Since it's introduction in August of 1988, IRC (Internet Relay Chat) has grown to be one of the fastest and largest means to communicate in real-time. In it's early stages the means of communication was restricted to the Microsoft Windows based Telnet. This proved not only to be frustrating, but at the same, time-consuming having to type out lines and lines just to get a simple "hello" across to your newly found friend. In spite of the constant constrictions and barriers, IRC, in later years strived to become easier and more user-friendly. Along those lines, the IRC community developed "IRC Clients." The first of these "clients" was mIRC developed by Khaled Mardam Bey. Later on, more and more clients were developed, pIRCh, vIRC, XiRCON and BitchX to name a few. As the popularity of IRC grew more and more, the concept of etiquette grew a strong concern. Why does IRC need etiquette? IRC, to a vast majority is regarded as the best thing to being there with your friends and to make new friends, without travelling via bus, car, boat or airplane. Below, you will find the "Ten Commandments" of IRC Etiquette, known as "Netiquette."

Rule 1: Remember the human.
The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: "Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you." Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings.

In cyberspace, we state this in an even more basic manner 'Remember the human.'

When you're holding a conversation online -- whether it's an email exchange or a response to a discussion group posting -- it's easy to misinterpret your correspondent's meaning. And it's frighteningly easy to forget that your correspondent is a person with feelings more or less like your own.

Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.
In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we're afraid of getting caught. In cyberspace, the chances of getting caught sometimes seem slim. And, perhaps because people sometimes forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer, some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.

The confusion may be understandable, but these people are mistaken. Standards of behavior may be different in some areas of cyberspace, but they are not lower than in real life.

Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace.
What's perfectly acceptable in one area may be dreadfully rude in another. For example, in most TV discussion groups, passing on idle gossip is perfectly permissible. But throwing around unsubstantiated rumors in a journalists' mailing list will make you very unpopular there.

And because etiquette is different in different places, it's important to know where you are. Thus the next corollary.

Lurk before you leap.

When you enter a domain of cyberspace that's new to you, take a look around. Spend a while listening to the chat. Get a sense of how the people who are already there act. Then go ahead and participate.

Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth.
It's a cliche that people today seem to have less time than ever before, even though (or perhaps because) we sleep less and have more labor-saving devices than our grandparents did.

The word "bandwidth" is sometimes used synonymously with time, but it's really a different thing. Bandwidth is the information-carrying capacity of the wires and channels that connect everyone in cyberspace. There's a limit to the amount of data that any piece of wiring can carry at any given moment -- even a state-of-the-art fiber-optic cable. The word "bandwidth" is also sometimes used to refer to the storage capacity of a host system. When you accidentally post the same note to the same newsgroup five times, you are wasting both time (of the people who check all five copies of the posting) and bandwidth (by sending repetitive information over the wires and requiring it to be stored somewhere.)

You are not the center of cyberspace.

Presumably, this reminder will be superfluous to most readers. But I include it anyway, because when you're working hard on a project and deeply involved in it, it's easy to forget that other people have concerns other than yours. So don't expect instant responses to all your questions, and don't assume that all readers will agree with -- or care about -- your passionate arguments.

Rule 5: Make yourself look good online.
Take advantage of your anonymity.

As in the world at large, most people who communicate online just want to be liked. Networks -- particularly discussion groups -- let you reach out to people you'd otherwise never meet. And none of them can see you. You won't be judged by the color of your skin, eyes, or hair, your weight, your age, or your clothing.

You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing. For most people who choose to communicate online, this is an advantage; if they didn't enjoy using the written word, they wouldn't be there. So spelling and grammar do count.

If you're spending a lot of time on the net and you're shaky in these areas, it's worth brushing up on them. There are plenty of books available, but you'll learn more -- and possibly have more fun -- if you take a course. If you're an older adult, you don't have to take a "bonehead grammar" course with a bunch of bored teenagers. Instead, look for courses on proofreading and copy editing; they usually cover the basic rules of grammar pretty thoroughly, and they'll be filled with motivated students who are there because they want to be.

Know what you're talking about and make sense.

Pay attention to the content of your writing. Be sure you know what you're talking about -- when you see yourself writing "it's my understanding that" or "I believe it's the case," ask yourself whether you really want to post this note before checking your facts. Bad information propagates like wildfire on the net. And once it's been through two or three iterations, you get the same distortion effect as in the party game "Operator" Whatever you originally said may be unrecognizable. (Of course, you could take this as a reason not to worry about the accuracy of your postings. But you're only responsible for what you post yourself, not for what anyone else does with it.)

In addition, make sure your notes are clear and logical. It's perfectly possible to write a paragraph that contains no errors in grammar or spelling, but still makes no sense whatsoever. This is most likely to happen when you're trying to impress someone by using a lot of long words that you don't really understand yourself. Trust me -- no one worth impressing will be impressed. It's better to keep it simple.

Finally, be pleasant and polite. Don't use offensive language, and don't be confrontational for the sake of confrontation.

Rule 6: Share expert knowledge.
Finally, after all that negativity, some positive advice.

The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum total of world knowledge increases. The Internet itself was founded and grew because scientists wanted to share information. Gradually, the rest of us got in on the act.

So do your part. Despite the long lists of no-no's in this book, you do have something to offer. Don't be afraid to share what you know.

Sharing your knowledge is fun. It's a long-time net tradition. And it makes the world a better place.

Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control.
"Flaming" is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion. It's the kind of message that makes people respond, "Oh come on, tell us how you really feel." Tact is not its objective.

Does Netiquette forbid flaming? Not at all. Flaming is a long-standing network tradition (and Netiquette never messes with tradition). Flames can be lots of fun, both to write and to read. And the recipients of flames sometimes deserve the heat.

But Netiquette does forbid the perpetuation of flame wars -- series of angry letters, most of them from two or three people directed toward each other, that can dominate the tone and destroy the camaraderie of a discussion group. It's unfair to the other members of the group. And while flame wars can initially be amusing, they get boring very quickly to people who aren't involved in them. They're an unfair monopolization of bandwidth.

Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy.
Of course, you'd never dream of going through your colleagues' desk drawers. So naturally you wouldn't read their email either.

Rule 9: Don't abuse your power.
Some people in cyberspace have more power than others. There are wizards in MUDs (multi-user dungeons), experts in every office, and system administrators in every system.

Knowing more than others, or having more power than they do, does not give you the right to take advantage of them.

Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes.
Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake -- whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer -- be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else.

If you do decide to inform someone of a mistake, point it out politely, and preferably by private email rather than in public. Give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they just don't know any better. And never be arrogant or self-righteous about it. Just as it's a law of nature that spelling flames always contain spelling errors, notes pointing out Netiquette violations are often examples of poor Netiquette.

The "Ten Commandments" is a good reference to have when you are on IRC, remember them and most of all, use them as your guide when you're online. Have fun!

Written by Brian J. DeHavilland "m0rphine" (IRC Operator, Copenhagen.DK.EU.ChatNet.Org)
Credits "Netiquette" excerpt by Virginia Shea. (Modified).