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 that yourself, how it is done” (Allen, n.d.)
As our children grow we encourage and model social etiquette - manners and behaviours – that are acceptable in society. Similarly acceptable communication and behaviours on the Internet need to be made known and modelled to new users by more experienced users. Netiquette, or Internet etiquette, is the term used to describe the general guidelines of what is appropriate and acceptable behaviour for online communications regardless of whether it is by email, on-line chatting or the more recent phenomenon of blogging and social networking.
Netiquette guidelines, have been until recently, mainly targeted toward the use of emails, mailing lists, discussion boards, and the various “chat”/virtual programs. The anonymity of these forms of Internet communications allows users to say things or behave in ways that they wouldn’t normally. Allen (n.d.) states the “immediacy of the communication … means that damaging practices cannot be easily ignored”. Users of direct forms of online communication do not have the advantage of being able to read body language or hear the tone/pitch of the voice of the person being spoken too, and messages can sometimes be misinterpreted (Social Networking – do you practice Netiquette? n.d.). Confrontational and offensive communication can and does happen on discussion boards and in chat rooms and the repercussions can sometimes be quite hurtful, frightening and intimidating. “How you will be perceived, the type of human being that you are … your credibility and your levels of professionalism and ethics will be judged by how you communicate with others online” (Email Etiquette 101, 2008).
It is essential for advanced users to model, explain and encourage netiquette guidelines such as using mixed case instead of ALL CAPS which is considered as shouting, using *symbols* for emphasis or underscores, don’t defame people online, and use internet acronyms or emoticons (Hambridge 1995). Emoticons or “smileys” can be used to indicate tone, but as Hambridge (1995) states, “don’t assume … a smiley will … wipe out an otherwise insulting comment”. Most importantly treat and speak to others, as you would have people treat and speak to yourself.
Allen (n.d.) suggests that “netiquette seems to apply almost entirely to communication: e-mail, online chat…” but guidelines now also need to incorporate the ever growing popularity of blogging and social networking such as MySpace and Facebook. Described as “mavericks of the online world” blogs, (and social networking sites), are able to “filter and disseminate information to a widely dispersed audience … beholden to no one, [they] point to, comment on, and spread information according to their own quirky criteria” (Blood 2002).
The ease of which these sites are developed, and the freedom of speech which they offer, unfortunately also allow for an “anything goes” mentality to a wide audience, which has in the past had negative impact and publicity. Examples include the case of the 13-year-old girl who committed suicide after being bullied online and the technical author/blogger, Kathy Sierra, who received abuse and death threats after deleting inflammatory comments from her blog. To avoid further situations like these Blood (2002) and O’Rielly (2007) suggest a bloggers “code of conduct” should also be outlined to “demonstrate integrity in their information gathering and dissemination, and consistency in their online conduct”. Again the most important one guideline that seems to come out is to remember that there are people, with feelings, who will read what you have said, so treat and speak to others, as you would have people treat and speak to yourself. O’Reilly (2007) goes as far as saying the “if you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so”.
Ultimately, however, good communication on the Internet is about knowing what is acceptable and appropriate behaviour in everyday life and carrying this over to the virtual online world. It is, therefore, the role of experienced users to encourage Netiquette guidelines, to “contribute to the proper functioning of the Internet as a communication system” and as “no-one is in ‘charge’ … exercise an ethic of maintenance, taking responsibility for doing it ‘right’” (Allen n.d.).
Site 1 : RFC 1855: Netiquette Guidelines - http://www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html
Sally Hambridge for the Responsible Use of the Internet (RUN) Working Group first published RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines in 1995. Hambridge (1995) expressly states that the document “does not specify a standard” but merely “provides a minimum set of guidelines of network etiquette” that can be adapted by different organisations and individuals according to their needs.
This document has been written in sections covering One-to-One Communication, One-to-Many Communication and Information Services, with further specific sub-sections for users and administrators.
Although written in 1995, this is still an excellent document resource for advanced Internet users to refer to, and to help teach new users to become courteous net citizens.
