by Susan Easter
How are you supposed to behave on the Internet? Just like every other aspect of your life, there are some basic do’s and don’ts. If you follow these rules no matter where you are on-line, your chances of keeping safe are much better.
First, never give out personal information. This is the same advice we give children on how to use the telephone. Do not tell people you are going on vacation, what your phone number and address are, or other information that criminals can use. There are rare occasions that anyone will need to know any of this information, such as signing on to a new service, but it is never a good idea to voluntarily pass out this information. Crimes do not necessarily mean theft, and we do not want to let criminals ha ve anything they could use against us.
Next, do not say anything before reading extensively. If you are not much of a reader, then become one. Most of the rules and regulations are posted in obvious areas, though you might miss them if you just dive in. In the on-line world, “LURKING” is cons idered proper behavior to engage in. Simply put, lurking is gathering many messages, and reading them all, to get a good idea of what is being discussed and how the “group” expects people to behave. A good way to get a clear idea of what is expected of y ou is to read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that are also posted in many of the more popular message groups. This covers the basic questions that most people ask when just getting started. Usually, the “old-timers” get a little tired of answering the same questions over and over, so someone came up with the bright idea of taking all those questions and putting them into one big message. Always look for the FAQ.
Last, always practice good behavior. The Internet is basically open to anyone that has a computer, modem, and Internet hookup. This means that there will be a wide variety of viewpoints and beliefs. You will find most people out there are quite civilized , but there is always a small group of very vocal people that finds distinct pleasure in baiting others, whether it is over religion, politics, or software preferences. Free speech is rampant on the Internet and there is not much you can do about it in m ost cases. The one thing you can do is to not allow others to drag you into the mud with them.
My mother used to tell me that I should not tell anyone anything that I would not want the whole world to know. This holds true for the Internet. You might literally be telling the whole world something, and it could be quite embarrassing.
One of the joys of communicating on-line is that you do not have to reply to anything as soon as it appears on your screen. The best way to do your talking with others on-line is to do it off-line, or when you are no longer hooked up to your service prov ider. If you do this every time you communicate, you will find that saying something you will regret later will rarely happen. It is very easy to say something that you shouldn’t, and it is nearly impossible to take it back. Once a message goes out to ot her computers, it is out there for all time. You can erase it from your computer, and from the system you sent it to, but beyond that you will never get it off all the millions of computers that it will end up on. So compose everything off-line, and if t here is something that gets your dander up, write your reply while still upset but walk away and read it later when you have had a chance to cool down. The odds are that you will come up with something far more witty while making all the points you wante d to, without starting World War III, or Flames as they are called in geek-speak.
As a new user, you will find that being on-line can feel extremely intimidating. It is much like getting on a roller coaster for the first time. After a few times of successful use, you get to be a lot more relaxed and confident. Until you are comfortabl e with being on-line there are a few things to remember.
One - Take your time. Don’t feel pressured to do anything faster than you feel comfortable with. If you want to think about it, you have all the time in the world, or at least a few weeks or more. Depending on the system that you are on, you can always g o back and read and reply to something at your leisure.
Two - No question is stupid. You can avoid feeling this way by reading everything you can before you ask a question, but don’t hesitate to ask. When you are on a small system, introduce yourself to the people that run things. On these boards, especially the free boards, the system operator usually runs the board because they have specific interests and want to share those interests with the public at large. Generally, they are extremely helpful and willing to answer a lot of questions you might have. On America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe, there is a member services group that monitors the beginner questions, and helps new people (novices) to familiarize themselves with their system.
Three - Familiarize yourself with the communications software that you will be using for your on-line work. If you use a major service provider, like America Online, you will be provided the software to use. Learn to use it, and make sure you know where the help button is. You can fire up the software without actually dialing the system, and you can write mail off-line and read the help topics. The major service providers usually have free areas that do not count towards your hourly time. These areas al low you to learn about the different services they offer and places to go for help, so take advantage of them.
Four - If you have a second phone line for your computer, you can leave it plugged in to the computer all the time. When your computer is not turned on, it cannot be turned on through the phone line. No one can access your computer without your consent a nd knowledge. If you run BBS software, then you have software that allows people to dial up your computer and use it. You set it up to allow them to do certain things, and nothing more. If you do not have BBS software, they will not be able to access you r computer without your active participation. It may sound like a silly question, but everyone wonders about this when they first get their modem fired up. Even if you do not have a second phone line, you can leave the modem plugged in all the time, and attach your phone extension to the modem as well. That makes it easier for you to talk to someone on the phone while troubleshooting your computer, although you cannot dial out with your modem until you hang up. When you are new to computers, it is very helpful to have a phone near your computer.
Last of all, relax and have fun. Try out the different services that offer free hours for a month. Test each one, separately, for a month. Then decide which one you like after you have given them all a shot. If you try them all out and do not care for an y of them, you have not spent much money learning this.
Susan Easter, a HAL-PC member currently on assignment in Ohio, can be contacted at seaster@raex.com.
E-mail me at webmaster@hal-pc.org with any comments you have and tell me what you want to see here.