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+Network Working Group S. Hambridge
+Request For Comments: 1855 Intel Corp.
+FYI: 28 October 1995
+Category: Informational
+
+
+ Netiquette Guidelines
+
+Status of This Memo
+
+ This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
+ does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
+ this memo is unlimited.
+
+Abstract
+
+ This document provides a minimum set of guidelines for Network
+ Etiquette (Netiquette) which organizations may take and adapt for
+ their own use. As such, it is deliberately written in a bulleted
+ format to make adaptation easier and to make any particular item easy
+ (or easier) to find. It also functions as a minimum set of
+ guidelines for individuals, both users and administrators. This memo
+ is the product of the Responsible Use of the Network (RUN) Working
+ Group of the IETF.
+
+Table of Contents
+
+ 1.0 Introduction 1
+ 2.0 One-to-One Communication 2
+ 3.0 One-to-Many Communication 7
+ 4.0 Information Services 14
+ 5.0 Selected Bibliography 18
+ 6.0 Security Considerations 21
+ 7.0 Author's Address 21
+
+1.0 Introduction
+
+ In the past, the population of people using the Internet had "grown
+ up" with the Internet, were technically minded, and understood the
+ nature of the transport and the protocols. Today, the community of
+ Internet users includes people who are new to the environment. These
+ "Newbies" are unfamiliar with the culture and don't need to know
+ about transport and protocols. In order to bring these new users into
+ the Internet culture quickly, this Guide offers a minimum set of
+ behaviors which organizations and individuals may take and adapt for
+ their own use. Individuals should be aware that no matter who
+ supplies their Internet access, be it an Internet Service Provider
+ through a private account, or a student account at a University, or
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 1]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ an account through a corporation, that those organizations have
+ regulations about ownership of mail and files, about what is proper
+ to post or send, and how to present yourself. Be sure to check with
+ the local authority for specific guidelines.
+
+ We've organized this material into three sections: One-to-one
+ communication, which includes mail and talk; One-to-many
+ communications, which includes mailing lists and NetNews; and
+ Information Services, which includes ftp, WWW, Wais, Gopher, MUDs and
+ MOOs. Finally, we have a Selected Bibliography, which may be used
+ for reference.
+
+2.0 One-to-One Communication (electronic mail, talk)
+
+ We define one-to-one communications as those in which a person is
+ communicating with another person as if face-to-face: a dialog. In
+ general, rules of common courtesy for interaction with people should
+ be in force for any situation and on the Internet it's doubly
+ important where, for example, body language and tone of voice must be
+ inferred. For more information on Netiquette for communicating via
+ electronic mail and talk, check references [1,23,25,27] in the
+ Selected Bibliography.
+
+2.1 User Guidelines
+
+2.1.1 For mail:
+
+ - Unless you have your own Internet access through an Internet
+ provider, be sure to check with your employer about ownership
+ of electronic mail. Laws about the ownership of electronic mail
+ vary from place to place.
+
+ - Unless you are using an encryption device (hardware or software),
+ you should assume that mail on the Internet is not secure. Never
+ put in a mail message anything you would not put on a postcard.
+
+ - Respect the copyright on material that you reproduce. Almost
+ every country has copyright laws.
+
+ - If you are forwarding or re-posting a message you've received, do
+ not change the wording. If the message was a personal message to
+ you and you are re-posting to a group, you should ask permission
+ first. You may shorten the message and quote only relevant parts,
+ but be sure you give proper attribution.
+
+ - Never send chain letters via electronic mail. Chain letters
+ are forbidden on the Internet. Your network privileges
+ will be revoked. Notify your local system administrator
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 2]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ if your ever receive one.
+
+ - A good rule of thumb: Be conservative in what you send and
+ liberal in what you receive. You should not send heated messages
+ (we call these "flames") even if you are provoked. On the other
+ hand, you shouldn't be surprised if you get flamed and it's
+ prudent not to respond to flames.
+
+ - In general, it's a good idea to at least check all your mail
+ subjects before responding to a message. Sometimes a person who
+ asks you for help (or clarification) will send another message
+ which effectively says "Never Mind". Also make sure that any
+ message you respond to was directed to you. You might be cc:ed
+ rather than the primary recipient.
+
+ - Make things easy for the recipient. Many mailers strip header
+ information which includes your return address. In order to
+ ensure that people know who you are, be sure to include a line
+ or two at the end of your message with contact information. You
+ can create this file ahead of time and add it to the end of your
+ messages. (Some mailers do this automatically.) In Internet
+ parlance, this is known as a ".sig" or "signature" file. Your
+ .sig file takes the place of your business card. (And you can
+ have more than one to apply in different circumstances.)
