Around the world, different cultures and societies have different standards for social behavior. In some societies, a thumbs up is a sign of a great job, whereas in others it is a sign of disrespect. In some societies, personal space carves out a nice buffer space between individuals in public spaces, whereas in others personal space is a millimetre thick shell hovering just above the surface of your skin as people huddle together like sardines in a tin can. In some societies, jumping in on a conversation when someone else is speaking shows interest and engagement as one riffs off another's idea, whereas in others it is seen as unbelievably rude. These are unwritten social rules that are unique to different groups of people around the world.
These rules help to guide social conduct and behavior in a way that is beneficial to the majority of citizens (typically speaking). But as we established in the previous article, there is a new public forum, and it is the online world. And in this new space, in many ways we need to reinvent the unwritten social etiquette frameworks that guides our offline behavior to a framework that translates properly to the digital world.
Social Etiquette In The Digital World
After a few pandemic stricken years, many of us can probably relate to being on a group call, and someone hasn't muted themselves. Everyone else on the call can hear scratching in their headphones, clicks, pops, smacks, thuds as this unmuted person fidgets and fumbles from their own home. Yes, a new social etiquette in the online world became painfully necessary - mute yourself when not speaking. The background noise from a class full of students all within their own homes can quickly interfere constructively to overwhelm our poor headphones and send loud thuds bangs and shuffles into ears, making the call unbearable. And this is just one online social etiquette that has emerged in recent years, but there are a whole host of others.
Who is working on this? Are industry experts scratching their brains to come up with a master list of Netiquette Rules? Folks like Virginia Shae (1994) have forayed into this area and have outlined their own set of cardinal netiquette rules. But these rules were formulated in 1994, do they still stand today? Naturally, as with anything related to tech, we need to actively review and revise to ensure it is still relevant to today's evolved online world - the online world reiterates itself and grows so quickly that creating content and strategies that stand the test of time can be a challenge. We must question if these rules stand today given the 30 years of online development that have passed since they were initially written.
Rule 1 : Remember the human.
Rule 2 : Adhere to the same standards of behaviour online as you would in real life.
Rule 3 : Know where you are in cyberspace.
Rule 4 : Respect other people’s time and band-width.
Rule 5 : Make yourself look good online.
Rule 6 : Share expert knowledge.
Rule 7 : Help keep flame wars under control.
Rule 8 : Respect other people’s privacy.
Rule 9 : Don’t abuse your power.
Rule 10 : Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes.
While some certainly stand the test of time and require minimal revision, some require modernizing. I myself struggle with some of these rules. For example, I would like to actively improve my conduct related to Rule 3.
Rule 3 : Know Where You Are In Cyberspace
The internet has expanded beyond what many may have expected in 1994 when this list was first published. And while there is much debate around current generations being digital nomads and holding an innate understanding of how to navigate the internet, in my experience, current generations can use tech but struggle to understand how or why it works. And ya know what, I would categorize myself in with this group as well! I don't have a deep understanding of how many aspects of technology work: how does Bluetooth work, how do the different pieces of a computer function together, what data can people find about me online, how does a VPN work? While I have a general understanding as to how to use these aspects of technology, if asked to explain them intimately, my answers would undoubtedly leave much to be desired.
This relates to the third rule in the sense that, in my personal and professional experience, many users of technology lack an understanding of 'digital locations'. Is this domain name safe? What do different domain names indicate? Is this a phishing email? A spam email? Can I click this link? Is this a public forum? Is this message being sent privately? What is the 'dark web'? There are so many uncertainties around "where" one may be online, that knowing how to navigate the wild wild web is a skill of paramount importance to modern users of the internet. If only there were a site map for ... well ... the entire online world?
This rule, needs to be at the forefront of almost any teacher's mind when establishing good standards and practices of netiquette for themselves, and their students. The digital world isn't something you acquire an understanding of and then you are set for life. It isn't like riding a bike, or learning to read, because the online world is perpetually changing and there are always new knooks and crannies to explore and understand at greater depth.
I can acknowledge the fact that I need to improve my skills related to Netiquette Rule 3, I need to better understand how to (safely) navigate the online world.
Rule 4 : Respect Other's Time and Band-Width
One rule I think is in need of some modernizing is Rule 4.
Content. What kind of content are you creating? How often are you posting content? We are living through a content obsessed period of the internet. There is pressure to post, to be relevant, to be trendy, to get people's eyeballs looking at you and your profile. And with this, comes click-bait foolishness of low quality, which effectively clogs the digital space making it a swamp of mushy content that takes forever to wade through.
I consider this problem the offline equivalent of those who ramble on and speak over others in meetings, or those who crowd another person's space, or those who frequently overstep their social boundaries and detract from others' ability to contribute. In the online world, this looks like pushing click-baity content in peoples' face, forcing them to watch ads, promoting unethical products and companies on sites that ought to be safe online spaces.
Finding high quality content, effectively researching, filtering poor sources in favour of verified sources, are becoming increasingly important in both academic and personal uses of the internet. Knowing how to behave respectfully online, being mindful not to produce low quality attention seeking content is an ethical skill that many students (and teachers) should learn. This rule needs some modernizing, because content generation these days has become a polarizing topic. Content creators sometimes have a sense of entitlement over public spaces, and flood the online world with low quality content.
For example, I was recently scrolling LinkedIn and someone had shared a video about 'how to produce your first 100 pieces of content' and frankly I found it insulting. It was all about quantity, getting your name on peoples' screens, and had little to nothing to do about the quality of the content. It was a means of getting recognition for the sake of personal ego, and I found it insulting. In case it wasn't apparent, this is something that I find quite aggravating. The internet is a wild and wonderful place with so much positive potential, but sometimes it is hard to wade through the low-quality attention-seeking content to find the high value content that makes the internet the tool it was designed to be.
Generally speaking, I think we all need to modernize Rule 4 to make it more relevant and poignant to this age of information overload.
Netiquette And The Real World
We need these rules because they dictate our social conduct online, which inevitably influences our social conduct offline. McManus (2020) raises some interesting points regarding how current online culture is shaping the online space, and the online space tells online culture how to behave. They are co-creating one another in a very symbiotic way. Our online culture and practices need to grow and evolve with the online tools and software at our disposal.
Streaming changed our policies and opinions on ethical access to media, music, and downloadable content. As the online world evolves, so too do our policies and ethics.
As educators, we ourselves must consciously think about netiquette rules, comfort lines, and behavior which we deem appropriate as individuals and as professionals. Being mindful of Shae's 10 Rules, and openly commenting and discussing these Netiquette guides can help ensure we remain at the cutting edge of netiquette best practices.
I challenge you all, ask yourself, how do these rules sit with me? Am I guilty of breaking one in particular? Am I displaying poor netiquette?
The Netiquette Rule I break most frequently is ... ?
0%Rule 1 : Remember The Human
0%Rule 2 : Adhere to the same standards online and offline
0%Rule 3 : Know Where You Are in Cyberspace
0%Rule 4 : Respect Other People’s Time and band-width
You can vote for more than one answer.
References:
McManus, R. (2020). The internet’s impact on culture. Blog. Retrieved from https://ricmac.org/2020/01/29/the-internets-impact-on-culture/
Shea, V. (1994). Netiquette. Albion Press
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