From: jidai@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jihong Dai)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject:soc.culture.china FAQ(4)--Netiquette
Summary: This posting contains a list of frequently-asked-questions (and their answers) about the newsgroup "soc.culture.china". The fourth part covers the issue of etiquette and is written by Bo Peng < bpeng@chelsea.ios.com > , with assistance from Mark Swofford < mswofford@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu > .
Organization: The Ohio State university

Archive-name:cultures/china/netiquette
Posting-Frequency: approximately biweekly
Last-modified: 1995/07/15


NETIQUETTE


Written by Bo Peng < bpeng@chelsea.ios.com >

For comments and suggestions, please send your ideas to the author or to
scc-faq@saavik.cem.msu.edu

Netiquette: Etiquette for Net Surfing

No, this is not meant to teach you what to do or not to do. In fact, I'm probably among the last few on Planet Earth to qualify for giving instructions on manners. I simply don't give a *BONK*...

Oops. That's what I mean. Feeling assured that we're not going to get kicked in the rear when arguing on-line, we all share the tendency of letting it all out: being aggressive, bitter, or even downright nasty while being perfectly gentle, nice, and perhaps even sensible in real life. Just as people curse and honk and give each other the finger on the road, but the moment they step out of the car, they instantly warp through a few millennia and catch up with civilization. So don't feel too bad about yourself; you're not alone.

The only difference between net surfing and road surfing is that when you inadvertently make a fool of yourself over the net, people actually see it -- thousands, perhaps millions of them. Therefore, for your own sake, a little self-restraint and self-consciousness is in order. I speak here from my own experience, as someone who went through the "SOB" phase when I first stumbled into the wild and wonderful world of USENET.

Netiquette is all about common sense. The only reason we feel it's necessary to include this section in the FAQ is that, exactly because it *is* so common sense, it's all too easy to forget at times, especially when caught up in the heat of things. By definition, soc.culture.* groups are among the hotter places in USENET.

First and foremost, always remember that you're making a speech in front of perhaps millions of people all over the world whenever you post something to scc. The following "rules" are all corollaries of this "Zeroth Law".

So, take it easy, be nice, be cool, and happy soc.culture.china'ing!


written by: Bo Peng < bpeng@chelsea.ios.com >

with editorial assistance from: Mark Swofford < mswofford@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu >


List of soc.culture.china FAQ authors and contributors (in alphabetical order)

Jihong Cole-Dai < jidai@magnus.acs.ohio-sate.edu >
Bo Peng < bpeng@chelsea.ios.com >
Ray Zhan Su < raysu@hphkae0.hkg.hp.com >
Mark Swofford < mswofford@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu >
Wuchun Wu < wuwu@phys.ksu.edu >
Tung-Chiang Yang < tcyang@netcom.com >

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