Eight Good Rules for Online Interaction

1. Check the discussion frequently, respond appropriately, and stay on the assignment’s subject. Waiting days to respond to someone does not promote quality interaction. If a delay cannot be avoided, let the person know why.

2. Focus on one subject per message and use subject titles that relate to the assignment. Your instructor may have a specific format you must follow.

3. Capitalize only individual words or phrases to highlight a word for EMPHASIS (like this). Capitalizing long sections is considered SHOUTING! Don’t shout, please!  Besides, it’s hard to read a long section in all caps!

4. Be academically professional and careful with your online interaction. Follow all guidelines established by your instructor.

5. Cite all quotes, references, and sources. Plagiarism may cause you to be removed from the course or from the college.

6. When posting a long message, it is generally considered courteous to warn readers at the beginning of the message that it is a lengthy post.

7. It is considered extremely rude to forward someone else’s messages without their permission. Respect one another’s privacy and authorship.

8. It is fine to use humor, but use it carefully. The absence of face-to-face cues can cause humor to be misinterpreted as criticism or flaming (angry, antagonistic criticism, or harassment). Unless restricted by your instructor, use emoticons such as or ;) to let others know that you’re being humorous.