The following are selections from a longer document prepared by:
Arlene H. Rinaldi, Academic/Institutional Support Services,
Florida Atlantic University,
July, 1994
INTRODUCTION It is essential for each user on the network to recognize his/her responsibility in having access to vast services, sites, systems and people. The user is ultimately responsible for his/her actions in accessing network services. The "Internet" or "The Net", is not a single network; rather, it is a group of thousands of individual networks which have chosen to allow traffic to pass among them. The traffic sent out to the Internet may actually traverse several different networks before it reaches its destination. Therefore, users involved in this internetworking must be aware of the load placed on other participating networks. As a user of the network, you may be allowed to access other networks (and/or the computer systems attached to those networks). Each network or system has its own set of policies and procedures. Actions which are routinely allowed on one network/system may be controlled, or even forbidden, on other networks. It is the users responsibility to abide by the policies and procedures of these other networks/systems. Remember, the fact that a user *can* perform a particular action does not imply that they *should* take that action. The use of the network is a privilege, not a right, which may temporarily be revoked at any time for abusive conduct. Such conduct would include, the placing of unlawful information on a system, the use of abusive or otherwise objectionable language in either public or private messages, the sending of messages that are likely to result in the loss of recipients' work or systems, the sending of "Chain letters," or "broadcast" messages to lists or individuals, and any other types of use which would cause congestion of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of others. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* ELECTRONIC MAIL AND FILES- USER RESPONSIBILITY The content and maintenance of a user's electronic mailbox is the users responsibility: - Check Email regularly -- daily if possible - Delete unwanted messages immediately since they take up disk storage. - Keep messages stored in your electronic mailbox to a minimum. - Mail messages can be downloaded or extracted to files then to your own disks for future reference. - Never assume that your Email can be read by no one except yourself; others may be able to read or access your mail. Never send or keep anything that you would not mind seeing on the evening news. The content and maintenance of a user's disk storage area is the users responsibility: - Keep files to a minimum. Files should be downloaded to your personal computer's hard drive or to disks. - Routinely and frequently virus scan your system, especially when receiving or downloading files from other systems to prevent the spread of a virus. - Your files may be accessible by persons with system privileges, so do not maintain anything private in your disk storage area. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS (Email, listservs, Mailing lists) Keep paragraphs and messages short and to the point. Focus on one subject per message and always include a pertinent subject title for the message, that way the user can locate the message quickly. Include your signature at the bottom of Email messages. Your signature should include your name, position, affiliation and email addresses and should not exceed more than 4 lines. Optional information could include your address and phone number. Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. *Asterisks* surrounding a word also can be used to make a stronger point. Capitalizing whole words that are not titles is generally considered SHOUTING! Limit line length and avoid control characters. Follow chain of command procedures for corresponding with superiors. For example, don't send a complaint via Email directly to the "top" just because you can. Be professional and careful what you say about others. Email is easily forwarded. Cite all quotes, references and sources and respect copyright and license agreements. It is considered extremely rude to forward personal email to mailing lists or Usenet without the original author's permission. Be careful when using sarcasm and humor. Without face to face communications your joke may be viewed as criticism. Acronyms can be used to abbreviate when possible, however, messages that are filled with acronyms can be confusing and annoying to the reader. Examples: IMHO= in my humble/honest opinion FYI = for your information BTW = by the way Flame = antagonistic criticism :-) = happy face for humor
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