After reading "The Core Rules of Netiquette" I gave a bit of thought about the first rule – "Remember the human." A rule that should be common sense yet so many people online don't know about it or tend to ignore it.
What I noticed about myself is that at some point, around two years ago, I stopped thinking about other online users as "just ASCII characters on a screen." That was when my real communication with online users started. I often find myself thinking about what that person was thinking or feeling when they sent the message. The same goes to when I send messages too. Thinking about how to phrase a message so my chatting partner doesn't misinterpret it is very important. In my opinion it makes communication feel much more alive if both sides realize they are indeed talking with another human being. This small step really brings up the quality of online interactions. At least for me it feels like it.
What might come as a shock is the realization that you are interacting with a real human being on the other side of the planet. Just the thought that I can freely exchange my opinions, knowledge and/or experience with someone far far away from me still surprises me.
However, I must say that no matter how many people become aware of this Netiquette rule, there are still going to be people who will ignore it. And from my experience the interaction with people like that may be somewhat informative, it usually tends to be dull or plain unpleasant.
Source:
Virginia Shea, Netiquette
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