In addition, make sure your notes are clear and logical. It's perfectly possible to write a paragraph that contains no errors in grammar or spelling, but still makes no sense whatsoever. This is most likely to happen when you're trying to impress someone by using a lot of long words that you don't really understand yourself. Trust me -- no one worth impressing will be impressed. It's better to keep it simple.
Don't post flame-bait
Finally, be pleasant and polite. Don't use offensive language, and don't be confrontational for the sake of confrontation. See "The Art of Flaming" on page 71 for details.
Q. Is swearing acceptable on the net?
Only in those areas where sewage is considered an art form, e.g., the
USENET newsgroup
alt.tasteless. Usually, if you feel that
cursing in
some form is required, it's preferable to use amusing euphemisms like
"effing" and "sugar." You may also use the classic asterisk filler -- for
example, s***. The archness is somehow appropriate to the net, and
you avoid offending anyone needlessly. And everyone will know
exactly what you mean.
Finally, after all that negativity, some positive advice.
The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online
works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the
questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum
total of world knowledge increases. The Internet itself was founded and
grew because scientists wanted to share information. Gradually, the rest
of us got in on the act.
So do your part. Despite the long lists of no-no's in this book, you do
have something to offer. Don't be afraid to share what you know.
It's especially polite to share the results of your questions with others.
When you anticipate that you'll get a lot of answers to a question, or
when you post a question to a discussion group that you don't visit
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
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