I am posting this article for several reasons. 1: to facilitate better communication among current members of this forum; 2: to help the member new to bulletin-board communication to build some confidence to begin posting; and 3: to therefore avoid some flame wars. Please read and try to understand the information I have provided here. Your experience at BonsaiChat, and that of the membership, will be much better if you do.

Please check this article regularly. I will be adding content as I think of it and as I get suggestions. If you have ideas for inclusion, please reply to this thread or PM me.

What is netiquette? According to the rec.backcountry FAQ “Netiquette” panel (number 12),


This is a different type of communication. You cannot hear nor see the person to whom you are talking, therefore cannot pick up on non-verbal communication. By this, I mean facial expressions, body language, gestures, etc, which frequently change or modify the words actually spoken, or provide a different context. Missing this very important part of the message can lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and angry replies.

Smileys

Tools available to partially fill in this gap include “smileys.” These can be typed into the text like this :^), or this ;-7, or this ^_^. On this board, you can also use “BB code” to put animated smiley graphics into your message. To do this, just click on the smiley you want, and it is automatically placed in your message. Using smileys can alter the message such that it is interpreted in a different way. For instance, the text “that was the best tree I’ve ever seen” is interpreted differently than “that was the best tree I’ve ever seen http://bonsaichat.org/articles/Netiq...s/image001.gif.” Please do not be afraid to use these. On the other hand, please use them appropriately. Placing the “http://bonsaichat.org/articles/Netiq...s/image002.gif” or ":razz:" after every sentence can lead to quite a few misunderstandings.

Other Methods to Improve Comprehension

You can also use quotes, bold face type, italics, underlining, and colors to add emphasis or imply a different meaning. Be aware, though, that constant TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS INTERPRETED ON THE WEB AS “YELLING.” Same with using boldface type. No matter how you decide to express yourself, though, please remember that nothing communicates better than simply being clear. When you are done writing your message, read through it again from the perspective of someone else who cannot “read your mind.”

A Brief Word on Spelling and Grammar

You will find that it is greatly appreciated by many people if you can spell at least reasonably well and use a decent sentence structure. You will probably get more responses, because people won’t have to work as hard to understand what you are saying. Now, I understand that there are many members here who don’t use English as a native language, or who never majored in English in school. People are very understanding about these things. What I’m referring to is “wwruiting vry prooly 2w8thoug prerfeding,” or using “h4xOR” type language. I’ve seen some pretty bad flame wars spark from this type of thing.

Use of Quotes

Quotes can be used to reference a particular post to which you are responding. This is a very effective tool which can also save some typing on your part. One thing to keep in mind, however, is to only include the part of the quote which pertains to your reply. In other words, if you are only responding to one sentence out of a five paragraph post, keep the sentence in your quote and delete the rest. It can sometimes help to break a quote into parts, and respond to each separately. To quote someone, simply click the “Quote” button on the post in question, and the entire text from that quote will be entered onto a reply form for you, with the original poster’s name. To remove superfluous text, simply highlight and delete it.

Picture Posting

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and it is true on this site as much as anywhere. It can help tremendously in the quest to identify a particular plant, or diagnose a problem. However, the size and quality of the picture is important. A picture which is too small or grainy is virtually useless, while one that is too large can cause other problems, including prolonged download times for those on dialup connections, and the need to scroll left and right in order to read the text through the entire thread. This can become quite irritating. Be sure to check your picture size with the “Preview” button before submitting your post.

Copyright Infringement and the Fair Use Clause

Speaking of pictures, keep in mind that photos taken by someone else are the property of that person, who retains the copywright. In most cases here, this won’t be an issue due to the “fair use” clause. However, complaints from the copyright holder will most likely result in deletion of the offending picture, at the discretion of the administrators and/or moderators. Nevertheless, all quotes and pictures posted here must be properly referenced. The administrator has offered this point of view:


From the rec.backcountry newsgroup FAQ panel 12, titled “Netiquette:”

It should also be mentioned that the posting of scans of pages or images from books and magazines or other publications is prohibited. The administrator has also said this, regarding pictures:



”Newbie posts”

Some topics can become quite repetitive and therefore irritating to frequent posters. Be sure to research your question before posting to the boards, as the hundredth “I just got a bonsai—now what?” post will get much fewer replies than the first. There is no way someone can type in all the information you will need to, say, repot, prune, and wire your new juniper in a reply to a thread. It isn't feasible, and certainly is not possible.

