Chapter 4: Perform online communication and collaboration

4.1 Netiquette principles

Netiquette, from "network etiquette", is the set of accepted rules for polite and responsible behaviour when people communicate online. On the internet there is no face, voice or body language to soften a message, so words alone carry the tone. In a laboratory, online messages also become part of the working record: an email asking for a re-test, a chat message about a failed calibration or a comment in a shared report may be read by a supervisor, a client or an auditor long after it was sent. Good netiquette keeps working relationships healthy, avoids misunderstandings that waste instrument time and protects confidential results.

Respect and courtesy

Treat every person you write to as you would in a face-to-face laboratory discussion.

• Greet and close politely: Start with a greeting and end with thanks or a closing line, even in a short message.
• Respect other people's time: Keep messages short, state the request in the first lines and avoid copying people who do not need the message.
• Disagree politely: Criticise a method or a result, never the person. A message that says the recovery results look low and asks to check the standard is better than one that blames the analyst.
• Respect differences: Colleagues and clients come from different regions, languages and levels of experience, so avoid jokes, slang and remarks that may offend.
• Reply in good time: Acknowledge a message within a reasonable time, and when an answer will take longer say when it will come.

Clear and appropriate tone

Write so that the reader understands the message the first time.

• Use a clear subject line: A line such as "Request to repeat pH calibration, Batch 14" tells the reader what is needed before the message is opened.
• Use the right level of formality: Messages to supervisors, clients and external organisations are formal, with full sentences and correct spelling. Friendly informal language is for close colleagues.
• Avoid capital letters for whole sentences: Capitals read as shouting, and bold or underline should be used sparingly.
• Keep to one subject: Use a new message for a new topic so that replies stay easy to find.
• Proofread before sending: A misplaced decimal point or a wrong sample number in a message can cause a wrong action, so numbers and names are read again.
• Use symbols with care: Abbreviations and emoticons that colleagues may not know can be misread in a work message.

Privacy and confidentiality

Laboratory data often belongs to a client or an employer.

• Do not share results without permission: Test results, client names and unpublished data are sent only to people entitled to see them.
• Check the recipients: Look at the To, Cc and Bcc fields before sending, and use Reply all only when everyone needs the answer.
• Do not forward private messages: A message sent to you in confidence is not passed on without the sender's agreement.
• Protect other people's contact details: Hide addresses of a large group by using Bcc when the group does not know each other.
• Do not post laboratory material on public channels: Photographs of samples, labels, instrument screens or reports on social media may expose confidential information.

Accuracy, honesty and credit

Online messages spread quickly and are hard to withdraw.

• Check facts before sharing: Confirm a claim, a number or a safety notice from a reliable source before forwarding it to a group.
• Give credit: Name the author of a figure, a method or a picture that you use, as taught under Digital content copyright and licenses.
• Admit mistakes: If you send a wrong result or a wrong attachment, correct it promptly and say what has changed.
• Be careful with attachments: Large files are compressed or shared as a link, and an attachment is described in the message so that it is not mistaken for something unsafe.

Using shared online spaces responsibly

Forums, group chats and meetings have their own conventions.

• Stay on the topic of the group: Post a question about a chromatography problem in the group set up for it.
• Read before posting: Check the group's rules and earlier messages so that a question is not repeated.
• Behave in online meetings: Join on time, mute the microphone when not speaking and follow the host's rules, as taught under Online meetings (Google Meet/Zoom).
• Think before you post: Anything written online can be copied and may stay available for years, so write only what you would be willing to show an employer.