Site 2: Code of Conduct: Lessons Learned So Far – http://radar.oreilly.com/2007/04/code-of-conduct-lessons-learne.html
Author Time O’Reilly first posted “Call for Bloggers Code of Conduct” after friend and colleague Kathy Sierra received abuse and death threats for removing defamatory comments from her blog. O’Reilly raised a number of concerns in this first blog including anonymity, responsibility of posts on blogs and social self-examination of bloggers.
“Code of Conduct: Lessons Learned So Far” is the third weblog on this topic, which continues the discussion on the proposed Code of Conduct. O’Reilly is careful to use the “for” and “against” arguments he has received from the blogging community on the previous two weblogs, but also manages to write passionately about the topic.
Concept 33 – Information and AttentionIn the era of the ‘attention economy’, readers and users of Internet information must carefully craft, in their own minds, the kind of metadata which will – almost instinctively – ‘fit’ with the metadata of the information sources they want, so that – in the few brief moments of initial exchange, when a seeker of information encounters information being sought, rapid, effective judgements are made that ‘pay off’ in terms of further reading, accessing and saving.
Basic economics is about the supply and demand of material resources and services, but is governed by what is scarce. In the ‘attention economy’, the scarce resource that businesses, writers and website publishers are struggling for is ‘attention’. Competition for the Internet user’s attention is high, and as such they have the power to choose where they want to direct their valuable resource. More succinctly the ‘attention economy’ can be described as “where traditional wealth becomes less important than the ability to capture people’s attention” (Gauntlett, 2000).
Allen (n.d.) states, “The attention-capturing quality of Internet information is governed by a dialogue between the needs and desires of the reader and the readiness with which those needs and desires appear to be met in the first few seconds of evaluation”. In other words, a person generally has an idea of the information they are looking for, they will have questions that they want answered, and if they can’t find the information almost instantly they make the choice to move their attention elsewhere. Users surfing the web want instant success, “most online viewers spend less than 60 seconds at an average site” (Logan, 2002). In responding to Logan (2002) Girvan states, “ On the web, you learn to make rapid decisions, from the clues of presentation and content, as to what isn’t worth reading”. Web-page publishers need to be aware of, and use, design techniques and writing skills that will grab and hold the attention of information seeking web surfers.
In 1997 Jakob Nielsen explained that people don’t actually read web pages but more scan them for information. An eyetracking study conducted by Nielsen (2006) shows that Internet users often read web pages in an ‘F’ shaped pattern; initially scanning horizontally across the top and then a second horizontal scan down the page a little, before scanning vertically down the left side of the page. Scannable text such as highlighted or emphasised keywords, sub-headings, bulleted lists and half the word count of conventional writing, not only fit in with the ‘F’ shape reading pattern but also appears to increase the site’s usability (Nielsen, 1997), and help the reader to make those “rapid, effective judgements … that ‘pay off’ in terms of further reading, accessing and saving” (Allen n.d.).
Goldhaber (1997) parallels the need for money to survive in a money economy to the need for attention as “a prerequisite for survival” on the Internet. He compares the need that a baby or small child has for attention to grow, to the need of a website to “consciously seek” the attention of the reader to be read and evaluated further. Of course, linking to other “websites, web directories and search engines, in as prominent a way as possible” will also encourage surfers to investigate a site which “can come to command a lot of attention” (Gauntlett, 2000). A website with high visibility and that attracts a lot of attention can only then become a financially valuable commodity in the money economy.
Ultimately there are many millions of websites on the Internet with information on almost every conceivable topic, however as Gauntlett (2000) states, “you need brilliant content” to be able to grab and engage the reader. Surfers of the web do not have time or energy to waste at sites that lack appeal and/or required information. To become ‘wealthy’ in the ‘attention economy’ is to have lots of people paying attention to your site rather than flicking to another site.
Site 1: The Attention Economy and the Net – http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue2_4/goldhaber
Michael Goldhaber is the author of numerous papers and articles on the Attention Economy, and has been invited to speak at various conferences and seminars on the topic. At the time of publication of this article, he was the head of The Centre for Technology and Democracy, and a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley’s Institute for the Study of Social Change. I found this article to be comprehensive, explaining and covering in detail the concept of the Attention Economy. Goldhaber uses everyday comparisons and analogies to help students unfamiliar with the topic, and although written in 1997, I think this article is still relevant for today’s society.