+
+ - Be careful when addressing mail. There are addresses which
+ may go to a group but the address looks like it is just one
+ person. Know to whom you are sending.
+
+ - Watch cc's when replying. Don't continue to include
+ people if the messages have become a 2-way conversation.
+
+ - In general, most people who use the Internet don't have time
+ to answer general questions about the Internet and its workings.
+ Don't send unsolicited mail asking for information to people
+ whose names you might have seen in RFCs or on mailing lists.
+
+ - Remember that people with whom you communicate are located across
+ the globe. If you send a message to which you want an immediate
+ response, the person receiving it might be at home asleep when it
+ arrives. Give them a chance to wake up, come to work, and login
+ before assuming the mail didn't arrive or that they don't care.
+
+ - Verify all addresses before initiating long or personal discourse.
+ It's also a good practice to include the word "Long" in the
+ subject header so the recipient knows the message will take time
+ to read and respond to. Over 100 lines is considered "long".
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 3]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - Know whom to contact for help. Usually you will have resources
+ close at hand. Check locally for people who can help you with
+ software and system problems. Also, know whom to go to if you
+ receive anything questionable or illegal. Most sites also
+ have "Postmaster" aliased to a knowledgeable user, so you
+ can send mail to this address to get help with mail.
+
+ - Remember that the recipient is a human being whose culture,
+ language, and humor have different points of reference from your
+ own. Remember that date formats, measurements, and idioms may
+ not travel well. Be especially careful with sarcasm.
+
+ - Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.
+
+ - Use symbols for emphasis. That *is* what I meant. Use
+ underscores for underlining. _War and Peace_ is my favorite
+ book.
+
+ - Use smileys to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly.
+ :-) is an example of a smiley (Look sideways). Don't assume
+ that the inclusion of a smiley will make the recipient happy
+ with what you say or wipe out an otherwise insulting comment.
+
+ - Wait overnight to send emotional responses to messages. If you
+ have really strong feelings about a subject, indicate it via
+ FLAME ON/OFF enclosures. For example:
+ FLAME ON: This type of argument is not worth the bandwidth
+ it takes to send it. It's illogical and poorly
+ reasoned. The rest of the world agrees with me.
+ FLAME OFF
+
+ - Do not include control characters or non-ASCII attachments in
+ messages unless they are MIME attachments or unless your mailer
+ encodes these. If you send encoded messages make sure the
+ recipient can decode them.
+
+ - Be brief without being overly terse. When replying to a message,
+ include enough original material to be understood but no more. It
+ is extremely bad form to simply reply to a message by including
+ all the previous message: edit out all the irrelevant material.
+
+ - Limit line length to fewer than 65 characters and end a line
+ with a carriage return.
+
+ - Mail should have a subject heading which reflects
+ the content of the message.
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 4]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - If you include a signature keep it short. Rule of thumb
+ is no longer than 4 lines. Remember that many people pay for
+ connectivity by the minute, and the longer your message is,
+ the more they pay.
+
+ - Just as mail (today) may not be private, mail (and news) are
+ (today) subject to forgery and spoofing of various degrees of
+ detectability. Apply common sense "reality checks" before
+ assuming a message is valid.
+
+ - If you think the importance of a message justifies it, immediately
+ reply briefly to an e-mail message to let the sender know you got
+ it, even if you will send a longer reply later.
+
+ - "Reasonable" expectations for conduct via e-mail depend on your
+ relationship to a person and the context of the communication.
+ Norms learned in a particular e-mail environment may not apply in
+ general to your e-mail communication with people across the
+ Internet. Be careful with slang or local acronyms.
+
+ - The cost of delivering an e-mail message is, on the average, paid
+ about equally by the sender and the recipient (or their
+ organizations). This is unlike other media such as physical mail,
+ telephone, TV, or radio. Sending someone mail may also cost them
+ in other specific ways like network bandwidth, disk space or CPU
+ usage. This is a fundamental economic reason why unsolicited
+ e-mail advertising is unwelcome (and is forbidden in many contexts).
+
+ - Know how large a message you are sending. Including large files
+ such as Postscript files or programs may make your message so
+ large that it cannot be delivered or at least consumes excessive
+ resources. A good rule of thumb would be not to send a file
+ larger than 50 Kilobytes. Consider file transfer as an
+ alternative, or cutting the file into smaller chunks and sending
+ each as a separate message.
+
+ - Don't send large amounts of unsolicited information to people.
+
+ - If your mail system allows you to forward mail, beware the dreaded
+ forwarding loop. Be sure you haven't set up forwarding on several
+ hosts so that a message sent to you gets into an endless loop from
+ one computer to the next to the next.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 5]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+2.1.2 For talk:
+
+ Talk is a set of protocols which allow two people to have an
+ interactive dialogue via computer.
