A refreshment course in netiquette rules

                It seems to me that people all over the internet are forgetting their etiquette rules on the internet or netiquette rules for short. They’re being rude without realizing it, posting stuff that’s not made for innocent young children. They’re using improper grammar which kind of pisses me off and other people as well, I’m guessing. And that can result in a lot of hurt and possible harm and if it’s serious enough possible a large fine and jail.

                So after reading this article from buzzle.com, for an assignment (since I wouldn’t have found it on my own), I decided to show you the ten netiquette rules. That is in a way like the Ten Commandments only for the internet.

Article source – http://www.buzzle.com/articles/netiquette-rules.html

1. Humane and Respectful Treatment – We’re all connected seeing each other face to face or in this case screen to screen. And sure that they’re not right here next to us (though it kind of does feel like it) it doesn’t mean they don't have feelings. So before you post anything, think, “Will this offend people if I post this?” Even if you’re arguing with a person, respect their feelings. Don’t try to make them [even more] angry. And don’t forget the golden rule – treat people as how you would want to be treated.
2. Plagiarism and Copyright Issues – Did you know that you can get kicked out of college or get suspended in school for plagiarism? It’s that serious, so if you’re caught doing these… I would recommend leaning how to turn your thoughts into words then apply that to school. In other words, learn how to write in your own words because it’s illegal to take someone else’s work and saying that it is your own. That includes pictures as well especially if you’re using a picture that’s going to be published to the world. Don’t just take it and say that it is your own because you can get in major trouble with the law if you do that. Ask permission from them first and if they say yes then use it. If it’s an article then cite where you got it from use this site to help you cite it. Your teachers will appreciate it and you won’t be doing something illegal along the way.
3. Flaming –Flaming in other words is verbal abuse. It can hurt like physical abuse only so much worse because it can get psychologically inside of you. So if you’re angry with someone don’t be mean and hurt him or her, instead take a deep breath and try to take it in a nicer way. However if you’re unable to do that I recommend to let it drop and do something relaxing then get back to it with a calmer mind. If not and you post your mean post then congrats and say hi to your new enemy(ies) for me. And don’t forget to tell me if it works out in the end.
4. Writing Style – THIS DOESN’T LOOK SO NICE DOES IT? and this looks plain tiring. Your writing style is important because it can determine who you are. IF YOU WRITE LIKE THIS, it sounds like you’re angry or very, very excited all the time. It hurts the eyes and it sounds like you’re shouting. It can be considered offensive with some people and for others it will cause them a headache. So DON’T DO THIS ALL THE TIME, instead do it when you have great news to tell. And don’t do it if you’re angry with people it can be quite mean and hurt them. Also, don’t write in lowercase all the time (not unless you’re the type of person that doesn’t like capital letters) because it sounds like you’re lazy and don’t like the shift button. Even though it’s right there very close to your pinky finger. So write as if you’re writing to your English teacher with both lower case and capital letters and no shouting. Your English grade is going to depend on it and probably your social circle on the internet.
5. Check Grammar and Spelling – Lol I’m so QL f I wrt lk thus. (Translate here). Wrong it makes you sound like an idiot that has an F in English class right now. It’s very important that you display proper spelling and grammar because more people will take you seriously and take your life farther than people who text talk. If you don’t use proper grammar and spelling then it can piss a lot of people off and give them a headache. And they don’t need that, especially if they already have a lot on their plate already. Also, did you know that your grammar and spelling can tell another person how smart you are? It’s true. So in order to sound smart look smart with your writing meaning absolutely no text talk (not unless you’re on a phone or iPod that doesn’t really have an actual keyboard [small slide phone keyboards as well as touch screen keyboards with the letters a-z counts as an actual keyboard in my view). And capitalize the first letter of your sentence and other grammar rules that I don’t really remember yet know in a way. There’s a reason why English class is there guys. Also I would recommend writing something on Microsoft word (or some other place that has grammar check), then spell and grammar check it, then copying it and posting it on the internet. It will make you sound smarter and easier to understand and it won’t annoy people. And if you see someone use a grammar and/or spelling mistake please don’t explode on them, remember the other rules? Use a respectful approach and politely tell them. They’ll appreciate it a lot better.
6. Honesty – If there wasn’t any honesty, imagine how high the crimes would go up. Then there’s the distrust that’s surely to come and most likely less people going on the internet less. Sure, a lot of people have fake emails, fake identities, profiles, etc on the internet. It’s probably used to get revenge on a person to meet new people, etc. That’s where the trouble comes people doing that all in good intention (most likely to get sex) but why lie? It’s illegal to cheat and lie to people (not unless you’re a police officer trying to catch the people doing it. This reminds me, has a police officer disguised as a fifteen-year-old girl ever met a sixteen-year-old guy that’s actually another police officer in disguise?)
7. Abide to the Rules – Take a quick look at the agreement thing that no one really reads. There may be important rules that can help you stay on the site. And also try to follow the rules because they can save probably save your butt one day.
8. Respect Privacy – Hacking into someone’s email/blog/tumblr/twitter/facebook/whatever account is by law illegal. Everyone has his or her own right to privacy and his or her passwords is like cancer in a way. It can’t be passed onto anybody except through genetics or bad nutrition (ask my older sister for more info on that) which is bad because they can use your password and do so much worse. Possibly making you feel scared knowing your privacy has been invaded.
9. Research Well – The internet is like a fantasy world. Where everything you ever thought was true is in fact untrue. In other words, not everything on the internet is true so check your facts. Does the page look legit? Does it have sources? Do the facts sound smart and yet still make sense? If it is then it’s most likely true.
10. Avoid Publishing Adult Content – Not everything is for adults trying to get horny. There are young innocent kids that aren’t ready to turn dirty-minded yet. Sure you may know how to look at something inappropriate without getting caught but that young child can probably find it if they click on the right things. So in order for there to be less inappropriateness on the internet is to have people not post inappropriate things on the internet. It can harm your safety if you do that, plus you can get a penalty if you do post something inappropriate on the internet.

