Netiquettes for networkers

Conventions and etiquettes evolve or are developed for technologically mediated modes of communication. The Internet is now over a decade old, and the use of its pre decessor networks and multiuser computer systems for computer-mediated communication (CMC) dates back to the 1960s. However, although the Internet is increasingly a feature of the global popular culture as a concept, and in the construction of its various associated images, its system atic use for CMC has only recently begun to extend beyond the sub-cultural. Although at its deeper social and psycho logical levels the use and effects of CMC present a fertile new field of investigation for communication researchers, in many of its general aspects conventions for courteous and effective networking behaviour have long been codified and widely documented. The present paper identifies some of the main electronic and print sources of 'netiquette' advice and provides a digest of their consensus.