Chat Etiquette / Chat Protocol

I - INTRODUCTION

The 'chat' environment on the World Wide Web has allowed us a new means of communication worldwide, with many cultures meeting in a new environment, to create a new 'virtual' world community. As in any community, there are norms that are the basic guidelines for behaviour and interaction. While many of those norms are defined as rules and laws in the real world, there is no way to create and enforce rules and laws in the virtual world. Other rules of all societies, called residual rules, also exist in virtual communities, although these will not be dessiminated as easily to newcomers, and vary from group to group, chat environment to chat environment.
The constraints of web etiquette and web protocol are based on an honor system, passed, for the most part, by word of mouth and example, from old timers to 'newbies'. This system of determining how we interact with each other in this brave new world has a language and style of it's own. A means of text communication that is better suited to the virtual environment than how we communicate in an auditory or visual environment. A language that includes replacing our unseen body language with text expressions, and common sentences or phrases with alphabetic acronyms.
So how does one learn how to interact in this new society and understand, as well as be understood? How does one learn all the nuances that are not written, and how to express the unseen motions and emotions? What rules of polite interaction from real life apply in the virtual community? These are questions this orientation is designed to address. So, without further philosophical ado, let's begin!

II - ACRONYMS
Following is a list of commonly used acronyms in conversations in the virtual environment. These are case sensitive, even if they mean the same thing whether they are upper or lower case. Anything in all upper case is considered to be shouting, or a more adamant or urgent expression of the phrase.

btw = by the way
BTW = by the way, spoken in a more sarcastic tone, or loudly, to get someone's attention
imho = In my humble opinion
IMHO = More pompous version of In my humble opinion
lol = Laughing out loud
LOL = Same as lol but heartier
brb or BRB = Be right back
kotc = kiss on the cheek
rotfl = rolling on the floor, laughing
ROTFL = rolling on the floor, laughing, but more exhuberently
rotflhms or ROTFLHMS = rolling on the floor, laughing, holding my sides
more or MORE = the post you are reading is only part of a thought and more is coming next post
wysiwyg or WYSIWYG = what you see is what you get
gigo or GIGO = garbage in, garbage out
ttfn or TTFN = ta ta for now
ttyl or TTYL = talk to you later
lp or LP = last post
lpfn or LPFN = last post for now
rlp or RLP = really last post
/last or / LAST = last post

There are many more less frequently used acronyms that will not be listed here.

III POLITE CHAT (aka Etiquette)

When entering a chat area, the following steps are recommended:

Scan back at least 10 to 20 posts to determine the topic being discussed before posting.
Decide what tone the conversation has taken before posting.
Your first post should be to greet everyone in the chat.
When chatting with known participants it is not uncommon to greet each other with a *kotc* (kiss on the cheek) or a *hugs* or a *extending hand*. This is like shaking hands, patting each other on the back, or smiling in the real world.
Wait for your post to be recognized and others to greet you before jumping into the discussion.
If you do not know any of the participants in the discussion, introduce yourself briefly.
If you do not want to participate in the ongoing discussion, but want your presence known, state that you are lurking. This is polite, especially if you plan to chat once the topic shifts.
When you are ready to leave the chat area, state you are leaving and then stay around and respond to final messages.
Your last post should end with a 'last post' indicator, such as /lp or /last, etc.

IV CREATING VIRTUAL CONVERSATION (aka Chat Protocol)

If you do not have a name within the chat other than 'guest', precede each post with your name in bold. To make this easier, create your name the first time using html bold (eg; <b>Laura</b>) and copy it with the control-c function. Simply paste it into subsequent posts using the control-v function.
Keep your posts short. One to three sentences, the same as in a spoken conversation, to allow the dialogue to flow back and forth between you and others.
Be as clear and concise as possible, without being clipped and unfriendly.
Use HTML italics, (or * surrounding your text in non-html environments), to set aside physical movement from conversational text. (eg; <i>smiling</i> or *smiling* )
Use 3 or 4 periods between words to indicate pauses in speaking (eg; You know...I do!)
If you feel you have been misunderstood, restate your case.
Allow enough time for the respondent to read, think, and type before posting the question again.
Avoid assumptions. Ask to have something explained if there is a possibility you do not understand it.
If you must post a lengthy explanation, type part of it and make your last word "MORE..." and continue the message in your next post. It is too easy for conversation to go on into different arenas without you if you spend 8 minutes writing a tome.
Try to encourage all participants to share their ideas.
Address each by name, unless you are speaking to the entire group, so they know you are talking to them.
Read carefully, and more than once when necessary, to be sure you are reading what the sender has written. Try not to read anything into the post that is not there in writing.
Most important of all...ENJOY!

Created by Jo Torgessen
WebEd - Web Education Service
Portland, OR
Last updated 7:40 PM on 4/4/96