Webiquette, Netiquette, and Cyberetiquette

The terms Webiquette, Netiquette, and Cyberetiquette all refer to a standard of conduct while on the Internet. We must all learn to drive together safely and respectfully on the electronic highway, and the rules of the road must be followed to ensure safe travel. Generally stated, standards and ethical principles that apply outside the Internet can be followed and practiced by every Internet user.

As a basic start, the following practices should be avoided:

Cybersquatting - the practice of deliberately registering the domain name that is the trademark of another. This is not the same as someone that registers a domain name that is later adopted by a party and purchases the domain name for a large sum. A cybersquatter takes the domain name and tries to extort money from the trademark owner that was too slow to register the name themselves.

Hijacking - a practice similar to cybersquatter and equally pernicious. The hijacker takes the domain name that is the trademark of another, usually a competitor, and prevents that party from getting the name. For example, WMUR registered WNDS.COM, preventing WNDS from using it.

Framing – this refers to placing a frame around someone else’s webpages that contains your banners and advertising.

Deep-linking – a normal link goes to the homepage of the website, whereas a deeplink goes to some webpage embedded in the site. These deeplinked sites may not have the owners name on the inner page or the link may bypass some important agreements and licenses. Normally, linking should go to homepage, and it is recommended to ask permission for most links.

Copying – copying artwork, images, text, and software from another website without authorization is generally a violation of the owners copyright. Whether the owner posts a copyright notice or not, it is their work. If you want to copy something from another site, ask permission and give proper attribution. Otherwise, do your own work.

Spamming – Spam is unsolicited email advertising or “junk email.” The act of spamming is the emailing of spam to each email address indicated on a list of potential customers. In addition to wasting people’s time with such generally unwanted email, spam also uses extensive internet bandwidth that could otherwise be available for more important matters (which is just about anything other than spam). At this time, there is really little that can be done to prevent spam. However, anti-spam filters can be employed with some degree of success. In addition, some service providers have adopted policies and mechanisms to prevent the spamming of their subscribers.

While there are numerous other offenses occurring on the Internet, this should be a good start. Individuals should strive to be more courteous and sensitive to their fellow web-clickers. Businesses should compete fairly both on and off the Internet and present a professional presence. So, let’s all start a Webolution and clean-up the Internet. There will be far fewer accidents and dents if all just follow some simple rules of the road.