(apple)mac geek

Here’s a document that defines internet networking etiquette. It was, however, written in October 1995 – but a lot of it is still valid. My comments below in red:

- Never send chain letters via electronic mail. Chain letters are forbidden on the Internet. Your network privileges will be revoked. Notify your local system administrator. Imagine that. For 10 years now, chain letters have been discouraged. Maybe use a nail gun to paste this printout to your newbie’s head.

- Be careful when addressing mail. There are addresses which may go to a group but the address looks like it is just one person. Know to whom you are sending. Yes, please. Stop sending ME requests to subscribe to Angela Day. Visit the website. Fill in your email address yourself. Read the freaking email you get – the unsubscribe information is at the bottom (“Click this link to unsubscribe”). How hard is that?!

- Verify all addresses before initiating long or personal discourse. It’s also a good practice to include the word “Long” in the subject header so the recipient knows the message will take time to read and respond to. Over 100 lines is considered “long”. Hey, I didn’t know that…maybe I’ll try it sometime…

- Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU’RE SHOUTING. MOST PEOPLE KNOW THIS NOW…*MOST* PEOPLE…

- Use symbols for emphasis. That *is* what I meant. Use underscores for underlining. _War and Peace_ is my favorite book. Cool.

- If you include a signature keep it short. Rule of thumb is no longer than 4 lines. Remember that many people pay for connectivity by the minute, and the longer your message is, the more they pay. Hmmm…this *was* written in ‘95…the next point is more relevant…

- Know how large a message you are sending. Including large files such as Postscript files or programs may make your message so large that it cannot be delivered or at least consumes excessive resources. A good rule of thumb would be not to send a file larger than 50 Kilobytes. Consider file transfer as an alternative, or cutting the file into smaller chunks and sending each as a separate message. Yes, Adrian – STOP sending me those 4MB video files that you find funny…

- Don’t send large amounts of unsolicited information to people. Yes, Adrian – STOP sending me those 4MB video files that you find funny…

Comments(0)