Make yourself clear when using humor and sarcasm. You can clarify your jokes and personalize your messages by using smileys - known as emoticons. Use your keyboard to create the following smileys:

:-) happy

:-e disappointed

:-( sad

:-< mad

:-D laughing

:-o surprised

;-) winking

:-@ screaming

:-I indifferent

Avoid using all caps. It means that you are SHOUTING!

Keep your messages short. E-mail and chat sessions are more productive if you keep them short and get right to the point. Here are some helpful abbreviations:

<BTW> = "by the way"

<G> = "grinning"

<IMHO> = "in my humble opinion"

<ROTFL> = " rolling on the floor laughing"

Do not use inappropriate language or send flames. Flames are angry or insulting messages that only offend people and could get you kicked out.

Pay attention to where your mail comes from and avoid sending the same message to people over and over again, especially when you are forwarding messages that were forwarded to you.

Do not spam. Spam is junk mail and nobody likes it! You can get in big trouble for sending junk mail to too many people.

Delete unknown e-mail attachments before opening. They may contain a harmful or destructive virus.

Only use your e-mail address and or nickname when chatting or sending mail. Never give out personal information like your name, telephone number, address, or passwords over the web. Remember the web is not private. Anything can be read by anybody so use caution!