What is Netiquette?

Netiquette refers to using common courtesy in online communication and is an important skill in college and in professional life. Follow these guideline to ensure proper netiquette in all course communications:

• Observe the same professional practices just discussed for email in all other online communications as well.
• Be considerate of others’ feelings and use language carefully.
• To avoid plagiarism, cite all quotations, references, and sources.
• Use complete sentences and standard English  to compose posts.
• Review work before submitting it.

This site offers more information about Netiquette:

• Excerpt from Virginia Shea’s The Core Rules of Netiquette

Engaging in Online Discussions

Posting to online discussion boards is an important learning activity required in many courses. Online discussions offer everyone a chance to contribute their thoughts about the content being studied as well as to reflect on the ideas of others in the class.

Engaging in a healthy discussion while employing Netiquette builds community, allows students time to consider ideas and incorporate research into their response, and develops critical thinking and writing skills necessary for success at the post secondary level and beyond.

It is important that students cultivate an atmosphere of respect in both primary posts (their initial thoughts about the topic) and secondary posts (responses to classmates’ primary posts). Be sure to use your responses to your classmates to help develop ideas and to move the conversation forward.

Additional Resources for Online Discussions

Saint Paul University’s Online Discussions: Tips for Students

University of Waterloo’s  Online Discussions: Tips for Students

Examples of Discussion Board Assignments and Posts

• Humanities
• Business

Social Media Etiquette

Review this video to learn about Social Media Etiquette:

What information did you learn from the video that you can apply to your social media practices?