+
+ - Use mixed case and proper punctuation, as though you were typing
+ a letter or sending mail.
+
+ - Don't run off the end of a line and simply let the terminal wrap;
+ use a Carriage Return (CR) at the end of the line. Also, don't
+ assume your screen size is the same as everyone else's. A good
+ rule of thumb is to write out no more than 70 characters, and no
+ more than 12 lines (since you're using a split screen).
+
+ - Leave some margin; don't write to the edge of the screen.
+
+ - Use two CRs to indicate that you are done and the other person may
+ start typing. (blank line).
+
+ - Always say goodbye, or some other farewell, and wait to see a
+ farewell from the other person before killing the session. This
+ is especially important when you are communicating with someone
+ a long way away. Remember that your communication relies on both
+ bandwidth (the size of the pipe) and latency (the speed of light).
+
+ - Remember that talk is an interruption to the other person. Only
+ use as appropriate. And never talk to strangers.
+
+ - The reasons for not getting a reply are many. Don't assume
+ that everything is working correctly. Not all versions of
+ talk are compatible.
+
+ - If left on its own, talk re-rings the recipient. Let it ring
+ one or two times, then kill it.
+
+ - If a person doesn't respond you might try another tty. Use finger
+ to determine which are open. If the person still doesn't respond,
+ do not continue to send.
+
+ - Talk shows your typing ability. If you type slowly and make
+ mistakes when typing it is often not worth the time of trying to
+ correct, as the other person can usually see what you meant.
+
+ - Be careful if you have more than one talk session going!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 6]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+2.2 Administrator Issues
+
+ - Be sure you have established written guidelines for dealing
+ with situations especially illegal, improper, or forged
+ traffic.
+
+ - Handle requests in a timely fashion - by the next business day.
+
+ - Respond promptly to people who have concerns about receiving
+ improper or illegal messages. Requests concerning chain
+ letters should be handled immediately.
+
+ - Explain any system rules, such as disk quotas, to your users.
+ Make sure they understand implications of requesting files by
+ mail such as: Filling up disks; running up phone bills, delaying
+ mail, etc.
+
+ - Make sure you have "Postmaster" aliased. Make sure you have
+ "Root" aliased. Make sure someone reads that mail.
+
+ - Investigate complaints about your users with an open mind.
+ Remember that addresses may be forged and spoofed.
+
+3.0 One-to-Many Communication (Mailing Lists, NetNews)
+
+ Any time you engage in One-to-Many communications, all the rules for
+ mail should also apply. After all, communicating with many people
+ via one mail message or post is quite analogous to communicating with
+ one person with the exception of possibly offending a great many more
+ people than in one-to-one communication. Therefore, it's quite
+ important to know as much as you can about the audience of your
+ message.
+
+3.1 User Guidelines
+
+3.1.1 General Guidelines for mailing lists and NetNews
+
+ - Read both mailing lists and newsgroups for one to two months before
+ you post anything. This helps you to get an understanding of
+ the culture of the group.
+
+ - Do not blame the system administrator for the behavior of the
+ system users.
+
+ - Consider that a large audience will see your posts.
+ That may include your present or your next boss. Take
+ care in what you write. Remember too, that mailing lists and
+ Newsgroups are frequently archived, and that your words may be
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 7]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ stored for a very long time in a place to which many people have
+ access.
+
+ - Assume that individuals speak for themselves, and what they
+ say does not represent their organization (unless stated
+ explicitly).
+
+ - Remember that both mail and news take system resources. Pay
+ attention to any specific rules covering their uses your
+ organization may have.
+
+ - Messages and articles should be brief and to the point. Don't
+ wander off-topic, don't ramble and don't send mail or post
+ messages solely to point out other people's errors in typing
+ or spelling. These, more than any other behavior, mark you
+ as an immature beginner.
+
+ - Subject lines should follow the conventions of the group.
+
+ - Forgeries and spoofing are not approved behavior.
+
+ - Advertising is welcomed on some lists and Newsgroups, and abhorred
+ on others! This is another example of knowing your audience
+ before you post. Unsolicited advertising which is completely
+ off-topic will most certainly guarantee that you get a lot of
+ hate mail.
+
+ - If you are sending a reply to a message or a posting be sure you
+ summarize the original at the top of the message, or include just
+ enough text of the original to give a context. This will make
+ sure readers understand when they start to read your response.
+ Since NetNews, especially, is proliferated by distributing the
+ postings from one host to another, it is possible to see a
+ response to a message before seeing the original. Giving context
+ helps everyone. But do not include the entire original!
