Kindly stop bleeding on your fellow students - Blogging Netiquette Lessons from Brazilian Jui Jitsu
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Yesterday was my second class of Brazilian Jui-jitsu!
Now, if you’re not familiar with this awesome sport of kings, macho dudes and all-powerful mother units, let me explain a bit about it - basically you grapple with your opponent and try to pin/immobilize/win the bout.
Doesn’t that sound simply heavenly? I mean, think about it - after hours and hours of typing at your keyboard and watching your children fling their cheerios heavenwards in order to test out if removing them from the box FIRST makes them fall faster….what else could even begin to match the utter joy of pounding on your opponent?
Okay, okay, it’s not really pounding. But admit it - that description did draw you in, right? 
Anywhos! Let me rewind for a second, gentle reader, and remind you of what happened on Tuesday - I was joyfully participating in Adult Karate Sparring and had the incredibly unintelligent judgment to yell at a world class (and I mean WORLD CLASS) fighter,
Go ahead, hit me!
Said fighter most generously obeyed my command, and I went flying backwards and ended up with a blazingly neon-colored rug burn on my elbow. You can learn more about this adventure here.
Fast forward to today! My rug burn had scabbed over, and I figured, okay, zee scab…it will stay put.
HA HA! Ho ho! In my dreams, baby!
You see, yesterday was no-gi day, which meant that yours truly was BJJing in her short-sleeves shirt and sweatpants….leaving that lovely injury exposed to the tender mercies of the mat. Halfway thru the class, it started bleeding again, joy oh joy! I stopped to slap on a band aid that adhered to my skin, oh, hmmm, 2.14 minutes before the sweat caused it to fall off again. Sigh.
After class, it was gently expressed to me that bleeding on my fellow students was Not A Good Thing, and perhaps I would want to bandage myself up the next time. Of course I will do this, but at that precise moment, it hit me like a gallon of sub-zero maple syrup dropped from the height of the open freezer door that barely missed kiddie toes:
Courtesy! What a great topic for my blog!!
And thus…a post was born. This post, to be precise.
Blog courtesy! What does it mean to you?
Oh heck, why start there? Let’s take a step back into the misty Dawn of Time…back when there wasn’t anything even remotely resembling a "blog" online, back when intrepid geeks gained entry to the Internet via esoteric command line tools like the Gods intended (none of this wysiwyg stuff!)…..back when…
Netiquette was the law of the land.
Okay that’s a downright blatant lie. Netiquette (internet good behavior) wasn’t the law of the land…as alas, bad manners always manage to emerge from even the most genteel of souls! However, it was considered a Good Thing indeed.
Netiquette focuses upon the core point of "Remember the human." It’s basically The Golden Rule metamorphized to the Internet - treat others the way you would like to be treated, don’t be a schoolyard bully, keep in mind the person at the other of the screen possesses valid feelings etc. The challenge into which you run, however, is because the Internet is SOOO anonymous, people feel they can assume personas that would earn them 392 time-outs in real life!!
To quote from Virginia Shea’s online book Netiquette:
…Writer and Macintosh evangelist Guy Kawasaki tells a story about getting email from some fellow he’s never met. Online, this fellow tells Guy that he’s a bad writer with nothing interesting to say.
Unbelievably rude? Yes, but unfortunately, it happens all the time in cyberspace.
Maybe it’s the awesome power of being able to send mail directly to a well-known writer like Guy. Maybe it’s the fact that you can’t see his face crumple in misery as he reads your cruel words. Whatever the reason, it’s incredibly common.
Guy proposes a useful test for anything you’re about to post or mail: Ask yourself, "Would I say this to the person’s face?" If the answer is no, rewrite and reread. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel as comfortable saying these words to the live person as you do sending them through cyberspace…..MORE…..
If you have a moment, you should really check out the Core Rules of Netiquette - it’s extremely educational. Here are the chapters:
Let’s now smoothly move this concept towards that of blogging - courtesy, netiquette and all around common sense. Here are some of the Owlbert Golden Rules of Playing Nice Online:
1.) You cannot tell others how to think.
