Netiquette

Netiquette s a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described IETF RFC 1855. however, like many internet phenomena the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary from community to community. The points most strongly emphasized about USENET netiquette often include using simple electronic signatures and avoiding multiposting, cross-posting, off-topic posting, hijacking a discussion thread, and other techniques used to minimize the effort required to read a post or a thread. Netiquette guidelines posted by IBM for employees utilizing second life in an official capacity, however, focus on basic professionalism, maintaining a tenable work environment, and protecting IBM's intellectual property.

the history of netiquette began before the 1991 start of the World Wide web, Text-based email, Telnet, Gopher, Wais and FTP from educational and research bodies dominated Internet traffic. At that time, it was considered somewhat indecent to make commercial public postings, and the limitations of insecure, text-only communications demanded that the community have a common set of rules. The term "netiquette" has been in use since at least 1983. as evidenced by posts of the satirical "Dear Emily" Post-news column.