Twittiquette

Betsy Morais reviews Daniel Post Senning’s Emily Post’s Manners in a Digital World: Living Well Online:

Many have handed down commandments on the rules of Web manners. Etiquette is a public performance, just as it was a century ago—but now “public” has become synonymous with “on the Internet.” Underlying all the prescriptions is the vanishing line between the manners of the analog universe and those of its virtual counterpart, since we move so seamlessly from one to the other.

Senning writes, “In an increasingly connected world, it is up to each individual to set boundaries.” We will be judged, then, by the standard of presence—the courtesy of acknowledging our surroundings. …

What we really need is a guide for those already immersed in the Internet; there is the alphabet, and then there is fluency. A Twitter user may be familiar with the “@” symbol, but it carries its own detailed rules. For instance, “.@” has different implications than “@” on its own. Depending on context, placing the period before the symbol can either be generous—“.@strugglingmusician has a terrific new video on YouTube”—or self-serving. (“.@minorcelebrity thanks for the compliment!”) As in “real life,” these kinds of signals are used as self-conscious indications of relative status.