to you today”. This is very annoying; some feel if they don’t do it bad luck will really come there way and they pass it to others. Senders of this chain emails should first of all realise how they felt it when they received it and should not continue to pass it on.
For anyone to follow good netiquette practice the simple rule should be to “put yourself in other’s shoes” and “help others by helping yourself”. “With few written guides for ordinary people, the Net has grown in large part one person at a time -- if somebody helps you learn your way around, it's almost expected you'll repay the favour some day by helping somebody else” (Gaffin, 1993)

Below is a summary of few important netiquette practices to follow that I found out through my own practice and learning experience.

E-mail:
Try not to use the company’s email facility for personal use. This may endanger your reputation at work.
Do not assume all emails are to be completely secured so be careful in sending bank details or passwords.
Do not encourage chain emails. This is an utter waste of time from my point of view.
Take care with addresses, message and content; make sure you are sending to the right person the right information. Do not regret after sending any emails, so read and confirm before sending out

Mailing list and Newsgroups
Observe before posting your message for some time to make sure you are not posting some thing that has already been posted to avoid embarrassment.
Don’t get involved in Flame war that is better leave rather than arguing with some one whom you don’t know.
Message posted should be relative to the topic in discussion.
Do not post personal messages. Bear in mind newsgroup is a not one to one communication place; this is a bunch of people chit chatting place.
Leave the newsgroup if you find them offensive

Chats
Do not interrupt in a private chat. This is very rude.
Do mind the language and culture of the other party in a chat and always give respect and take respect.
If you find the chat offensive leave the chat, do not continue to argue.
Give time for the others also to communicate. E.g.: In a group chat some may be a slow typist compared to others so give them some time.

Site 1: Science EdNet – Module 4- Netiquette

http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/communities/scienceednet/m4_nett.htm#m4task1

This a good website every one should visit to know all about netiquette and it provides with links to interesting quizzes on netiquettes. These quizzes are a good way of educating or making people understand what is acceptable and what is not acceptable on the net. Even though Netiquette are meant to be what you practice not what you learn I strongly suggest that every one should at least read some of the netiquette practices so that it is easy to practice. This is a good place to start the reading.

Site 2: Business Netiquette International

http://www.bspage.com/1netiq/Netiq.html

In the era of globalisation, Parent company is situated in one country and subsidiaries are situated in all around the world. This means variety of different cultural people communicate with other cultures. So it is very important to understand and respect each others culture and religion even in business communication.
This website provides an extensive look into the email etiquettes to follow in all business correspondence. People tend to use email in a friendly tone even in business correspondence, but this site advice as to how it should be formatted and what important factors should be there in a business email and the etiquettes in email. This is a must read website for every single business man who is intending or dealing with multinational companies and different cultural people.

Concept #8: The invisibility of difference

“The daily practice of electronic communication is shaped by over-familiarity with one's own computer system, and a tendency to assume that – as with much more established forms of communication – everyone is operating within compatible and similar systems. When in doubt, seek to communicate in ways that are readable and effective for all users, regardless of their particular systems” (Allen, n.d)

This is some thing I experience at work regularly because our company use Microsoft Office 2003 and what we receive most of the time is the latest version which is not compatible. The latest version of Microsoft office used by some of our suppliers especially our Accounting System provider (SUN Accounting System). In that case we have to send the email back to the sender asking for a compatible version so that we could open the document. This is annoying when the information is urgently required to continue our work. This is a real good example of invisibility of programs used at my work place.

For personal use or for work purposes when sending attachments via email always make sure the receiver could access it without difficulties. One good way to do that is send attachment as plain ASCII text so that any system can read the data. But this does not help for every attachment, which is when sending photos, graphic designs or Accounting data bases. Before sending attachments may be it is a good idea to check with the receiver to see whether they have the program requested to run the attachment if not ask the receiver what other programs they have that can run the attachment and send a compatible version.

Another aspect to check is the size of the attachment. That is not every mail server have the capacity. Yahoo at the moment allows unlimited amount of downloaded space, where as at work places the intranet will not allow big files to open up due to the lack of space. So may be a zipped file will reduce the space or publishing it in a web page and sending the link to the web page will solve the size problem.

Most commonly used program for attachment is PDF format. This type of file can be viewed using Acrobat reader which is available to download free of charge from the World Wide Web. But the deficiency of this program is it is read only the receiver cannot edit the file.

