WOSM netiqette

Netiquette Guidelines for the participation to the World Scout Jamboree On The Internet

As Scouts, we live our lives according to a code of behaviour. This code is expressed in the Scout Law, Promise, and Motto. When applied to the Internet, this code can be referred to as NETIQUETTE. Scouting on the Internet is a two-way educational experience. It allows Scouts from all corners of the Earth to share their ideas and something of their cultures. In turn, it also allows Scouts to learn about technology, how other Scout organizations work, and the cultures of their brother and sister Scouts around the World! Scouting on the Internet is also FUN! But, like most fun things, you've also got to be CAREFUL! When using the Internet, we have RULES that should be followed to show our Scouting Spirit, and protect our friends, and ourselves! Please become familiar with the following information to ensure a safe and fun JOTI.

For Your Safety!

It's easy on the Internet to pretend to be someone else. Some of the people on the Net can be pretending to be a Scout, or a group of Scouts. So to be safe, never give out your full names or your home address when sending e-mail or chatting with IRC.

If you receive an E-mail or other Internet communication that you think is strange our unusual, tell your leader or one of your parents to have a look at it, just to be safe.

If you receive an E-mail or other Internet communication from anyone that WANTS TO MEET YOU, or asks for any personal information, DO NOT REPLY! Tell your leader or one of your parents, just to be safe. Private and personal information includes the following:

TELL AN ADULT! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

If you have any questions about our code of behaviour, please discuss them with an adult who is familiar with ALL of our posted Netiquette guidelines.

Scouting Courtesy

E-mail Guidelines

General Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Guidelines

IRC is a way of hooking up with other Scouts and Net users to exchange written comments ... live and in real time. To do this, you need IRC client software on your workstation, and an IRC server to host your Chat. Once connected to the server, you join a channel, or discussion group, which can include Scouts from all over the world. IRC channels may hold discussions about anything under the sun. It is very important to follow the following Netiquette guidelines while chatting:

  1. It is wise to "listen" first to get to know whats being discussed on the channel before jumping in.
  2. It's not necessary to greet everyone on a channel or room personally. Usually one "Hello" or the equivalent is enough. Using the automation features of your client to greet people is not acceptable behavior.
  3. Don't assume that people who you don't know will want to talk to you. If you feel compelled to send private messages to people you don't know, then be willing to accept gracefully the fact that they might be busy or simply not want to chat with you.
  4. Respect the guidelines of the group. Look for introductory materials for the group. These may be on a related site.
  5. Don't badger other users for personal information such as sex, age, or location. After you have built an acquaintance with another user, these questions may be more appropriate, but many people hesitate to give this information to people with whom they are not familiar.

Some Additional IRC Rules from ScoutLink

Violation of any of these rules, depending on severity, can result in anything from a verbal warning, time bans or even k-lining an ISP from the server. These rules and regulations are to protect ScoutLink, the channels and the users. Please note that all channels are logged.

  1. Conduct - Please conduct yourselves according to the Scout Law, Oath/Promise. Many problems can be avoided by keeping this in mind.
  2. Idling - Channel sitting or idling is not permitted. People are here to talk to others. There is nothing worse than trying to talk to someone who is not there.
  3. Bots and Scripts - No unauthorized bots or scipts are permitted.
  4. Sounds - No random wavs or midis are to be played on channels. They may be played if they are part of the conversation, such as "hello.wav". If you wish to shareyour sounds with others, #sounds is a channel designed for that. Inviteothers into #sounds and have fun.
  5. Language - No abusive or foul language will be permitted.
  6. Flooding - No flooding by type, color or sound will be permitted.
  7. Patch Trading - We realize that patch trading is a normal part of Scouting. However, please keep your requests to a minimum and don't annoy everyone who joins the channel. A DCC Chat request would be preferable. If enough interest is shown, ScoutLink might create a trading channel.
  8. FServers - No open or public fservers are permitted.
  9. Personal Info - PLEASE! Do not give out your phone number or address on open channel!

World-Wide-Web Guidelines

Also known as the WWW, the W3, or most often simply as the Web, it originally developed by CERN labs in Geneva, Switzerland. Continuing development of the Web is overseen by the World Wide Web Consortium. The Web can be described (simply) as a workstation/host (client/server) hypertext system for retrieving information across the Internet. On the Web, everything is represented as hypertext (in HTML format) and includes (hyper)links to other documents by their unique name or URL. The best way to learn about the Web, however, is to try it for yourself!

  1. Remember that all Websites belong to someone else. The people who pay the bills get to make the rules governing their usage. Information may be free - or it may not be! Be sure you check.
  2. Know how file names work on your own system.
  3. Do NOT assume that ANY information you find is up-to-date and/or accurate. Remember that new technologies allow just about anyone to be a publisher, but not all people have discovered the responsibilities which accompany publishing.
  4. Remember that unless you are sure that security and authentication technology is in use, that any information you submit to a system is being transmitted over the Internet "in the clear", with no protection from "sniffers" or forgers.
  5. Since the Internet spans the globe, remember that Information Services might reflect culture and life-style markedly different from your own community.
  6. When wanting information from a popular server, be sure to use a mirror server that's close, if possible.
  7. When you have trouble with a site and ask for help, be sure to provide as much information as possible in order to help debug the problem.
  8. When bringing up your own information service, such as a homepage, be sure to check with your local system administrator to find what the local guidelines are in affect.
  9. Consider spreading out the system load on popular sites by avoiding "rush hour" and logging in during off-peak times.

Source & suggestions: d_deyoung@moc.ual.com
© 1997-2007 WOSM Netiquette Team - All Rights Reserved