Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Netiquette

The Internet has created a new culture and way of life. Chat rooms, online dating, business and social networking along blogging have created a culture outside of the world around us. I remember when AOL came out with the instant messenger and everyone in middle school had an account. I remember many times how people were so cruel online and would say things they normally wouldn't say face to face. Maybe it was just our maturity level, but I think that as times has gone on that we've come to understand the cyber culture that we all helped create. We must remember that speaking to someone online doesn't excuse foul language or remarks. All of the etiquettes that we use in everyday life should also apply to the internet. It's not rocket science, but sometimes we need to be reminded that there are others looking at what we say online. I just created a new myspace account and was very surprised to have received a nasty invitation to view some inappropriate pictures. I understand that the web has everything that the real world has, but it makes me upset how much easier it is for the wrong people to contact and offend you. The internet is a great tool that we must use wisely and with proper etiquette.

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