One of the problems with the internet, as pointed out various ways, is that there ARE no rules. I mean, there are guidelines specific to forums, so that gives direction, but no true "rules."

Like others on here, I think that etiquette calls for being clear when at all possible. More than once I've written something with a bit of irony or sarcasm, then re=read it the next morning and realized that my undertones didn't come through at all.

If you're going to be posting opinions on a board, be prepared to defend them if needed, or accept that others may have issue with them. If you're issuing facts, it's good to know where to direct others that want to see them. If your post mixes both, try to clarify which is which. Above all, I think the "pub" analogy is dead-on, except this is a pub without smoke, you can watch your own TV channel, and you don't get shot down by talking to the opposite sex (thank Sue for bringing that thread to mind).

Watch spelling, punctuation, CAPS, etc. Typo's can be real annoying, and I'm sure that I have a few on this right now. But try to keep them to a minimum. Nobody likes reading a run-on sentence that turns into a paragraph and sounds like a 14 y/o girl chattering into her cell phone while simultaneously watching a movie and talking to her girlfriend about the cute guy on the corner and at the same time deciding whether she wants to eat some ice cream now and has to vomit it up later or just continue to not eat and hope that her parents haven't noticed her eating disorder and maybe she's vomiting because she's pregnant and hopes that they don't know that too and....

Oh yeah, stay try not to wander off topic too far, for too long. That's what new threads and PM's are for. Speaking of PMs, don't be afraid of going into emails. Lots of time they do wonders in clarifying positions and leading to less angst and improved communication clarification.

I know, I just rehashed the entire thread.