Netiquettes as we call it, is an essential part of our virtual lives-something which we have started to be quite dominantly participating in. As for geeks like me, I have been more inclined towards virtual lives and online social networking because you get to experience comments, suggestions and information which is independent and free of any pressure. So be it social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook and the like, or the zillions of Internet forums out there which span across the usual discussion topics like Technology, Web 2.0, hacks, rumors or simple plain tabloid stuff, to even niche and downright specific topics like Astro Physics or the latest episode of Naruto, all of these are being dicussed among the existent and happening forums all over in all languages imaginable. But something is very common in all these forums. And that is the presence of some malicious entity called the Spammer. He/She has the most annoying and irritating online attitude and if detected by the active members shall be reported to the Admin who then takes corrective measures through warnings or might even ban him. But then, these people do strike back with multiple profiles or gang up with some other offline pals . You surely don’t want to join that league. Like socialising in real life, online communities should have a maintained decorum . No questions that we are given the right to have our freedom of expression, but we also have to understand the responsibility of carrying it. Having said that, here I have put some of the points from the long list of Netiquettes to be followed in an Internet Forum.

1. Simple plain- Ignore douche bags.

There are too many people out there jumping out for attention, raising questions (often controversial and offensive at large). This of course at times, taking advantage of their anonymity that the Internet provides. The best way to deal with them is to give them a thumbs down by just staying away. If no member responds to any of their posts/threads, they’re sure gonna be left all alone in their perfect world and they can have all the fun of their anonymity.

2. Godwin’s Law.

The law states :

As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

As clear as that. If the conversation is getting lengthier by the day, someone in the thread would display Hitler like tendencies. So if you are the one who is invoking Hitler like approaches, you have already lost the whole point of the discussion.

3. Fanboys:

Yeah, we all have our own fan following. Some people swear by the Mac and will go to the length of abusing the Vista (well that everyone does). And there is always the raging war : PS3 vs. Xbox 360 vs. Wii. Let us please be civilised and understand that the reason why there is a market for all three of them (or any product which is not a monopoly) is because they offer features that the other does not, or may be it covers the flaws of the other product , even when it has certain flaws which does not exist in its rival. At the EOD, please be civilized, and for Pete’s sake, BEHAVE!

4. Noobs/Teenagers

Yeah, I am gonna get some bashing for this one. But most of us would agree , that most of the teens out there on discussion are the ones who have just become a part of the whole Web 2.0 generation and put up their viewpoints and opinions without any justification. More than that, the typos and the Internet Lingo which only their sad bunch understand. There are an increasingly higher number of teens out there on every forum and so , you might just get busted with their sadistic humor . There is pretty much nothing that can be done about them. The best way is to stay away. ( Not all teenagers are evil though.)

5. Post Count

Most people believe that the higher the number of their post count is, the higher in rank they grow and they consider themselves as the royal contributors to the online society at large. Actually, the truth is the exact opposite. Please make sure that you do not make a fool out of yourself with the extremely large number of posts which carry NOTHING. Make sure that your post have substance, are funny (not for the sake of it) and interesting. A reply to a post like “Yeah, I agree.LOL” doesn’t at all add to your online PRESENCE.

6. Respect thy ADMINS

It is THEIR forum, their site. Respect them and do NOT irritate them with questions of why and how they are running their forums. Else, you might just get conveniently kicked you know where. If at all you might ask questions, make sure you layer it with some polite suffixes.

7. Don’t Use All CAPS in your posts

It is pointless to verbally shout at each other. It is just very very Irritating and the whole point of DISCUSSING is lost.

8. Stick to the POINT

Please remember what the topic of the discussion thread was in the first place and try not to deviate from it. If necessary you can start a new thread altogether, but stick to it. And yes, do not just jump into blurting out reams and reams of your technical knowhow on the hack of Need For Speed. Take a look around and read if the readers of that thread are interested at all in knowing that.

9.Picture Etiquettes:

Please do not post pictures which are larger than the normal resolution of the monitors (which is an average of 1024X768) of users. This is simple plain annoying, unless the thread itself is called HQ Widescreen wallpapers of Anna Kournikova.

10. NSFW

Please label your posts as NSFW (Not safe for work), if it is NSFW. You know posts with colorful language and visuals. Not everyone has the liberty to stare at ..you know what..on their monitors with their bosses strolling around.

The forum is now open and shout it out if you found the points here to be offensive, affective or just lame. You can also add your own points . Done!