There is a growing concern by users of communication technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones that lack of etiquette and common rules for exchanging information will discourage many from utilising these great innovations that are bringing people together and creating new business opportunities worldwide.
There is nothing as annoying as a disruptive pop up of a political advert on your computer screen while you are typing your email or doing some other serious business. If unchecked, unsolicited text messages from politicians seeking votes will soon become the order of the day.
There was a time when we had become a notoriously "flashing community". Some people developed a culture of provoking others to call them by flashing their mobile phones. This is what made the mobile phone operator Safaricom introduce the more respectful "please call me" flash back buzz, which serves the same purpose anyway.
THE NEED TO MAKE PEOPLE SOCI-ally responsible when using technology has led some professionals to come up with the term "netiquette", which means etiquette over the Net.
I remember the first day I saw the Internet. A friend who had just managed to connect on a slow dial up (internet via phone line) could not hide his excitement as he showed me "things of this world". In satisfying my curiosity for technology, I found myself starring at some awful sex site. For a long time thereafter I believed that the Internet was all about indecency. It took great convincing from another friend, a civilised friend, to take me back to the world of email, e-learning, e-commerce, e-ticketing and a whole host of other vital resources on the World Wide Web.
Like everyone else who survived the first internet tutor, I am beginning to wonder how I managed without Internet now that every aspect of modern living revolves around this network of networks.
The newcomers to the social space that is not physical - the cyberspace, are called "newbies". It is important that someone treats them to a fulfilling experience on their maiden logging in.
The Internet is about trust among people who may not have met physically and who may never meet. Some have formed popular discussion forums called electronic newsgroups, where issues of common interest are discussed in threads of postings by members who are expected to observe certain norms.
One such group is the Kenya ICT Network, (KICTANet, www.kictanet.or .ke), a local online forum where people in the field of Information and Communication Technology share ideas on issues of profound relevance to their profession such as the recent controversial Media Bill.
In such a forum, it is not uncommon for "newbies" to reply to a posting from someone he or she knows in the group in some personal way, without realising that the message is going out to everyone in the mailing list! When such a mistake occurs, the remedial "netiquette" step to follow would be a humble apology: "sorry for cross posting".
Whether you are sending an SMS text message or an email, it is always advisable to think twice before hitting the "send" tab or button to make sure that you are sending the message to the correct person(s).
In digital communication, we also have chat forums (or chat rooms). Most of them have "moderators" to ensure that order and decorum are maintained during discussions. But "universal civilisation", especially among people who are communicating outside the physical contact, is lacking.
Some users will flout the rules by advertising their businesses or use foul language during online debate. Even the use of capital letters to underscore a point is an unkind gesture in the virtual world. It means you are annoyed and screaming.
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