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"Netiquette” is network etiquette, the do's and don'ts of online communication. Netiquettecovers both common courtesy online and the informal “rules of the road” of cyberspace. (Márcia Rejani, 2003)

I love this text about “ Netiquette” of the book Learning English Through Texts. Here are some tips on how to behave in the virtual landscape:
Rule 1: Remember the human
When you're holding a conversation online – whether it's an e-mail exchange or a response to a discussion group posting – it's easy to misinterpret your correspondent's meaning. And it's frighteningly easy to forget that your correspondent is a person with feelings more or less like your own.
Rule 2: Adhere to same Standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
People sometimes forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer and sometimes some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Netiquette varies from domain to domain. When you enter a domain of cyberspace that's new to you, take a look around. Spend a while listening to the chat or reading the archives. Get a sense of how the people who are already there act. Then go ahead and participate.
Rule 4: Respect the other people's time and bandwidth
When you send e-mail or post to a discussion group, you're taking up other people's time (or hoping to). It's your responsibility to ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn't wasted. When you accidentally post the same note to the same newsgroup five times, you are wasting both time (of the people who check all five copies of the posting) and bandwidth (by sending repetitive information over the wires and requiring it to be stored somewhere).
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Take advantage of your anonymity. As in the world at large, most people who communicate online just want to be liked. Networks – particularly discussion groups – let you reach out to people you'd otherwise never meet. And none of them can see you. You won't be judged by the color of your skin, eyes, or hair, your weight, your age, or your clothing.
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
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. You do have something to offer. Don't be afraid to share what you know.
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
“Flaming” is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion. It's the kind of message that makes people respond, “Oh come on, tell us how you really feel.” Tact is not its objective.
Does Netiquette forbid flaming? Not at all. Flaming is a long-standing network tradition (and Netiquette never messes with tradition). Flames can be lots of fun, both to write and to read. And the recipients of flames sometimes deserve the heat.
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Of course, you'd never dream of going through your colleagues' desk drawers. So naturally you wouldn't read their e-mail either. Unfortunately, a lot of people would. Failing to respect other people's privacy is not just bad Netiquette. It could also cost you your job.
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Some people in cyberspace have more power than others. There are wizards in MUDs (multi-user dungeons), experts in every office, and system administrators in every system. Knowing more than others, or having more power than they do, does not give you the right to take advantage of them.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
When someone makes a mistake – whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer – be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else.
(from www.albion.com/netiquette.)

And you? Tell us if you agree or disagree with the “Netiquette” rules.