In 2004 the Australian Flexible Learning Community began a public online group, "Getting Started in Flexible Learning" which was moderated by Judy Fawcett and targeted especially for practitioners who were new to flexible learning and wished to engage in a process of guided discovery. This article is drawn from the discussions that took place in the group between February and November. Many thanks to all who participated.

The term "Netiquette" simply means the manners that we use when we are communicating online with other people. In a similar way that we establish a certain rapport with our colleagues and class mates at work or in an educational setting we need to establish a standard of communicating online that fosters an harmonious and friendly tone. Netiquette establishes an online standard of politeness that ensures our online communications are a positive experience for those with whom we communicate.

The following are some Common Netiquette Practices:

• Do NOT write in capital letters. It is considered SHOUTING!
  
• Read your message carefully before sending it. Avoid spelling and capitalization errors, uncommon words, incomplete thoughts, etc.
  
• Be brief and concise.
  
• Be polite and keep in mind the diversity in culture and background of the receiver of the message.
  
• Avoid the use of slang that only a few persons may understand.
  
• Avoid jokes that not everyone can understand.
  
• Use colour and font style to give emphasis to words.
  
• If you reply to a question or comment on a message, include the relevant portions of the original text. In Discussions you can use the "Reply with Quote" option in the Message.
  
• Use the subject line to identify the topic of your message.
  
• If you refer to information or quote text directly from a book, magazine or URL, cite the references and sources.
  
• If you serve as a discussion moderator or facilitator, be gentle, write clear questions, and give feedback promptly to the participants.
  
• Be patient and read before you type. You do not want to be commenting on a topic the discussion has moved away from.
  
• Avoid being critical of messages that others have posted in Discussions or in Chat.

Further reading:
Netiquette and Chatiquette - developed in 2002 by the LearnScope NSW Teaching Counselling Online team, based at Relationships Australia. This resource will provide you with a list of pointers on how to interact online using "netiquette" and "chatiquette". Using these guidelines will help you become more effective in your communications online.

Another very useful website explaining emoticons can be found at: www.muller-godschalk.com/emoticon.html