Have you ever heard the word “netizen”?? It’s a new word for me but maybe for others it’s not. Actually it’s a modern shorten word for “users of the net”. And base on the internet it came from Internet and citizen or cybercitizen which means a person actively involved in online communities. But netizen isn’t just a word given to everyone who use the internet coz’ for me, having the right to be called as a netizen is already a great privilege. Know why?? Read this to figure out.
Here’s a list of the 10 commandment with explanations to be a good netizen that I have found in the internet.
1. Thou shall be omnipresent
Having a blog with Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed and Flickr accounts along with some forums and 2-3 email accounts is about the norm these days. To keep all your friends and contacts happy, you will need to keep everything fresh and updated, and that requires a lot of time and effort. To simplify the task you will have to aggregate your accounts and then consolidate your email accounts into one by using mail forwarding.
2. Thou shall not trust others to protect their privacy
Whether its Google, Facebook or any other company they will not be vigilant about protecting your privacy. So the user needs to be responsible for making sure his privacy is protected by reading about any changes, checking the news, or just making sure he has the correct settings to suit their needs.
3. Thou shall be the phish that got away
While using the internet, make sure you are always aware of what you are clicking on, and where it will take you. Be skeptical of anything that comes out of Nigeria, and never believe that you won free stuff that you never registered for.
4. Thou shall be careful of what they say and who sees it
All too often, people forget that their spouse are on their Facebook account when they change their relationship status to single. They sometimes even forget they added that snitch in the office last week when they want to vent about work. Thou shall be careful with his mouth on the net and count to 10 before submitting.
5. Thou shall vent on the net… Anonymously
If you feel the need to vent on the internet, you shall do so anonymously. That way, you will not have to worry about who knows about it and what you end up saying. It is therapeutic to have a secret blog or forum to vent in.
6. Thou shall connect and reconnect
The internet is there to allow people to reach out to others, extend a hand, an ear or a buck. When reaching out, you can connect to that long lost 3rd grade friend, a fellow Henry Bogart fan or feed a famish child in the developing world. Whatever it is you want to do, it helps to establish new relationship with other netizens.You never know!
7. Thou shall not feed the troll or be one
The vilest creatures of the web shall not be fed or entertained. Trolls tend to lurk on the internet to cause mayhem and corrupt the righteous. They are the ones posting “first” on blogs, throwing ad hominema attacks and just acting stupid. They are committed to the dark side and will not dissuade from their evil. Therefore, no matter how tempted you might be to try and correct them and save them, you SHALL not. They will only grow more vicious.
8. Thou shall not believe everything they read on the net
When the balloon boy craze hit the US netizens around the world declared it to be a hoax, for they already saw the proof that Adam Savage provided that balloons can’t carry a boy. Like anything else on the net, you will need to consult other sources and scour the testaments of the Google to make sure and verify the authority of a piece of information and be wary of the wikis for they are prone to corruption.
9. Thou shall not be caught committing adultery
We all do it; we all end up using other peoples browsers and computers! So you shall be careful when you do, never save your passwords or bookmark sites, and make sure to clear your browsing history after you are done. Use web messengers instead of installed ones, and verify that you didn’t leave a trace after you are done. (We need a emotion face here, don’t we ;) )
10. Thou shall disconnect
Every once in a while you will need to disconnect yourself from the net and go into the wild. Rediscover reality and bring back all those raw thoughts back with you to the net. That will refresh you and allow you to wind down. That means not wireless connections, no blackberries, and preferably no cellphones. Role play how it feels to be a denizen from the 80′s, use a land line, wear florescent jump suites and let that mullet loose.
Reading the commandments simply show that being a netizen is not that easy just like we thought. It is a big responsibility. As for me, whenever I use the internet, I always remind myself about my limitations. I must know my limits as a person who gets information in the net. I must know first, what site I’m allowed to enter and the site that are restricted. I also remind myself about having the proper citation whenever I print something from the web. It serves as a respect for the original writers who post or put the information. It is not really right to own other publication so I always put the site where I get it.
Another thing I must know are the limits when Im the one who put information or documents in the internet. Whenever I put or upload pictures and videos in my personal site or blogs. I always ask the permission of the person or the people who are involved in the pictures. I always do this so that I will know whether they like it to be publish or not. There are so many people who might see the pictures because Internet is a worldwide connection so I must be careful. Another thing, whenever I publish something like data’s, information or documents, I make sure that everything is true, and no one will be affected on my post. I don’t want others to be hurt or to be embarrassed because of it. And of course, the most important is whenever I wrote something in wall or blogs I make sure that is my own compositions so no one will accused me copying… And of course, I always make sure that I never exceeds in my limitations.
As a responsible netizens, we must follow the 10 commandments and know our limitations. The Internet is a wide world if we consider so we must be responsible and discipline. It can also be consider as a friend or a foe based on the way we use it. Internet is not just a program install in our computers or laptops, it is very helpful with each of us and been a big part of our life. So learn to be a responsible netizen. Be a good citizen of the internet community. Dare to be called a good NETIZEN…
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