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Photo: AT&T Laptop

By Thomas P. Farley, What Manners Most

Despite “assistance” from the plethora of high-tech gadgets we now take for granted, most of us feel more time-strapped than ever. That’s partially because a good percentage of the population-yours truly included-spends many hours each week on-line. So many hours, in fact, that when we’re not on-line, we can even start to feel that we’ve disconnected from life itself. But because being on the World Wide Web doesn’t involve real human contact, our virtual exchanges have the tendency to detach us from our manners. Of course, it’s of the utmost importance that you conduct yourself with consideration in all of your dealings, electronic and otherwise. Remember: Being rushed is no excuse for being rude-even on-line. In the interest of time (yours and mine!) I’ll give you ten quick manners reminders, covering five of the web’s most popular destinations.

Craigslist
*If you make an appointment to see something that’s listed for sale, be conscious of the seller’s time. Don’t be a no-show.
*Don’t violate the good-neighbor spirit of the site and attempt to make outrageous profits on items you list. It’s much more fun and rewarding to direct your discard into the hands of someone who really likes and needs it.

eBay
*Be honest about the condition of anything you’re selling. Like with Internet dating, omitting flaws from a description can come back to haunt you.
*Be certain to leave feedback when you’ve completed a transaction. Inquiring minds want to know about your experience-good and bad.

Facebook
*Set your preferences to support differing levels of friendship. Your boss should not be privy to the same information about you that your college roommate can see.
*Don’t change your relationship status without first discussing this big step with your significant other first. Then, make sure you both update your status at the same time.

Twitter
*Don’t transmit @ messages that contain personal or embarrassing information about someone else. If you have something important to share, send it in a private message.
*Remember that living life is far more important than Tweeting about it. Don’t get so caught up in Tweeting every moment of your existence that you miss truly experiencing those moments.

YouTube
*The site’s motto is broadcast yourself-not broadcast your friends. Make sure you have other people’s permission before putting their most embarrassing moments on-line.
*Keep snarkiness to yourself. If you don’t have anything nice to say in the comment section of other users’ videos, don’t say anything at all.

Now, that you’ve brushed up on your netiquette, go ahead and get back to surfing!

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