I just remembered the time I read an Etiquette book...

Misty · Jul 15, 2007

... And thought some of our members could use to learn online etiquette. So off I went for a guide to proper forum etiquette.

AssociatedContent said:

Read and Follow the Rules
If the forum that you go to has a set of rules then be sure to read them. I know a forum's set of rules can be pretty boring and you'll be tempted to skip over them but if you don't read the rules you could be banned for doing something that you didn't know wasn't allowed.

Use Good Grammar and Spelling
Forums are not instant messenger. If you want to abbreviate entire sentences then go talk on AIM or MSN. Forums are a place for an intelligent discussion and good grammar and spelling are expected.

Play Nice
Nobody likes to go to the forum they frequent and see a flame war between two people acting half their age. There is no way to stop somebody else from being rude so the only way you can stop this is to behave yourself. It takes two people to have a flame war so if you're never involved then that is one less person who could start a flame war.

Be Nice to Newcomers
A lot of people have a tendency to be rude to newcomers. If somebody is new to the forum people will make sarcastic and snarky remarks to them. Why? Because they didn't find the website as early as you did? That's a pretty dumb reason to be rude to somebody.

Check the Forums First
This rule is mainly for newcomers but can also apply to regular members as well. Before starting a new thread search the forums to see if your question or topic has already been talked about. This is especially a good rule if you're a newcomer and you don't want those nasty regulars getting on you. Nothing bugs the regular visitors as much as a newcomer asking a question that there are already four or five topics on.

Don't Resurrect Topics for No Reason
Often people will resurrect an old topic. This is most often the case with complaining. Somebody will resurrect a thread about a certain complaint to restart an argument. There is no reason to do this. The only reason to ever resurrect an old topic is if you have something new to add to the conversation.

Stay on Topic
Always stay on topic. If you read a thread, do not post a comment that is going to change the topic. It is very rude to take over somebody's thread like that. This will make you seem like your problem is all that matters to you and that is not a good way to make friends on a forum.
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Mozilla Etiquette (Edited for our use) said:

Be civil. No personal attacks. Do not feel compelled to defend your honor in public.
Stay on topic. Most of these groups are high-traffic and read by busy people, so please pay attention to the topic of your messages, and check that it still relates to the charter of the forum to which you are posting.
Be kind to newcomers. Newcomers may be annoying. They ask the wrong questions, including ones that seem obvious (or whose answers seem easy to find). But lots of valued contributors started out this way, and treating newcomers kindly makes them more likely to turn into the valuable community members we all know and love (and cut some slack when they mess up).
So while you don't have to humor them or suffer them gladly, and it's fine to point out when they make mistakes, point newcomers in the right direction in addition to turning them away from the wrong ones, and be kind to them in the process of correcting their transgressions.
Let sleeping dogs lie. It's tempting to revisit controversial decisions you disagree with, but it's rarely productive to do so, since it almost always results in the same heated, lengthy, and time/energy draining discussions leading to the same conclusion that was reached in the last round.
Therefore, for issues already raised, discussed, and decided upon, reopen the discussion only if you have significant new information that would reasonably prompt reconsideration of the original decision.
Ignore spammers. Spam is a blight upon the face of the net. Nobody likes it. However, it is hard to avoid. Despite our best efforts, you will occasionally see spam on the Mozilla mailing lists and newsgroups. If you feel the need to flame the spammer, do not CC the list. Complaining about spam in public increases noise, but not signal. It may make you feel better, but it doesn't help. (For info on fighting spam effectively, check out spam.abuse.net.)
No large attachments. Do not send binary attachments, including screen shots, and especially including screen shots of textual dialog boxes. Many people read these messages through slow network connections; try to be respectful of them. If you have a large file that you would like to distribute, put it on a Web page and announce the URL instead of attaching it.
Trim your follow-ups. Do not quote the entire content of the message to which you are replying. Include only as much as is necessary for context. Remember that if someone wants to read the original message, they can; it is easily accessible. A good rule of thumb is, don't include more quoted text than new text.
There is always a need for some trimming - either a salutation, a signature, some blank lines or whatever. If you are doing no trimming whatsoever of the quoted text, then you aren't trimming enough.
Top-posting vs bottom-posting. Some people like to put reply after the quoted text, some like it the other way around, and still some prefer interspersed style. Debates about which posting style is better have led to many flame wars in the forums. To keep forum discussion friendly, please do interspersion with trimming (see above for trimming rules). For a simple reply, this is equivalent bottom-posting. So, remove extraneous material, and place your comments in logical order, after the text you are commenting upon. The only exceptions are the accessibility forums, which are top-posting.
Post HTML at your own risk. Keep in mind that not everyone uses mail or news readers that can easily display HTML messages. Consequently, you will reach a larger audience if you post in plain-text. Many people simply ignore HTML messages, because it takes a nontrivial amount of effort to read them.
Identify your subject matter. Not everyone has time reading all forum postings. To ensure that your message reach the right people at timely manner, identify your subject matter clearly in the subject line. Subjects like a question and Mozilla problem are not very helpful.
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SplitOverload · Jul 15, 2007

Thanks for teaching me 7 simple rules to follow =]]

Cia · Jul 15, 2007

:guns2:

You're such a lovely mod. :3

Mish · Jul 15, 2007

I think we should have a netiquette section in the rules. xP

Xegreny · Jul 15, 2007

I applaud you for trying to usher in a new age of literacy. Hopefully this wont just fail :(

Cia · Jul 15, 2007

Mish said: ↑

I think we should have a netiquette section in the rules. xP
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I think we should, too. It'd be nice to look at.

Misty · Jul 15, 2007

Mish said: ↑

I think we should have a netiquette section in the rules. xP
Click to expand...

I'd totally write it too. xD

EDIT: Edited first post with more. ;D

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