+
+ - Again, be sure to have a signature which you attach to your
+ message. This will guarantee that any peculiarities of mailers or
+ newsreaders which strip header information will not delete the
+ only reference in the message of how people may reach you.
+
+ - Be careful when you reply to messages or postings. Frequently
+ replies are sent back to the address which originated the post -
+ which in many cases is the address of a list or group! You may
+ accidentally send a personal response to a great many people,
+ embarrassing all involved. It's best to type in the address
+ instead of relying on "reply."
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 8]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - Delivery receipts, non-delivery notices, and vacation programs
+ are neither totally standardized nor totally reliable across the
+ range of systems connected to Internet mail. They are invasive
+ when sent to mailing lists, and some people consider delivery
+ receipts an invasion of privacy. In short, do not use them.
+
+ - If you find a personal message has gone to a list or group, send
+ an apology to the person and to the group.
+
+ - If you should find yourself in a disagreement with one person,
+ make your responses to each other via mail rather than continue to
+ send messages to the list or the group. If you are debating a
+ point on which the group might have some interest, you may
+ summarize for them later.
+
+ - Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond
+ to incendiary material.
+
+ - Avoid sending messages or posting articles which are no more than
+ gratuitous replies to replies.
+
+ - Be careful with monospacing fonts and diagrams. These will
+ display differently on different systems, and with different
+ mailers on the same system.
+
+ - There are Newsgroups and Mailing Lists which discuss topics
+ of wide varieties of interests. These represent a diversity of
+ lifestyles, religions, and cultures. Posting articles or sending
+ messages to a group whose point of view is offensive to you
+ simply to tell them they are offensive is not acceptable.
+ Sexually and racially harassing messages may also have legal
+ implications. There is software available to filter items
+ you might find objectionable.
+
+3.1.2 Mailing List Guidelines
+
+ There are several ways to find information about what mailing lists
+ exist on the Internet and how to join them. Make sure you understand
+ your organization's policy about joining these lists and posting to
+ them. In general it is always better to check local resources first
+ before trying to find information via the Internet. Nevertheless,
+ there are a set of files posted periodically to news.answers which
+ list the Internet mailing lists and how to subscribe to them. This
+ is an invaluable resource for finding lists on any topic. See also
+ references [9,13,15] in the Selected Bibliography.
+
+ - Send subscribe and unsubscribe messages to the appropriate
+ address. Although some mailing list software is smart enough
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 9]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ to catch these, not all can ferret these out. It is your
+ responsibility to learn how the lists work, and to send the
+ correct mail to the correct place. Although many many mailing
+ lists adhere to the convention of having a "-request" alias for
+ sending subscribe and unsubscribe messages, not all do. Be sure
+ you know the conventions used by the lists to which you subscribe.
+
+ - Save the subscription messages for any lists you join. These
+ usually tell you how to unsubscribe as well.
+
+ - In general, it's not possible to retrieve messages once you have
+ sent them. Even your system administrator will not be able to get
+ a message back once you have sent it. This means you must make
+ sure you really want the message to go as you have written it.
+
+ - The auto-reply feature of many mailers is useful for in-house
+ communication, but quite annoying when sent to entire mailing
+ lists. Examine "Reply-To" addresses when replying to messages
+ from lists. Most auto-replys will go to all members of the
+ list.
+
+ - Don't send large files to mailing lists when Uniform
+ Resource Locators (URLs) or pointers to ftp-able versions
+ will do. If you want to send it as multiple files, be
+ sure to follow the culture of the group. If you don't
+ know what that is, ask.
+
+ - Consider unsubscribing or setting a "nomail" option (when it's
+ available) when you cannot check your mail for an extended
+ period.
+
+ - When sending a message to more than one mailing list, especially
+ if the lists are closely related, apologize for cross-posting.
+
+ - If you ask a question, be sure to post a summary. When doing so,
+ truly summarize rather than send a cumulation of the messages you
+ receive.
+
+ - Some mailing lists are private. Do not send mail to these lists
+ uninvited. Do not report mail from these lists to a wider
+ audience.
+
+ - If you are caught in an argument, keep the discussion focused on
+ issues rather than the personalities involved.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 10]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+3.1.3 NetNews Guidelines
+
+ NetNews is a globally distributed system which allows people to
+ communicate on topics of specific interest. It is divided into
+ hierarchies, with the major divisions being: sci - science related
+ discussions; comp - computer related discussions; news - for
+ discussions which center around NetNews itself; rec - recreational
+ activities; soc - social issues; talk - long-winded never-ending
+ discussions; biz - business related postings; and alt - the alternate
+ hierarchy. Alt is so named because creating an alt group does not go
+ through the same process as creating a group in the other parts of
+ the hierarchy. There are also regional hierarchies, hierarchies
+ which are widely distributed such as Bionet, and your place of
+ business may have its own groups as well. Recently, a "humanities"
+ hierarchy was added, and as time goes on its likely more will be
+ added. For longer discussions on News see references [2,8,22,23] in
+ the Selected Bibliography.