Well that’s the ten rules that everyone should follow, because if you don’t consequences and harm will surely follow. As well as anger, lots and lots of anger. So please try to follow most of them if not all of them it will benefit you and others and gain you lots of friends. So have an amazing day and remember the netiquette rules.

Sincerely,

 

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And here's the rest of the tips

I don't have much to do, so why not post up the rest of the tips from Sparklife?

5. Get Rhino Tough
You’re ugly. You look like a spastic puppet when you run. Your hair is dumb and you smell like sandwiches.

If you are shedding a tear after reading that, you are not ready to be a writer. Writers must build up a tolerance to negative comments and rejection or else they will implode. Never take it personally. (I enjoy negative comments, but I’m also crazy.)

6. Write every day. 
There’s no trick to this. Just do it. Every day. Even Christmas.

7. Ask for advice.
Send emails to the places you’d like to work and DON’T ask for a job. Instead, ask for advice. Editors are hounded by writers looking for work, and they tend to ignore the requests, but requests for advice are different. These requests will get their attention, and they are likely to respond. You won’t instantly get a job by doing this, but you will get valuable information about the specific type of writing job that interests you. Bonus tips: Keep the email short! Three sentences are all you get. And don’t you dare try to be funny, because it will always come across as desperate and sad. Be sincere and professional.

8. Be humble.
In New York City, there are 8 million people, and 8.5 million writers. You are not special. Your precious words are not made of treasured silk and whispers. So many writers think they have finally found the best way to say, “Love is strange,” and act as if we should all be thankful that their words exist. PUH-leeeze! You will have plenty of time to build a crazy ego once you’ve been published and are a millionaire. Until then, stop acting like tool box and take off that scarf! It's summer!

9. Be happy! 
Do you know Kim Schifino, the drummer of the band Matt and Kim? Watch her drum. She is the happiest drummer of all time. She’s played these songs countless times and yet she’s still having fun. This is how you should feel about writing. When you sit at the keyboard, that same smile should appear on your face. If you don’t feel this enthusiastic, quit and become a chimney sweep.

