Q. I've been on the net since 1969/1985/1991. Why should I read this book?

Well, it couldn't hurt.

The net right now is a little like New York in the late 19th century -- waves of immigrants impinging themselves upon an established society. Not surprisingly, the newcomers don't always behave according to local custom, and members of the old society are sometimes suspicious and resentful. The good news is that newcomers are assimilated much more easily on the net than were the Irish fleeing the potato famine. Most of the residents are friendly, and most of the immigrants only want to please.

Nevertheless, some of the most unpleasant conflicts in cyberspace history have been caused by newcomers who decided to join the fun and, in their ignorance, broke all the rules. This book will give you net oldsters some suggestions on how to help them out.

Q. So who died and made you Queen of Netiquette?

Nobody. I admit it, I'm making it up as I go along.

I've based the rules in this book on personal experience, research, existing online netiquette guides, offline etiquette precedents, and common sense. Despite all efforts to the contrary, there may well be errors or omissions. If you spot one, please let me know via email at the following Internet address: ms.netiquette@albion.com. Naturally, you'll follow the rules proposed in this book for letting others know when they've erred.