+
+ - In NetNews parlance, "Posting" refers to posting a new article
+ to a group, or responding to a post someone else has posted.
+ "Cross-Posting" refers to posting a message to more than one
+ group. If you introduce Cross-Posting to a group, or if you
+ direct "Followup-To:" in the header of your posting, warn
+ readers! Readers will usually assume that the message was
+ posted to a specific group and that followups will go to
+ that group. Headers change this behavior.
+
+ - Read all of a discussion in progress (we call this a thread)
+ before posting replies. Avoid posting "Me Too" messages,
+ where content is limited to agreement with previous posts.
+ Content of a follow-up post should exceed quoted content.
+
+ - Send mail when an answer to a question is for one person only.
+ Remember that News has global distribution and the whole world
+ probably is NOT interested in a personal response. However, don't
+ hesitate to post when something will be of general interest to the
+ Newsgroup participants.
+
+ - Check the "Distribution" section of the header, but don't
+ depend on it. Due to the complex method by which News is
+ delivered, Distribution headers are unreliable. But, if you
+ are posting something which will be of interest to a limited
+ number or readers, use a distribution line that attempts to
+ limit the distribution of your article to those people. For
+ example, set the Distribution to be "nj" if you are posting
+ an article that will be of interest only to New Jersey readers.
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 11]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - If you feel an article will be of interest to more than one
+ Newsgroup, be sure to CROSSPOST the article rather than individually
+ post it to those groups. In general, probably only five-to-six
+ groups will have similar enough interests to warrant this.
+
+ - Consider using Reference sources (Computer Manuals, Newspapers,
+ help files) before posting a question. Asking a Newsgroup where
+ answers are readily available elsewhere generates grumpy "RTFM"
+ (read the fine manual - although a more vulgar meaning of the
+ word beginning with "f" is usually implied) messages.
+
+ - Although there are Newsgroups which welcome advertising,
+ in general it is considered nothing less than criminal
+ to advertise off-topic products. Sending an advertisement
+ to each and every group will pretty much guarantee your loss of
+ connectivity.
+
+ - If you discover an error in your post, cancel it as soon as
+ possible.
+
+ - DO NOT attempt to cancel any articles but your own. Contact
+ your administrator if you don't know how to cancel your post,
+ or if some other post, such as a chain letter, needs canceling.
+
+ - If you've posted something and don't see it immediately,
+ don't assume it's failed and re-post it.
+
+ - Some groups permit (and some welcome) posts which in other
+ circumstances would be considered to be in questionable taste.
+ Still, there is no guarantee that all people reading the group
+ will appreciate the material as much as you do. Use the Rotate
+ utility (which rotates all the characters in your post by 13
+ positions in the alphabet) to avoid giving offense. The
+ Rot13 utility for Unix is an example.
+
+ - In groups which discuss movies or books it is considered essential
+ to mark posts which disclose significant content as "Spoilers".
+ Put this word in your Subject: line. You may add blank lines to
+ the beginning of your post to keep content out of sight, or you
+ may Rotate it.
+
+ - Forging of news articles is generally censured. You can protect
+ yourself from forgeries by using software which generates a
+ manipulation detection "fingerprint", such as PGP (in the US).
+
+ - Postings via anonymous servers are accepted in some Newsgroups
+ and disliked in others. Material which is inappropriate when
+ posted under one's own name is still inappropriate when posted
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 12]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ anonymously.
+
+ - Expect a slight delay in seeing your post when posting to a
+ moderated group. The moderator may change your subject
+ line to have your post conform to a particular thread.
+
+ - Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond
+ to incendiary material.
+
+3.2 Administrator Guidelines
+
+3.2.1 General Issues
+
+ - Clarify any policies your site has regarding its subscription
+ to NetNews groups and about subscribing to mailing lists.
+
+ - Clarify any policies your site has about posting to NetNews
+ groups or to mailing lists, including use of disclaimers in .sigs.
+
+ - Clarify and publicize archive policy. (How long are articles
+ kept?)
+
+ - Investigate accusations about your users promptly and with an
+ open mind.
+
+ - Be sure to monitor the health of your system.
+
+ - Consider how long to archive system logs, and publicize your
+ policy on logging.
