"There are some special rules that apply to communicating virtually. The most important is to remember that you are communicating with real people, not a computer. Don't spam. That is, don't send unsolicited e-mail. Remember that the Internet is a pull system, where people can request information, rather than one where you send them information without being asked. A wise person once suggested you treat the Internet like a foreign culture; study it for a month or more, as an anthropologist would, before you participate. Using this example, it would also be advisable to strongly consider cultural differences of the people with whom we communicate. This entails avoiding profanity and slurs or criticisms against any group of people. It means respecting differences and striving for political correctness in all forms of communication and action.
The CD-ROM "Information Literacy Toolkit" provides definitions of legal considerations included in dealing with virtual communications. Below are some ethical considerations for handling them.
As with security considerations, ethics in dealing with material handled via virtual communication is rooted in traditional communications. That which applies to the paper world also applies in the virtual world. The fact that information is easily available does not remove traditional requirements for attribution, for the avoidance of plagiarism or for the appropriate use the information.
The anonymity provided by the ability to surf and search a large number of documents provides a temptation to use material in an unauthorized way. This temptation must be avoided.
The same browsing tools that allow wide access also provide a tool for proper attribution. The writer may simply insert a link (URL) to direct the reader to the source of the information cited.
Privacy should be safeguarded and observed. Those who control their own information should establish systems to keep information that they do not want disclosed protected. Owners of
One of the most significant differences between Web 2.0 and the traditional
World Wide Web (retroactively referred to as Web 1.0) is greater collaboration
among Internet users and other users, content providers, and enterprises.
popular term for advanced Internet technology and applications including blog
dynamic encyclopedias such as Wikipedia
allow users to create and edit the content of a worldwide information database
in multiple languages
led to the proliferation of blogging. The dissemination of news evolved into
RSS.
There is no clear-cut demarcation between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 technologies,
hardware and applications
Critics of Web 2.0 maintain that it makes it too easy for the average person to
affect online content and that, as a result, the credibility, ethics and even
legality of Web content could suffer
Web 2.0 is merely a transitional phase between the early days of the World Wide
Web's existence and a more established phase they're calling Web 3.0.