When Everything Else Fails Try Reading the Instructions...

It's a sad fact of life that the guiding principle behind much of human endeavor is, "When everything else fails, read the instructions." Let me tell you now, if you let  that be your credo you had better be prepared for a large dose of frustration, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in a flame-proof suit.

Internet has been around for a long time (in computer terms) and it has a unique  culture. All societies have rules and guidelines for proper conduct. Internet is no exception. Emily Post is the expert on etiquette, but every prospective internaut should be aware of netiquette and AUP (Acceptable Computer Use) policies.

It's fine to label yourself as a newbie, but if others dub you as a newbie you can be  sure it isn't because they want to nominate you as Internet Rookie of the Year. This course will provide you with information you will need to become a productive citizen of Internet.

One common mistake that a newbie can make is to ask a question that has been asked about a million times before. Doing this will almost always result in people  ignoring your message. Sometimes it will result in flames, but only infrequently will it result in an answer to your question.

Most newsgroups and mailing lists have a list of Frequently Asked Questions  (FAQ) that you can download and read. They are usually posted about once a month and are very often archived at other sites. In fact, many other areas of Internet provide FAQs. All you have to do is look a little, or ask.

If you have a question that you feel has been asked a million times you can usually locate the FAQ by doing a net search. If you can't locate it you can post a message to the group asking someone post them. Many active groups post FAQ's about  once a month.

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