Site2: Basic Web Economics – http://www.newmediastudies.com/intro2000.htm
David Guantlett is a Professor of Media and Communications, School of Media, Arts and Design at the University of Westminster, UK, and this article forms part of the first chapter of Gauntletts book Web.Studies: Rewiring media studies for the digital age, published in 2000 (this book has since been revised in 2004). Gauntlett looks at all forms of the media as tools for marketing and advertising, and although he agrees with Goldhaber’s concept of the Attention Economy, he also believes that the Internet can be used as marketing tool. This article explains the Attention Economy from a slightly different perspective to Goldhaber.
Concept 17 - The Impact of Text-Based Real-Time Chat
Communicating in real-time with text enables a form of ‘authoring of the self’ that is similar to the processes of face-to-face speech but which is much more amenable to authorial control, experimentation and reflection. Further, text-based communication carries with it the possibility for multiple, differing conversations occurring simultaneously, relying on the ability of the human brain to deal with text much better than speech.
Allen (n.d.) asks, “What is the difference here that makes this mode of communication popular; and then what impact does it have on the kinds of communication and social interaction that take place?” On-line chatting can be described as a way of communicating (talking) by sending text messages to likeminded people who are in the same Chat Room as you. Chatting in chat rooms can be assimilated to talking face-to-face; the communication is real-time and can involve one-to-one or one-to-many people. The difference is that face-to-face talking involves speech and body language whereas chat rooms involve typing and lack body language.
The anonymity of people using chat room appears to be the more predominant positive aspect of chat room involvement. These text-based real-time chats have the ability to allow the quiet, shy participant to ‘speak’ and become actively involved in a conversation without feeling inhibited by who is watching or judging him, playing a pivotal role in his self-development. Vines (1996) states, “it’s not uncommon to have no knowledge of the gender, age, skin colour, weight, physical attractiveness…or physical abilities/disabilities of the person you meet online”. Relationships are formed on the basis of personality and similar interests not on outward appearances. Chat rooms are also very beneficial where isolation and distance are a problem. Studying by correspondence is a challenge, but having the ability to ‘chat’ to students, either one-on-one or one-to-many who are studying the same subject but living in other areas of Australia has made the experience a positive one. Schools are using chat rooms to help students communicate with students in other schools within and outside Australia and people in specific fields and occupations. According to research, says Henderson (2006), chat rooms “actually build[ing his] social skills and civic awareness”. Kirkendall (n.d.) explains that “even when a person is online and using the Internet for recreational purposes, people are forming relationships and connections with other users that can be extremely valuable”, chat rooms enable communication, both personal and business orientated, at any hour of the day that is invaluable and convenient. One of the Net11 Discussion Board topics discussed the use of chat rooms in business; it appeared that the people who used it regularly or had experienced text-based chat for business purposes would agree with Kirkendall (n.d.), not only did it save money on phone bills but also appeared to eliminate the problem of distance and time. Multi-tasking or participating in a number of different conversations is also another positive aspect of chat rooms. This is possible because chat room users are able to think about and craft their replies, a situation that is not necessarily available with face-to-face contact.
Unfortunately, for every positive there is a negative. The downside to anonymity is that some people pretend to be someone that they are not such as the middle-aged person trying to attract a younger person or more frightening is the criminal use of anonymity such as paedophilia, scamming, stalking and bullying. Chat rooms are said to be negatively effecting the social interaction of users, with users more confident and comfortable with online friends and losing touch with reality. Researchers are also now looking at the effects of long term computer use and depression.
Site1: One, Two, Three, Four…I Declare ‘Chat’ War. http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/cyberspace/chat/chatcover.sht
This site is the first of four part web page. One, Two Three Four…I declare ‘Chat’ War is the introduction to a simple, yet informative site on the positive and negative impact of chat rooms.
Site 2: Real Relationships by Rose Vines
A writer for Australian PC User and The Sydney Morning Herald, Rose Vines has been writing technical computing articles since 1982 when she was employed as a programmer and journalist for Federal Publishing in Sydney. Written in 1998, this magazine article reflects on the growing phenomenon of chat rooms and the friendships and the communities that they create, the reasons these communities are created and the lifelong effects of some of the friendships developed. Vines has a very positive view on chat rooms and explains why they are important to society.