The above discussion focuses mainly on the sender’s point of view. Let’s look at receiver’s point of side. For receiver to access any files or web pages he could simply update the softwares every time an upgrade happens which is a very expensive process or have a format converting software. Practicality of this is still questionable with the amount of new softwares coming into market.

Another aspect to note in invisibility of difference is compatibility of accessing web pages. Some web pages are designed using hi tech graphics and technologies that cannot be viewed or accessed by every one. There are many types of people who surf the other than the computer geniuses e.g.: vision or hearing impaired people, small kids, students etc. So when publishing a web page the publisher has to use simple formats which could be understood by every one or provide alternative methods of access and be considerate of the minority users as well.

According to Kelly (2000) from visitors point of view a good web site is one that is usable, he or she wants, doesn’t waste time and finally not irritating.

Site 1: World Wide Access – Accessible Web Design

http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/universal.design.html

"The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." (Lee, 1997-2008)

This is a very good site which covers the facts to consider when creating a web site. It considers the deficiencies faced by all type of surfers on the cyberspace and cover the concept in discussion “the invisibility of differences”. The author has identified the users, then the page designs, features and the accessibility from different browsers. This step by step guide to good web site designing has broadened my knowledge on how conscious publishers have to be when designing a web site. It is well stated in this journal, that accessing a web site easily by every one is the key to good publishing.

Site 2: A system and method of delivering information to a user by at least two different technologies

http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?

This is the generation article which covers the latest inventions in technological use in the society. Now a days if we talk about mobile phones what we here most is “Blackberry”. This is the latest in mobile phone technology which can retrieve emails sent to your mail boxes. No need to sit in front of a computer to send or receive an email anymore.
The inventions described in this article show that now a day’s people just don’t rely on one media to send or receive information. It is all linked. Multiple technologies are used at the same time to deliver the message as fast as possible. This some times can be overwhelming and irritating.

Concept #20: Active communication generates identity awareness

“One can only generate awareness of one's membership of an email list by posting messages; others' awareness of your identity will enable them to include you in their discussions and enable you to play your part in the community that is the list”(Allen, n.d.)

This is a well suited concept for our participation assignment as well as for our discussion group. I always had been a silent participant in my previous studies due to lack of time in taking part in group discussions. This semester my NET11 and REA11 online studies have put a halt to that and I’ve tried to be an active participant especially due to the requirements of the subjects.

For our Module 2 tasks we were asked to participate in a yahoo email list and I contributed to the list. Participation was established by posting the first message to the email list and my identity was recognised by receiving welcome response from the group. The leader had the authority to kick out any intruders who are not NET11 buddies.

It is by actively participating in a newsgroup or email list or even in our NET 11 discussion group our identity is made aware. This active participation was a requirement in the “Cooking Nooks Newsgroup” which I joined for my assignment purposes. They urge every one to participate by publishing their own recipes and commenting on other member’s contribution. To join the group for the first time any member has to get permission from the President of the group. I believe this is a control mechanism to note the email address of the new member, the number of members and to ban any unwanted contribution.

While these active members are called ‘core group’ - those people who actively participate in discussion in the forum, another group identified called as ‘lurkers’ are members who exist in the periphery community but does not participate in the forum’ (actKM Online Journal of Knowledge Management, 2005).

According to a survey in the actKM Online Journal of Knowledge Management (2005) lurkers are reluctant to participate due to lack of knowledge in the field of discussion, don’t have time to contribute, fear of criticism, or notion of own inadequacy. And they also identify that lurkers are the silent majority of the net.

I myself have been a lurker at the WebCt discussion board of REA11 until my lecturer noticed my visitation there and invited me to start posting in the discussion board. I was shocked to see that she was able to identify me visiting WebCT. I always thought as a silent reader no one will know my identity until I expose it. So this on line unit has taught me a good lesson on that.

Lurkers are meant to be harmless people, but how do we make sure they are harmless? Can lurkers turn into hackers? If so what can they hack? These are questions which always scared me when thinking of lurkers. So in my opinion, it is better to be general in all discussion rather than saying anything very personal and fall into a trap of those lurkers.

Some stay as lurkers since they don't want their email addresses made aware, so to avoid from spam emails and viruses.

