Athens Technical College Netiquette Guidelines

Netiquette, or Internet etiquette, are guidelines for maintaining civilized, professional, and effective communication in the online environment and with email exchanges. All written communication at the college uses standard business English. Below are some basic college netiquette guidelines:  

  1. When interacting online at the college, only use your appropriate college-issued email address and the college’s online Learning Management System (LMS).
  2. Treat other participants in the online environment politely and respectfully. Remain professional and do not use accusatory, vulgar, or offensive language.
  3. Write meaningful and concise subject lines to properly introduce the topic.
  4. While some online messages can be quite informal, it’s important in an academic setting to express yourself using proper spelling, capitalization, grammar, usage, and punctuation. Avoid excessive use of acronyms, emoticons, jargon, or slang.
  5. Keep your questions and comments relevant to the present topic. If another participant posts an off-topic comment or question, do not directly reply to that person, instead, the appropriate college personnel will reply in private to the participant.
  6. Generally speaking, in an online setting, using ALL CAPS is considered SHOUTING. Do not use ALL CAPS when posting online or emailing.
  7. Do not "flame" others in online communications. Flaming is the "act of responding in a highly critical, sarcastic, or ridiculing manner."
  8. If you are attaching a file, alert the reader to the attached document and save your document using a commonly supported program with a relevant filename.
  9. Respect other people’s intellectual property. Do not post, display, or otherwise provide access to materials belonging to others without appropriately citing the information.
  10. Remember that the law still applies in cyberspace. Do not commit illegal acts online, such as libeling or slandering others, and do not joke about committing illegal acts.

For additional information regarding netiquette:

  • Review the Solution Center Article “E-Mail Netiquette Tips” (link opens in a new tab).
  • Refer to the college’s Code of Conduct Policy (link opens in a new tab). 
  • Consult with your instructor for specific course netiquette rules/policies.

NOTE: College instructors and representatives reserve the right to remove online communication that is not collegial or constructive and/or does not meet netiquette guidelines. Students who do not exhibit collegial communication may not be allowed to complete the course.