Word of the Day

: August 22, 2015

netiquette

noun NET-ih-kut

What It Means

: etiquette governing communication on the Internet

netiquette in Context

"It's good netiquette to link to the article from which you borrow and to name your source." - John D. Farmer, Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch, May 30, 2011

"Good netiquette includes not using all caps when typing, as it comes across as shouting.… Netiquette also involves respecting the privacy of others online, and not sharing or forwarding emails and personal messages of others." - John DeGarmo, Keeping Foster Children Safe Online, 2014

Did You Know?

When the first computer networks were being developed in the 1950s and 60s, few people could have predicted the extent to which the Internet would revolutionize our culture-and our language. These days, you don't have to be a computernik (a computer expert or enthusiast) or a mouse potato (someone who spends a great deal of time using a computer) to be familiar with words like blog, download, or the verb google. And even computerphobes are likely to know that in modern jargon, a "mouse" isn't necessarily a small furry rodent and the newest "virus" may be more of a threat to your computer than to your health. Netiquette, a blend of net (as in Internet) and etiquette, joined our language in the early 1980s.