Site 1: Predicting Continued Participation in Newsgroups

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue3/joyce.html

This is a pretty good journal to read before joining a newsgroup. The journal discusses the key points in staying motivated in a newsgroup and how a new member can post something impressively. More to it the analysis made on newsgroup is excellent. It is surprising to read that only new members after joining post only two to three times in three to six months in joining.

I certainly do agree with this journal that motivation is the main factor to consider in contributing and staying tuned to a newsgroup. So when a new member joins the response to his/her first post is what is going to decide on his/her future contribution.

Site 2: How To Turn Lurkers Into Posters

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/turn-lurkers-posters/2

This is a very informative article for those who want more active participants in their group or list. The hot 5 tips are great for any email list or newsgroup or even a web site seeking comments.

I totally agree with the author that a lurker is like a school kid who is new to the class and not sure where to start and how to start. So that kid to start a conversation he/ she should be comfortable and interested in the topic discussed by the others. Similarly the lurkers are also looking for some thing attractive.

By having options available to select the method of receiving the correspondence of the email list or newsgroup also could encourage participation of lurkers. That is sending a summary of the email list or group discussion on a daily basis rather than every single post.


Concept #2: Your audience's use of communication

“Informational exchange consists in the content of messages but also the uses (intended or unintended) to which the information is put.”(Allen, n.d.)

When sending or receiving emails you should be very clear about the message and the content. Some times the email we receive we may think of it as just for information purpose, while the sender had an intention of getting feedback.

Especially at work place when sending an email always use the subject field to clearly state the purpose of the email. That is “Urgent action requested” or “FYI– For Your Information” etc. Then check to see the date and time on your computer is correct if in case you are sending a very important correspondence via email and the time and date sent is very important. Message should clearly identify the intention of the email. Do specify again if the matter is urgent and you do need feedback. This will make sure that the receiver will act on it as soon as possible and provide feedback.

So basically when communicating via email you should read the mail out loudly before sending out as you are the recipient and see whether the real receiver will understand the intention and information on the message.

On the other hand the receiver should understand what is requested in the email. Is it just for information or is any action requested by them. They should double check an email before they send the reply back to the sender as to whether they have missed answering any questions or have they fulfilled the requirement in the email. This will help both parties to good communication and effective time management.

Use of internet information and understanding the resources available is also important in understanding the intention of the web site publisher. While it is the responsibility of the publisher to make the subject in discussion clear it is also the responsibility of the reader to interpret the intention clearly that is if in doubt leave a comment as to what you are expecting from the publisher.

There are search engines which helps the surfers to find the web sites or links to the URL’s with few key words. So it is important to have relevant title to a URL or web site. So the web designers should choose the right subject heading or title that connects with the web page.

Another aspect to consider is the purpose of the audience. Are the users or surfers going to print my page? If so is it in a proper format to print? Or are they going to view on the screen and if so what is the screen resolution should be or give alternatives as printable version? These are questions publishers have to test before publishing. E.g. For my assignments I print lot of web journals and articles to note down points before start writing my own version. I get frustrated when I can’t print the document in a printer friendly format.

There are many survey and researches conducted to understand the purpose of the audience's use of web pages or a web site. It reveals that young people turn to internet for many things compared to mature adults. The young depend on the net for news to studies to even for the latest Olympics games. So catering to this society will cover majority of the cyberspace community.

Site 1: Web writing guide

http://www.qld.gov.au/web/standards_and_guidelines/writing/web_writing_guide.pdf

This is an excellent site with lots information published in a nice step by step format as to how to publish a web site. This journal tells us clearly as to who the audience going to be, what their expectations, what format should be used, how the content should be formatted and finally enlightens on the legal issues such as privacy, copyright etc.

This is a good guide to new publishers who are confused as to where to start and how to format and whom to address. I think Queensland government web centre has done a pretty good work on the internet publishing.

Site 2: Web Development – The Audience Advantage

http://www.december.com/web/develop/revaud.html

Move towards attracting more audience to visit your web site is what is covered in this article. Just by simply creating a website and publishing it on the World Wide Web is not enough, you should make the proper advertising of the web page for audience to visit and make use of the page. E.g. Good publicity is needed for any product to reach the audience like wise a web page linked to a search engine only will attract audience.

Then the article moves on to talk about how important content is by stating “content is king”. The article explores the importance of the proper construction of contents in a web site.

This tells us how publishers should target the audience and attract them to visit the site more often while they continue to modify the web site according to growing demands and changing technology.


Bibliography

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http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Technology/universal.design.html

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