+
+3.2.2 Mailing Lists
+
+ - Keep mailing lists up to date to avoid the "bouncing mail" problem.
+
+ - Help list owners when problems arise.
+
+ - Inform list owners of any maintenance windows or planned downtime.
+
+ - Be sure to have "-request" aliases for list subscription and
+ administration.
+
+ - Make sure all mail gateways operate smoothly.
+
+3.2.3. NetNews
+
+ - Publicize the nature of the feed you receive. If you do not get
+ a full feed, people may want to know why not.
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 13]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - Be aware that the multiplicity of News Reader clients may cause
+ the News Server being blamed for problems in the clients.
+
+ - Honor requests from users immediately if they request cancellation
+ of their own posts or invalid posts, such as chain letters.
+
+ - Have "Usenet", "Netnews" and "News" aliased and make sure someone
+ reads the mail.
+
+3.3 Moderator Guidelines
+
+3.3.1 General Guidelines
+
+ - Make sure your Frequestly Asked Questions (FAQ) is posted at
+ regular intervals. Include your guidelines for articles/messages.
+ If you are not the FAQ maintainer, make sure they do so.
+
+ - Make sure you maintain a good welcome message, which contains
+ subscribe and unsubscribe information.
+
+ - Newsgroups should have their charter/guidelines posted
+ regularly.
+
+ - Keep mailing lists and Newsgroups up to date. Post
+ messages in a timely fashion. Designate a substitute
+ when you go on vacation or out of town.
+
+4.0 Information Services (Gopher, Wais, WWW, ftp, telnet)
+
+ In recent Internet history, the 'Net has exploded with new and varied
+ Information services. Gopher, Wais, World Wide Web (WWW), Multi-User
+ Dimensions (MUDs) Multi-User Dimensions which are Object Oriented
+ (MOOs) are a few of these new areas. Although the ability to find
+ information is exploding, "Caveat Emptor" remains constant. For more
+ information on these services, check references [14,28] in the
+ Selected Bibliography.
+
+4.1 User Guidelines
+
+4.1.1. General guidelines
+
+ - Remember that all these services belong to someone else. The
+ people who pay the bills get to make the rules governing usage.
+ Information may be free - or it may not be! Be sure you check.
+
+ - If you have problems with any form of information service, start
+ problem solving by checking locally: Check file configurations,
+ software setup, network connections, etc. Do this before assuming
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 14]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ the problem is at the provider's end and/or is the provider's
+ fault.
+
+ - Although there are naming conventions for file-types used, don't
+ depend on these file naming conventions to be enforced. For
+ example, a ".doc" file is not always a Word file.
+
+ - Information services also use conventions, such as www.xyz.com.
+ While it is useful to know these conventions, again, don't
+ necessarily rely on them.
+
+ - Know how file names work on your own system.
+
+ - Be aware of conventions used for providing information during
+ sessions. FTP sites usually have files named README in a top
+ level directory which have information about the files available.
+ But, don't assume that these files are necessarily up-to-date
+ and/or accurate.
+
+ - Do NOT assume that ANY information you find is up-to-date and/or
+ accurate. Remember that new technologies allow just about anyone
+ to be a publisher, but not all people have discovered the
+ responsibilities which accompany publishing.
+
+ - Remember that unless you are sure that security and authentication
+ technology is in use, that any information you submit to a system
+ is being transmitted over the Internet "in the clear", with no
+ protection from "sniffers" or forgers.
+
+ - Since the Internet spans the globe, remember that Information
+ Services might reflect culture and life-style markedly different
+ from your own community. Materials you find offensive may
+ originate in a geography which finds them acceptable. Keep an open
+ mind.
+
+ - When wanting information from a popular server, be sure to use
+ a mirror server that's close if a list is provided.
+
+ - Do not use someone else's FTP site to deposit materials you
+ wish other people to pick up. This is called "dumping" and
+ is not generally acceptable behavior.
+
+ - When you have trouble with a site and ask for help, be sure to
+ provide as much information as possible in order to help
+ debug the problem.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 15]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - When bringing up your own information service, such as a homepage,
+ be sure to check with your local system administrator to find what
+ the local guidelines are in affect.
+
+ - Consider spreading out the system load on popular sites by
+ avoiding "rush hour" and logging in during off-peak times.
+
+4.1.2 Real Time Interactive Services Guidelines (MUDs MOOs IRC)
+
+ - As in other environments, it is wise to "listen" first to
+ get to know the culture of the group.
+
+ - It's not necessary to greet everyone on a channel or room
+ personally. Usually one "Hello" or the equivalent is enough.
+ Using the automation features of your client to greet people is
+ not acceptable behavior.