10. Read this book. 
There are 7,000,003 books out there about writing. You only need this one:

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King

11. Wear less purple.

This is our favorite group of words ever published on the internet. That is all.


XD The last one is so random

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Some writing tips

I can give you a million websites, that has a bunch of writing tips. All going to say the same thing in their own weird little way. But I found this is pretty good, it's from SparkLife, and I find it helpful. Well  here are some of the tips.
The rest of the tips are right here if you were wondering.

1. Do not follow any rules. 
There is no correct way to enter the writing world. Ask ten different writers how they got started, and you’ll get ten different responses. Some may have gone to journalism school, but most have not. I took only two or three writing courses at school, including Business Writing and the mandatory and utterly horrible Composition 101. And yet, without any experience or even a writing degree, at the end of my senior year I was offered a freelance gig at a national magazine with a circulation of 1.2 million. A year later, I was hired as an associate editor. No one told me how to do it. I just sent out silly writing samples that took me a few days to write. Meanwhile, my friends who all slaved away at writing workshops and literature camp hated me because I was getting paid to write despite the fact that I had never used a semicolon correctly. (I use them to replace the letter O. Is that wr;ng?)

2. Go to college.
Contrary to my last statement, college is important. Few, if any, media outlets will even look at writing clips from someone who has only a high school degree. Go to college. But…

3. Major in anything you dang well want to.
I never studied creative writing. You can major in anything and still become a writer. I majored in broadcasting. A writing degree may help, but I wouldn’t recommend it. And my reasons are three.

A. A good editor will identify talent regardless of your education background.
B. Some (not all) writing courses are detrimental to young writers because they are taught by angry, out-of-touch, lifelong losers. No one taught me how to write funny articles. If I handed my stories to an English professor, she would rip them to shreds and shout, “The semicolon is not an O!” And yet, here I am getting paid for my words. Weird, right? [Waves to all angry English teachers in the world.]
C. A book of poetry written by an English major? Yawn. A book of poetry written by a physical education major? Well, now I’m interested.

4. Read everything.
This is a no-brainer, but let me stress the importance of reading a wide variety of books. Sticking with one genre or one author is not allowed! You must branch out. Read the weirdest, stupidest, and worst books you can find. Much can be learned by reading ridiculous literature. To help find dumb books, play Dan’s Used Book Game.

Step One: Visit a used book store with your friends.
Step Two: Each person finds a bizarre and goofy book on the shelves. Use pre-set rules, such as, “The book cover must be green and feature a wolf.”
Step Three: Buy the books.
Step Four: Stand in a circle outside the store. Make everyone trades books by handing the book to the person on their left. That person MUST read the book handed to him, or else he loses.
Step Five: Laugh and eat cheese fries.
Step Six: Write up hilarious book reports to prove that you’ve read the book. You can also set up point values for things you find in the books. (Like murmurs.)

This is a fun game, and I guarantee you will learn more about writing by reading awful books than you will by reading War and Peace eight times.

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Dots! .........

Okay the title was totally random, but no it didn't have to do with anything with dots. I'm a bit/ possibly a lot hyper. All day my siblings and I just went to five random places, and we mostly had sugary foods. Cotton candy, fried mini doughnuts, fondue, and of course ice cream. And no we didn't have dibs. Okay, I think I remembered for what I wanted to say. Sorry for the lack of posts this past week (and really dancing on the conveyor belt thing at the supermarket? [Sorry again, there was something random on the T.V]) I had school, and homework, mostly math. Which I don't like :/
And on Friday I mostly took a three hour nap to make up for my lack of sleep, and writing on my novel, which I hadn't had the chance to do in a while. Something random, was when we were checking out the jewelry at the art festival, I saw a couple of turquoise necklaces, and I swear my MC Beth from Immortality Doesn't Exist, started to freak out. It almost felt like she was going to jump out of my head and just take it. What is it with her and the color turquoise, I shall never know ;)
Well enough of my day, what about yours? Go ahead and comment on it.
And here's a picture on the 12 1/2 writing rules, which I'm sure you may have seen before.

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Great rules of writing

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.
~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"


 
Ps very ironic isn't it :P

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