June 2007

On-line Forum Etiquette

MATE 4th ICT4ELT National Conference

Agadir, June 2-4, 2007

Abdellatif Zoubair, E-mail: zoubair2@hotmail.com

June 2007

Outline

Rationale

Terminology

Basic rules

Further tips

Moderator’s roles

Designing a sample

Resources

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I. Rationale

How different is cyberspace?

What is netiquette for?

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Key Terms

1. cross posting: k. posting the same message to multiple forums

2. double posting: h. posting the same message twice to the same

forum

3. flaming: e. comments intended to abuse or insult

4. a hoax: i. false e-mail warning of a spreading virus

5. a lurker: j. user who reads postings but rarely participates

6. a moderator: g. someone responsible for managing a forum

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7. netiquette: c. rules of conduct on online platforms

8. online forum: a. web application for holding discussions

9. spamming: b. advertising or posting repetitive messages

10. a thread: f. a series of messages grouped by subject

11. a troll: d. a user who breaches netiquette repeatedly and

intentionally

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Basic rules: Do’s and don’ts

Don’t use CAPS

Don’t forward hoaxes

Check previous threads

Avoid sending large attachments

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Do’s and don’ts (cont’d)

No personal messages

Don’t address feedback to persons

Don’t interrupt the flow of discussion

No spamming

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More do’s and don’ts

Don’t ‘revive’ or ‘necro’ old topics

Be concise

Use standard language

Don’t flame back

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Further tips

Reflect upon form and content

Be careful with humour

Consult previous posts

Check guidelines

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More tips

Be relevant

Contribute

Quote only relevant text

Shorten signature

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And always . . .

« Remember the human! »

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Moderator’s roles

Start forum:

-welcome message

-set guidelines

-invite people

-provide help

- . . .

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Moderator’s roles (cont’d)

Keep the conversation going

Be available

Edit posts

Close forum. . . . .

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Task: start a forum

Consider audience

State topic

Set guidelines

. . .

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Web resources

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

Netiquette (Albion.com)

Why it is sensible to observe the Netiquette

The WWW version of Netiquette

June 2007

Thank you for your attention

and patience!