+
+ - Warn the participants if you intend to ship large quantities
+ of information. If all consent to receiving it, you may send,
+ but sending unwanted information without a warning is considered
+ bad form just as it is in mail.
+
+ - Don't assume that people who you don't know will want to talk to
+ you. If you feel compelled to send private messages to people you
+ don't know, then be willing to accept gracefully the fact that they
+ might be busy or simply not want to chat with you.
+
+ - Respect the guidelines of the group. Look for introductory
+ materials for the group. These may be on a related ftp site.
+
+ - Don't badger other users for personal information such as sex, age,
+ or location. After you have built an acquaintance with another user,
+ these questions may be more appropriate, but many people
+ hesitate to give this information to people with whom they are
+ not familiar.
+
+ - If a user is using a nickname alias or pseudonym, respect that
+ user's desire for anonymity. Even if you and that person are
+ close friends, it is more courteous to use his nickname. Do
+ not use that person's real name online without permission.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 16]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+4.2 Administrator Guidelines
+
+4.2.1 General Guidelines
+
+ - Make clear what's available for copying and what is not.
+
+ - Describe what's available on your site, and your organization.
+ Be sure any general policies are clear.
+
+ - Keep information, especially READMEs, up-to-date. Provide READMEs
+ in plain ascii text.
+
+ - Present a list of mirrors of your site if you know them. Make
+ sure you include a statement of copyright applicable to your
+ mirrors. List their update schedule if possible.
+
+ - Make sure that popular (and massive) information has the bandwidth
+ to support it.
+
+ - Use conventions for file extensions - .txt for ascii text; .html
+ or .htm for HTML; .ps for Postscript; .pdf for Portable Document
+ Format; .sgml or .sgm for SGML; .exe for non-Unix executables, etc.
+
+ - For files being transferred, try to make filenames unique in the
+ first eight characters.
+
+ - When providing information, make sure your site has something
+ unique to offer. Avoid bringing up an information service which
+ simply points to other services on the Internet.
+
+ - Don't point to other sites without asking first.
+
+ - Remember that setting up an information service is more than just
+ design and implementation. It's also maintenance.
+
+ - Make sure your posted materials are appropriate for the supporting
+ organization.
+
+ - Test applications with a variety of tools. Don't assume everything
+ works if you've tested with only one client. Also, assume the low
+ end of technology for clients and don't create applications which
+ can only be used by Graphical User Interfaces.
+
+ - Have a consistent view of your information. Make sure the look
+ and feel stays the same throughout your applications.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 17]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ - Be sensitive to the longevity of your information. Be sure to
+ date time-sensitive materials, and be vigilant about keeping
+ this information well maintained.
+
+ - Export restrictions vary from country to country. Be sure you
+ understand the implications of export restrictions when you post.
+
+ - Tell users what you plan to do with any information you collect,
+ such as WWW feedback. You need to warn people if you plan to
+ publish any of their statements, even passively by just making it
+ available to other users.
+
+ - Make sure your policy on user information services, such as
+ homepages, is well known.
+
+5.0 Selected Bibliography
+
+ This bibliography was used to gather most of the information in the
+ sections above as well as for general reference. Items not
+ specifically found in these works were gathered from the IETF-RUN
+ Working Group's experience.
+
+ [1] Angell, D., and B. Heslop, "The Elements of E-mail Style",
+ New York: Addison-Wesley, 1994.
+
+ [2] "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Usenet"
+ Original author: jerry@eagle.UUCP (Jerry Schwarz)
+ Maintained by: netannounce@deshaw.com (Mark Moraes)
+ Archive-name: usenet-faq/part1
+
+ [3] Cerf, V., "Guidelines for Conduct on and Use of
+ Internet", at: <URL://http://www.isoc.org/proceedings/
+ conduct/cerf-Aug-draft.html>
+
+ [4] Dern, D., "The Internet Guide for New Users", New York:
+ McGraw-Hill, 1994.
+
+ [5] "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette"
+ Original author: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
+ Maintained by: netannounce@deshaw.com (Mark Moraes)
+ Archive-name: emily-postnews/part1
+
+ [6] Gaffin, A., "Everybody's Guide to the Internet", Cambridge,
+ Mass., MIT Press, 1994.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 18]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ [7] "Guidelines for Responsible Use of the Internet"
+ from the US house of Representatives gopher, at:
+ <URL:gopher://gopher.house.gov:70/OF-1%3a208%3aInternet
+ %20Etiquette>
+
+ [8] How to find the right place to post (FAQ)
+ by buglady@bronze.lcs.mit.edu (Aliza R. Panitz)
+ Archive-name: finding-groups/general
+
+ [9] Hambridge, S., and J. Sedayao, "Horses and Barn Doors:
+ Evolution of Corporate Guidelines for Internet Usage",
+ LISA VII, Usenix, November 1-5, 1993, pp. 9-16.
