Tips on using the Internet, etiquette for newbies

Why the Internet?

It is common nowadays for people all over the world to communicate via the internet-rather than by phone-with friends, family and business collegues, and classmates.
They feel that is a faster and more convenient way to exchange ideas.
The internet offers several ways for people to get in touch: e-mail, discussion groups, bulletin boards(AKA forums), chat rooms, and instant messaging.

E-mail

Is the most common form of communication through the Internet, and it is used by nearly everyone in the world who has access to a computer. It has quickly overcome written letters in popularity as a means of communication.

Discussion groups.

This groups are normally formed around a specific theme of interest to certain individuals, and everybody who joins the group takes turns in the conversations.

Forums

Also known as BBSs, are electronic bulletin boards where people can post messages on specific subjects.

Chat rooms

Chat rooms enables users to communicate in real time by interactive conversation. The experience is the parties are typing messages on the computer rather than speaking on the phone.

Instant Messaging

This is similar to a chat room, but it is a private conversation between two users. You can see someone write "IM me later and we'll talk about it." Some business encourage their employees to use instant messaging as a means to communicate; seeing information relayed back and forth on a screen makes for a clearer channel of communication.

Rules of Chat Typing

As a newbie when you join a discussion group for the first time, it is advisable to be like a student lurk, around and study what's going on, for a while before actually jumping in to participate in the conversation.
Eventually you should participate actively, because lurking without participating is considered rude. It is also considered rude to place offensive or inappropriate messages.
This behavior is known as flaming and may make some members of the group quite angry. Another inappropriate behavior is to place the same message several times on different areas of a board.
This practice is known as spamming and it wastes the time and money of people who want to retrieve messages.

There are also several typing rules to follow. Using all uppercase letters is known as shouting, and its considered rude if used inappropriately. On the other hand, using all lowercase is known as mumbling.