Tag Archives: netiquette

Consider these questions as you review the examples below. Try the quiz from the left menu: What Have You Learned? after you’ve spent some time with this section.

UBC offers hundreds of online courses using Web CT Connect.  These may be fully or partially online. Fully online courses are most often offered through distance education programs and are generally considered closed systems since they offer students the protection of only sharing their work with other registered students and the professor.

Depending on your learning preference, online learning can be an ideal way to interact with content, classmates and professors.  View the following video and list of pros and cons to decide if you think interacting and discussing in an online environment is a good option, and if online courses are right for you.

Video produced by: Mark Fullmer, posted by markobooko

Pros and Cons to Online Courses:

	Pro	Con
Convenience	when you want, where you want	requires excellent time management skills
Control	learn at your pace, skip what you know, explore what you want to know	be honest with yourself about what you do and do not know
Connection	dynamic content and interactive feedback from instructor and diverse, widespread peers	no face to face contact and requires regular online participation to benefit from communication
Cost	save money on travel, parking, maybe even food
Commitment	enhance personal growth, commitment and technological skill set

from OnlineCourses.org.

If you are thinking about learning online, check out some of UBC’s resources from the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology. And on UBC’s Learning Commons to help you make an informed decision.

• Is Online Learning Right for me?: a short survey.
• 8 Things to Get a Handle On: Online Learner Competencies
• Communicating Online
• UBC Office of Learning Technology. Distance Learning. Student Profiles.

• UBC restricts access to WebCT Connect to paying students registered in particular classes.  Even in a closed system, it is wise to carefully consider what information you want to share before posting or mailing within the course.  Ask yourself whether what you’re writing is something you would choose to share with the group in a classroom setting.
• Proofread! UBC advises students to “watch typos and grammatical mistakes, especially when writing to your instructor, but also pay attention to phrasing and try to anticipate whether something you’ve written could potentially be misconstrued. Without verbal cues, sometimes email messages come across differently than the sender had intended, so be sure to reread before sending your first draft”.
• Be aware that when you publish your work within these systems, content is deleted after a period of time, so it can be difficult to access your work at a later date.  Always save important postings or documents in another place or format just to be sure.

Consider these questions as you review the examples below. Try the quiz from the left menu: What Have You Learned? after you’ve spent some time with this section.

“In the US, a 2009 survey found that 1 in 5 young adults had sent online nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves and 39% said they had sent or posted sexually suggestive messages” (National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy). View the following short video.

Video created on Youtube by GiveItaPonder.com

On the other hand, texting can serve as a critical means for the dissemination of important information to a large number of people in widespread locations. For example, text messaging and the use of cell phones and other hand-held devices have been used as life-saving tools:

• for HIV & AIDS education in South Africa, for example. (See aidsmap.com for more information).
• to fundraise for victims of Haiti’s earthquake. (See ‘Red Cross Raises $5,000,000+ for Haiti Through Text Campaign‘)

• “You should ponder the consequences of every text just as you might think before telling a parrot all of your secrets” (Ponderbeard tweets).
• Your text message or photo is one click away from being forwarded to another person’s entire contact list and so on and so forth… Consider what you want to pass on. Practice constructing messages you do want everyone to see.
• “Sexting becomes a legal issue when teens (under 18) are involved because any nude photos they may send of themselves would put the recipients in possession of child pornography” (wikipedia). This included apps like Vine and Snapchat.
• You are probably already a pro at networking – at least in a casual, social way. As you move forward in your academic and professional lives, it is a good idea to think about how you can hone these skills for a different audience and purpose.

“It’s critical to shift into a professional networking mode when your career is the issue at hand. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Every professional networking contact, electronic or face-to-face, needs to be carefully crafted, planned, or practiced” (boston.com).

Consider these questions as you review the example below.

Don’t forget to try the quiz from the left menu, “What Have You Learned?”, after you’ve spent some time with this section.

Libel is defined as any published, false statement that is damaging to an identifiable person’s reputation. The topic of libel within social networking, particularly on Facebook and now Twitter, has recently become a buzzworthy topic as precedent for such matters is now being set under current law.

