• Be short and to the point — Electronic forums are not good places to give a dissertation! 
  
  
• Avoid self-centered comments — If you have an idea, great. If you want to contribute to an ongoing discussion, terrific. But don't just tell others about your problems ("I'm frustrated" or "My audio doesn't work today") unless it contributes in some way to the class.
  
  
• Avoid negativity —You can disagree . . . you should disagree! You can challenge and dissent about ideas and the course content, but avoid becoming negative online. It will impact you negatively, hinder the class discussion, and may give others the wrong impression of you.
  
  
• Use a meaningful subject line —Your readers will have a clear idea of what the message contains if it has a well written subject line.
  • Good example -"Subject: My feedback on the Taylor article."
  • Poor example -"Subject: Interesting Stuff."
    
    
• Include your "signature"—Your signature footer should include your full name and any contact information you wish to share (phone number, fax number, etc).
  
  
• USE CAPS SPARINGLY— Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. You might use *asterisks* around a word to make a stronger point. Capitalizing whole words that are not titles is generally seen as SHOUTING.
  
  
• Be professional — Electronic messages are easily forwarded. Don't say anything you wouldn't want to see quoted in the newspaper!
  
  
• Address ideas, not the person — Antagonistic messages are called "flames" and flaming someone is always considered bad Netiquette.
  
  
• Be careful when using sarcasm and humor — Without face-to-face communications, your joke may be viewed as criticism. The intent of the comment is easily misconstrued by the reader, causing misunderstandings and hurt feelings. "Emoticons" (tiny pictures made from ordinary ASCII characters that are meant to be looked at with your head tilted to the side) can be used to put a personal "face" on your messages. See NetLingo's "Smileys and Emoticons" for some great examples.
  
  
• Don't overuse acronyms — 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
    
    
• Don't get too personal too fast — Electronic communications environments can seem surprisingly intimate. In just a few exchanges, you might be tempted to share your life's story with someone you actually don't know very well!
  
  
• Be respectful of others' diverse opinions — Remember that the Internet brings people together from around the world. Don't assume that everyone shares the same views or background.
  
  
• Keep obscenities out —You never know whom you might offend! To get a certain point across, you might use a mixture of ASCII characters like "@#%$" instead.
  
  
• Don't forward messages without asking first — It is considered extremely rude to forward someone else's e-mail or bulletin board postings without permission.
  
  
• Don't send "advertisements"—This is not the place to tell the world about your new Web site or product or to solicit recruits for your latest MLM scheme.
  
  
• Don't forward "chain mail"— Sending chain mail is really a great way to spread a virus. Let's not take the chance—don't do it.
  
  
• Pay attention to compatibility — Even though you may be able to "attach" any type file to an electronic message, your recipient may not be successful in opening your file on the other end. Remember not everybody uses MSWord as their word processor. The only universal file type is .txt.
  
  
• Use file attachments sparingly — Since attaching files can cause compatibility problems, it is best to avoid doing so when possible. It will also save your recipient an extra step or two, as your material will be readable within their e-mail system (versus having to open up another application, such as a word processor, to see what you have sent).
  
  
• Don't always expect an acknowledgement — Your instructor will read every post that you make, but replies to only posts when they feel their comments will enhance the learning experience for you and your classmates. It does not take long for a classroom discussion board to become very unwieldy, especially if it contains dozens of "Thanks for sharing" type of posts by the instructor.

Attaching files to the discussion board

Next, go to the discussion board. Click on either "Post a New Message" or "Post a Reply". Compose whatever message you want, then check the box "Attach File to this Message", then click on "Browse" and locate your image on your hard drive to your file (C:/barbquinn.jpg). Click on "Upload" and that is all there is too it! Here are some additional hints and tricks for successfully attaching files to your discussion board postings.

• File Types — Remember, your instructor and classmates may not have access to the software you used to create the file, so stick with generic file types like Text files .txt—HTML files, .htm—Image files .jpg. Most software  has the capability to save your file in a variety of file types. Check the Help function for the software you are using for further help with file types. Do not post zipped or compressed files.
  
  
• Illegal File Names —The naming convention for Internet file types is different from that of your computer's operating system. Most important is the file name. A failure will occur if you try to upload a file that contains a space or other illegal characters such as: \ @ / *. + #
  
  
• Image Resolution — Keep your photos small. Use your camera's software to resize (resample) the photos to no more than 3"x5" or a file size of 25kb. Many of your classmates have dial-up connections, and you are going to get lots of hate mail from them if you post a photo that is 8"x12" or larger. Take the responsibility of learning how to use your camera's software.

Please do not send your photos directly to your instructors, as they cannot post files for you. For security purposes, all file attachments are stripped off by the firewall and to protect your privacy, you are the only person who can post using your name and email address.