Every person in an online course helps to form the environment and community. Each community needs guidelines that protect the people and environment. Below are some guidelines everyone in the course should follow in all online interactions, such as in discussion boards or emails. Committing to keep these guidelines will help create a strong and safe learning environment and community.

## My online etiquette

In this course I will:
(click on the links to see more information about each expectation)

- Respect the privacy and opinions of my classmates.

Asking permission before sharing others personal experiences or information outside the course.
People have the right to disagree with you. However, disagreement should never be personal. Online discussions are a means to share ideas and practice the skill of persuasion. Persuasive speech cannot be achieved with hurtful, hateful, or inappropriate language.

- Avoid posting material that could be offensive or difficult to understand, and provide clarification when needed.

Keep in mind that we live in an ethnically rich and diverse, multicultural world. Each class member has had different life experiences and world views. Try to be respectful of their perspectives and resist the urge to tell anyone they are wrong. Instead ask them to clarify their point of view. Try to avoid language that is—or that could be construed to be racist, sexist, derogatory, directed at religious beliefs, disabilities, and age.
It is important to use clear language that follows proper english conventions and flows. Others should easily grasp the meaning of your post. Try to avoid using unexplained terminology or unnecessarily complex language.
This might require you to revise or expand your post in order to answer questions that have been asked by others.

- Support my opinions with reliable sources and facts.

Not all information on the internet is reliable. Provide information on what source you are using to support your idea and where you found it. This often requires citing and giving proper attribution to your sources. This way others can find and verify the information as well.

- Use language that stays on point and is professional.

Keeping statements focused and brief so other readers do not get lost in wordy explanations.
Professional language includes correct spelling, appropriate grammar and sentence structure. Avoiding profanity, the use of all upper-case letters (considered shouting), abbreviated language and emoji or emoticons.

- Be careful when using humor or sarcasm.

Humor and sarcasm can be hard to detect in written language and often causes misunderstanding.

- Read all the discussion posts before my own to prevent redundancy. (when applicable to the course)
- Review what I have written before sending or posting.

Making sure your post/message clearly conveys your intended meaning.There are no take backs on the internet.

- Avoid sending or posting inappropriate material.

Such as advertisements, business solicitations, pornography, copyrighted material, etc..

- Actively communicate with my classmates and instructor.

Implies a liveliness and briskness in accomplishing something. Active suggests quickness and diligence as opposed to laziness: an active and useful person. - dictionary.com.