So what should you do? Use our internal forum "Search" function. Many questions have been asked and answered already and it's very likely you can save yourself some time (and pick up a few ideas) by going through related threads. Also, check our Article section for good information. Use Google—you’d be amazed at what you can find there. Go check out some books from your local library. They’re sure to have at least a couple. Then, come to the boards and ask your question, with lots of detail. This will not only make it easier for someone to answer you, but will also show the members that you respect their time and are willing to work a bit for your own information. Remember, it takes time and effort for someone to answer your post. They don’t get paid—they do it to be helpful.

The aforementioned (aforequoted?) Netiquette panel from rec.backcountry has an interesting viewpoint on this subject. It is specifically discussing classroom assignments and reports, but it can be easily extrapolated to this subject also:

Cross-Posting

Sometimes people are very concerned that their thread won't be seen. To be certain this doesn't happen, they will post the same question in several forums. This only irritates people who are trying to answer your question, and the confusion makes having a normal discussion difficult. Please, post your question only once in the appropiate forum and do not repeat it on another.

Posting in the Wrong Forum

You will notice that the main directory has many different forums to choose from. Each is geared toward a particular topic. This is to make searching and retrieval of information easier. Please, try to post questions in the appropriate forum. Moderators will move them if needed, but it's easier for all concerned if they are where they belong in the first place. If you post a thread in the wrong forum, or notice that someone else has, please PM a moderator.

Thread Hijacking

This can really get people steamed. This happens when someone posts to a thread and asks an unrelated question that steers the thread away from its original topic. Many times the moderators will politely split the thread and move the post into its own topic, but sometimes the original poster or someone else will start to jump down throats. Please do not (intentionally) hijack threads. If you do so, and notice later, just send a private message (PM) to a moderator and ask them to move it for you. If you notice that your own (or someone else’s) thread has been hijacked, please PM a moderator as previously noted.

Taboo Topics

This is covered in our Forum Rules, but bears repeating here. Use common sense when posting. We are a public forum. We are frequented by people of all ages and nationalities. What you may find humorous others may very well find crude or offensive. Keep in mind we are primarily a bonsai support forum....people don't come here expecting to be confronted with offensive material or language of any sort. Also, please refrain from discussion of politics and religion.

Bickering, Rudeness, and Passive Aggressiveness

I'm not talking about debate here, I'm talking about negative communication that serves no purpose except to make someone else feel bad, belittled, or hurt. The boards are not the place to act on grudges or perpetuate antisocial behavior. Most of us here are adults, but all of us are expected to act that way. If you have an issue with something someone said on the boards, PM a moderator (with a link, please), who will decide if it is or is not appropriate here. If you want to address the issue with the offending person, do so by PM. No one else wants to read pointless, endless arguments.

Trolls/Trolling

Don't allow yourself to be baited. There are people who thrive among other's misery, and will cause trouble just to see the reaction. Trolling is a term with a fishing analogy: Toss out the bait and see who bites. Then, play them for a while and enjoy the fight. These people will post a message designed to draw a response. They want to "get your goat," or start a fight. It is of no use to reply to a troll, since the reply is what is desired. Instead, ignore them and PM a moderator who can deal with it in a much more effective manner. Whatever you do, Don't Feed the Trolls!

Conclusion

I hope this information has proven useful to you. It is by no means complete, and is subject to edits and additions at any time. However, heeding these suggestions will undoubtedly improve the online experience at BonsaiChat for both you and the rest of the membership. The most important messages here are, IMO, to communicate clearly and to respect the other members as people. Those two concepts will take you a long way both here and elsewhere. Now, back to talking about trees!

Thank you,

--Scott

[ (c) Copyright 2004, Scott A. Schowalter (sschowalter-AT-fuse-DOT-net) - Free use of this article in its entirety is allowed by the author provided it retains this copyright notice. Do not make any edits or omissions to the contents. Corrections, additions, comments should be sent to the email address provided (adjust appropriately to turn it into a valid address). ]

__________________
Namaste,

--Scott ><>

"There seems to be no survivors to interview, but I suspect [kamikaze pilots] did not shout 'traytree' the moment before their personal sacrifice." --Herb Gustafson