I will assign readings for the week on Mondays. Questions on that reading will be posted on the Discussion Board the same day. You are required to participate in these discussions. I will expect at least two postings per week from each student. The postings must contribute in a meaningful way to the topic under discussion. Try to start reading the Discussion Board Forum for the week no later than Wednesday.

Participation in the Discussion Board is worth 20% of your final grade.

To participate, read the notes that people have posted over the last few days in the weekly Forum on the class Discussion Board. Write your own response and post it yourself. Try to write well. Carefully compose your postings before you type them into the computer. Then, check in the next day and see how other people responded to you. Then you might want to respond to them.

If you have a question on any of the material assigned that week, create a new Thread. Then wait for people to respond to your posting.

It is normal to feel reluctant to start posting messages. Remember that your classmates (and the instructor) are participating in this online class because they are people interested in the material and who enjoy interacting with others.

When you post an answer on the Discussion Board, don't think that your work is finished!! I will in most cases respond to your posting, possibly wanting clarification or asking a follow-up question. So - when you post something on the Discussion Board, return after a day or so and see if I or another student answered you. If I ask for more information or ask another question, I will expect you to respond to that. I may want several rounds of questions and answers with you to make sure you completely understand what it is you attempted to answer.

Remember, the reason for the Discussion Board is to engage in a dialog with me and your fellow students. That is the way you will get the most out of the course.

Make you posting subject lines descriptive and specific. This helps others decide whether to read your posting.

Use normal capitalization. All lower case or all upper case is too hard to read.

Separate your paragraphs with one or two blank lines.

Keep your questions and comments relevant to the focus of the question(s) of the week. Try to add postings that add to the discussion. Do not make postings that just say "Me, too" or "I don't know." Also, do not post messages to point out typing or spelling errors.

Messages should be brief and to the point. Stay on topic.

If creating a new thread, say something about the subject you're raising.

Make sure your postings are polite. Cursing or other abusive language will not be tolerated.

Our class may have members from many countries. Do not assume they will understand cultural references (TV, movies, music, local and national geography). If you must use the reference to explain your point, please explain it briefly.

Do not "flame" others. Remember that the Discussion Board is "public" and is meant to exchange ideas . Everyone in the class, including the instructor, will read your comments. Treat others in the class as you would want them to treat you.

One of the biggest problems of communicating online is the difficulty of conveying emotions through text. Do not rely on the ability of your readers to tell the difference between serious statements and satire or sarcasm. It's hard to write funny. It's even harder to write satire.

It is difficult to convey emotions through text. Remember that no one can hear your voice or see your face. Use emoticons (or smilies) like :-) or :-( to try to indicate emotion. You can also use caps for emphasis.

Remember to be forgiving. Everyone in the class is trying to do the best they can. Be kind with your criticism.

Make sure that when you are reading the postings and making a posting that you are not too tired. Make time for this activity when you feel that your judgement is at its best.

Do not quote a personal e-mail in a posting to the class.

References

The above are loosely based on the following:

The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette, by Arlene Rinaldi
http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/dis.html

RFC 1855: Netiquette Guidelines
http://www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html#3

Netiquette Primer
http://jade.wabash.edu/wabnet/info/netiquet.htm

Netiquette for Discussion Groups -- Netiquette, by Virginia Shea, page 65
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/0963702513p65.html

Netiquette
http://www.primenet.com/~vez/neti.html