Concept 26 – Privacy and Security
The Internet is a profoundly ‘open’ system and advanced Internet users are cautious about either accepting or sending material from and to unknown sources and are careful in releasing information about themselves in any form. Conceptually, the Internet challenges us to take greater responsibility for the protection of privacy and security than perhaps we are used to when dealing with the media.
Allen (n.d.) state, “The Internet’s great strength is its openness”, unfortunately that would also have to be its greatest weakness. The openness of the Internet subjects users to viruses and worms, phishing emails, spyware, “Nigerian” scams, spam and, not to forget, the predators and stalkers.
Researching “Privacy and Security” on the Internet reveals a plethora of sites and information explaining the different methods of computer invasion and giving advice on how to reduce the risk of identity theft, and ensuring your safety while using the Internet. However, as the National Cyber Security Alliance (n.d.) states, “there is no single cyber security practice or technological solution that will prevent online crime.” They advocate that it is a combination of Internet user habits and technological solutions that will reduce risks.
Internet users need to develop the habit of:
- Being wary about who they are dealing with. Phishing emails asking for validation or updating of information are “the second most common type of spam, after mails hawking medication” (Fallen, 2007).
- Use anti-virus software, firewalls and anti-spam software and ensure that they are up dated regularly.
- Similarly, make sure your operating system and web browser software are installed properly and updated regularly.
- Regularly back-up files onto an external drive to avoid loss of data should your computer ever become infected by a virus.
- Concealing your personal identity by being conscious about what personal information such as credit card details, addresses and phone numbers you share, and setting up anonymous email accounts.
Children, tweens, teens and Social networking sites have added another element to the Privacy and Security issue. All Internet users, but particularly the young and less mature generation, need to be warned that while these sites have the ability to “increase your circle of friends, they also can increase your exposure to people who have less than friendly intentions” (Federal Trade Commission n.d.). It is advisable to use sites that “allow only a defined community of users to access posted content”, ensuring some control; “not posting your photo” as it can be changed and used for purposes that you may appreciate; and being very cautious if a new friend wishes to meet you in person (Federal Trade Commission n.d.).
While most articles on this issue advocate user education, Nielsen (2004) says, “User education is not the answer to security problems”, he goes on further to say, “users need protection, and the technology must change to provide this”. Nielsen (2004) argues that it is unrealistic for everyday users of the Internet to keep up with computer security and the technologically advanced abilities of the people who create viruses, spam and spyware. He says the solution is to “rearchitect security”, “to make security a built-in feature of all computing elements”. Steps towards the re-architecting security are listed in this article, however Nielsen (2004) acknowledges that it is a big project, but insists, “it’s the only realistic way to ensure safe computing”.
Privacy and Security will always be a part of Internet life, and even if a time comes when security is an in-built feature of computers, it will still pay for users to keep up-to-date with security issues. Vigilance and responsibility of the user is the key to privacy and security.
Site 1: Stop.Think.Click: 7 Practices for Safer Computing
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec15.pdf
The Federal Trade Commission manages OnGuardOnline.gov a joint project of the Federal Government and the technology industry in USA. The “Stop.Think.Click: 7 Practices for Safer Computing” website is targeted at a teenage audience and their parents, however is just as relevant to the more mature online community. The resource linked to this document is actually the 16-page supplementary document that accompanies the website. This document provides practical tips to help guard against Internet fraud, computer security and, protect of personal information. I found this document to be very informative and easy to read, and should be an essential document for schools.
Site 2: User Education Is Not the Answer to Security Problems http://useit.com/alertbox/20041025.html
Jakob Nielsen holds a PhD in Human Computer Interaction from the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen.
The issue of privacy and security is looked at from a different angle by Nielsen, and while he agrees that the user should take some responsibility, he is adamant that they should not have to take the total responsibility. Nielsen attempts to explain how taking responsibility for one’s security in the real world is different to taking responsibility for privacy and security in the virtual world. He claims that “user education should not be the main approach to countering security”, but “the real solution is to make a security a built-in feature of all computing elements”.
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