In a recent case, well-known Irish businessman, Declan Ganley (@declanganley), and his media lawyer, Paul Tweed (@Paul_Tweed), set a precedent for legal proceedings regarding defamation and libel on social sites, including Twitter and Facebook. Ganley and Tweed reached a settlement with blogger Kevin Barrington (@kevbarring) over defamatory tweets he published in December 2012, proving that social media outlets are no different from print media or any other mediums when it comes to defamation and libel laws.

According to Paula Mullooly of Simon McAleese Solicitors, “Twitter is no different to anybody else defaming another person. It is no different to writing a letter, saying something on television, on radio. [...] All defamation requires is that you publish to one other person — any kind of communication.”

For his defamatory comments, Barrington was forced to make a public apology to Ganley, as well as make a “substantial” donation to the Poor Clare’s, a charity of Ganley’s choice.

You are liable for everything that you post online — from tweets and mentions, to personal blog posts and updates, you are accountable for what you publish. The same defamation laws that apply to print media, such as newspapers and magazines, also apply to all social media sites and other mediums.

However, it is permissible to say negative things provided they fall into one of the following three defenses:

• Defense of truth: If a negative statement is found to be true then it is not libel.
• Public interest: If an intrusion of privacy or libel is found, but the published material is found to be in the public interest, then it may be considered not libelous.
• Fair comment: Rooted in the idea that a well functioning democracy is one that allows for the holding of sincere opinions in opposition, the courts allow libelous material to be published if the defendant can prove that a ‘reasonable’ person could hold the same view and that the belief is sincerely held.

Note: If malice or personal grudge is found to be a motivating factor in publishing a negative statement, you have no defense. Additionally, comments made about public figures are more easily protected under these defenses than are those against private citizens.

Consider these questions as you review the examples below. Try the quiz from the left menu: What Have You Learned? after you’ve spent some time with this section.

In the modern world of tweets, texts and Skypes, chat rooms are rapidly disappearing. While the days of A/S/L has long passed, people are communicating online more than ever before. A key to successful online communication is remembering that it’s not too different from offline communication. It has been argued that online etiquette is more important than offline etiquette, as your conversations create lasting records.
Here are a few examples of when conversing online may affect your digital identity.

• Using forums for online courses
• Online dating
• GChat
• Facebook groups
• Comments treads
• All forms of Social Media

Many people enjoy having discussions on online forums. Here users create user name and interact with others who are interested in the same topic, video or article. It is important to remember that you are never anonymous as you might believe. Doxxing is on the rise and trolls are getting publicly outed. A good rule for online forums is to not say anything you wouldn’t want your name attached to. Sadly, this doesn’t stop some trolls who have no problem spreading hate, even if what they post is attached to their name and real world identity.

Forums are a great place to ask questions or give advice to others, and it’s common to develop a true sense of community among regular users. Most forums are moderated by their members to ensure that users are following the rules. However, some forums are better moderated than others, and you might come across conversations that are offensive, unproductive or just plain off-topic – you might want to “lurk” on a few forums before taking the plunge and joining.

Remember that it can be hard to get subtle meaning across in typed conversations. Make yourself clear and use emoticons to convey what you mean and beware of capitals!

Consider these questions as you review the examples below. Try the quiz from the left menu: What Have You Learned? after you’ve spent some time with this section.

In early 2013, an employee of KFC was fired after her employers came across a photo of her licking mashed potatoes on social media. Although the employee argued that the picture was taken after the restaurant was closed and the potatoes were never served to a customer, KFC executives took her postings seriously and fired her.

 

No job is perfect, and the first few jobs you get might actually be awful! Regardless, be careful with whom you talk about your job. Communicating online often means that the material is read by more people than just the intended recipients.

• For example, if some of your co-workers are Facebook friends, they will be able to read your Wall posts, group discussion postings or status updates. What will they think when they see comments about your job, your workplace, and them?
• Similarly, if you have been given a company email address or use a company computer, your coworkers and bosses might have access to information that was created using their technology. Some companies have clear privacy and confidentiality policies and some do not. Keep your personal correspondence separate from your work: use a different email address for each, and don’t mix them up!