Yes, sadly enough, it’s true. People actually possess the ability to think for themselves…and may even have the utter audacity to (eek!) disagree with your opinions. Even worse, they might brazenly inform you of this fact via an online confrontation that would make Godzilla tremble in unmitigated fear.
Tough. These things happen…you cannot make the world happy, nor can you command others to worship the brilliance which emerges from your writings. Oh well, if people choose to disagree with you…view it as:
- Hmmmm, perhaps I can learn something new if I put my ego outside the door.
You might, you might not. Variety is what makes the world go ’round (that, and 23 cups of luxury coffee!). Keep an open mind and when people disgree with you, remember - it takes two to fight. Refuse to engage, admit to yourself that everyone has the right to their own opinions, as misguided, inaccurate, erroneous, flawed and faulty they might be. Pity them and hope they’ll gain enlightenment soon.
2.) Your parents and kids read everything you write.
True…probably they don’t (heck, probably it’s a miracle when they can turn on the computer without electrocuting the squirrels in the attic), but it’s a good thing to remember none the less. You wouldn’t stand at a busy intersection and scream obscenities at the taxi cars that barely miss splashing liquid, ahem, stuff, onto your designer shoes, now would you?
It’s the same thing on the Internet. You need to be proud of everything you write…not only now, but, say, 5 years in the future. What about when your kids get old enough to Google your writings from 10 years ago? Will they say, yep, that’s my folks, aren’t they awesome! or instead, will they say
HEY! You never let ME get away with that!!!!!!
It is to think. You are an example to your family….make certain that shines through your writings.
3.) You lose nothing when you give away knowledge
Now, I will be the first person to admit, I love making money online and selling critical knowledge. I’ve been doing this now since, gosh, 1997, back when I wrote The Internet Recruiting Edge.
But just like every Ying has a Yang and every snowbound driveway has a parent who has to shovel it and every rainbow has a unicorn, every "you have to pay for the following" should be paired with a "and btw, here’s how to accomplish ABC for free as well."
You see, you lose nothing when you give away knowledge - you still maintain it within your being! But not only have you shared it with other individuals…you’ve also shown a critical aspect of your personality to boot (that of being helpful, supportive and considerate). Chances are … the person you assisted will remember that, and probably tell their friends as well.
Knowledge sharing - it’s a good thing.
4.) Your thousands of fans make a cold bed at night
This is one of the most important facts about life online. Get this:
It’s a pathetic substitute for real life.
My mom is always fond of saying, pride makes for a lonely companion in bed at night. Not only that - but your legions of fans can’t warm you up either!
Your online persona, your online work, your online job…..it pales to nothingness next to your family. Your spouse, your children, your 15 parakeets who find your laundry room a fascinating place to explore….they’re the ones who are truly important in your life. I’ll bet that NOBODY but nobody whispered at they exhaled their last breath:
Oh Lord, if only I had spent more time online blogging my heart out!
Wouldn’t you agree?
Remember - courtesy online is simply good plain ‘ole common sense. You have your personal honor, your personal standards, your personal desires for how YOU want to be treated. Don’t just mouth the words; instead, walk the walk that you proactively talk. Your readers will respect you more…and that’s always a good thing.
ThankYouVeryMuch!
Owlbert
#BEGIN highlights of this blog writing post:
Beginners blogging tips: Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.
Intermediate and/or Advanced blogging tips: Your family will be reading your blog posts a decade in the future. Make sure it’s something that will cause pride and not utter embarrassment.
#END highlights of this blog writing post
ps - speaking of Can’t We All Get Along, Tom Lehrer immortalized that with National Brotherhood Week (WARNING - very satirical!):
pps - And speaking about etiquette:
EMILY POSTS WEDDING ETIQUETTE HC 4TH EDIT PLANNER 2001
NEW Martine's Hand-Book of Etiquette and Guide to Tr…
1859 Victorian Health Physical Fitness Beauty Etiquette
U.S.COV.w 4 1 2 & 1 1 2 Prexie Coils inc Tied Etiquette
NEW The Brown's System Teaches Etiquette and Social …
NEW Business Etiquette in Brief: The Competitive Edg…
NEW The Essential Book of Gay Manners and Etiquette:…
EVERYTHING WEDDING BOOK Etiquette Gown Flowers 2004 NEW
Related posts:
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