+ <URL: ftp://ftp.intel.com/pub/papers/horses.ps or
+ horses.ascii>
+
+ [10] Heslop, B., and D. Angell, "The Instant Internet guide :
+ Hands-on Global Networking", Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley,
+ 1994.
+
+ [11] Horwitz, S., "Internet Etiquette Tips",
+ <ftp://ftp.temple.edu/pub/info/help-net/netiquette.infohn>
+
+ [12] Internet Activities Board, "Ethics and the Internet", RFC 1087,
+ IAB, January 1989. <URL: ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1087.txt>
+
+ [13] Kehoe, B., "Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's
+ Guide", Netiquette information is spread through the chapters
+ of this work. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ., Prentice-Hall,
+ 1994.
+
+ [14] Kochmer, J., "Internet Passport: NorthWestNet's Guide
+ to our World Online", 4th ed. Bellevue, Wash.,
+ NorthWestNet, Northwest Academic Computing Consortium, 1993.
+
+ [15] Krol, Ed, "The Whole Internet: User's Guide and
+ Catalog", Sebastopol, CA, O'Reilly & Associates,
+ 1992.
+
+ [16] Lane, E. and C. Summerhill, "Internet Primer for
+ Information Professionals: a basic guide to Internet networking
+ technology", Westport, CT, Meckler, 1993.
+
+ [17] LaQuey, T., and J. Ryer, "The Internet Companion",
+ Chapter 3 "Communicating with People", pp 41-74. Reading,
+ MA, Addison-Wesley, 1993.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 19]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ [18] Mandel, T., "Surfing the Wild Internet", SRI International
+ Business Intelligence Program, Scan No. 2109. March, 1993.
+ <URL: gopher://gopher.well.sf.ca.us:70/00/Communications/
+ surf-wild>
+
+ [19] Martin, J., "There's Gold in them thar Networks! or Searching for
+ Treasure in all the Wrong Places", FYI 10, RFC 1402,
+ January 1993. <URL: ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc1402.txt>
+
+ [20] Pioch, N., "A Short IRC Primer", Text conversion
+ by Owe Rasmussen. Edition 1.1b, February 28, 1993.
+ <URL: http://www.kei.com/irc/IRCprimer1.1.txt>
+
+ [21] Polly, J., "Surfing the Internet: an Introduction",
+ Version 2.0.3. Revised May 15, 1993.
+ <URL: gopher://nysernet.org:70/00/ftp%20archives/
+ pub/resources/guides/surfing.2.0.3.txt>
+ <URL: ftp://ftp.nysernet.org/pub/resources/guides/
+ surfing.2.0.3.txt>
+
+ [22] "A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community"
+ Original author: chuq@apple.com (Chuq Von Rospach)
+ Maintained by: netannounce@deshaw.com (Mark Moraes)
+ Archive-name: usenet-primer/part1
+
+ [23] Rinaldi, A., "The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette",
+ September 3, 1992.
+ <URL: http://www.fau.edu/rinaldi/net/index.htm>
+
+ [24] "Rules for posting to Usenet"
+ Original author: spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford)
+ Maintained by: netannounce@deshaw.com (Mark Moraes)
+ Archive-name: posting-rules/part1
+
+ [25] Shea, V., "Netiquette", San Francisco: Albion Books,
+ 1994?.
+
+ [26] Strangelove, M., with A. Bosley, "How to Advertise
+ on the Internet", ISSN 1201-0758.
+
+ [27] Tenant, R., "Internet Basics", ERIC Clearinghouse of Information
+ Resources, EDO-IR-92-7. September, 1992.
+ <URL: gopher://nic.merit.edu:7043/00/introducing.
+ the.internet/internet.basics.eric-digest>
+ <URL: gopher://vega.lib.ncsu.edu:70/00/library/
+ reference/guides/tennet>
+
+
+
+
+
+Hambridge Informational [Page 20]
+
+RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines October 1995
+
+
+ [28] Wiggins, R., "The Internet for everyone: a guide for
+ users and providers", New York, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
+
+6.0 Security Considerations
+
+ Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
+
+7.0 Author's Address
+
+ Sally Hambridge
+ Intel Corporation
+ 2880 Northwestern Parkway
+ SC3-15
+ Santa Clara, CA 95052
+
+ Phone: 408-765-2931
+ Fax: 408-765-3679
+ EMail: sallyh@ludwig.sc.intel.com
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
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+Hambridge Informational [Page 21]
+