InternationalBusinessEnvironmentandGlobalStrategy
SushilVachani
Netiquette:GroundRulesforOnlineDiscussions
duringIIMBxMOOCsonedXPlatform
AllregisteredparticipantsofaMOOConedXwillhaveaccesstoacourse-specificonlinediscussion
forum.Participationinsuchforumsisencouragedbecauseitcontributessignificantlyintheform
ofpeerlearning.Discussionforumsarecommonlyusedinonlinecoursestoprovidelearnersan
opportunitytoreflecton,discussandshareknowledgegainedfromtheonlinecontent.
Participationintheseforumsisstronglyencouragedbythecoursestaff.
Pleasenotethatcertainbasicnetiquetterulesneedtobediligentlyfollowedwhileparticipatingin
theseforums.Forumsaremonitoredcloselybyourstaffandanyunsuitablecontentwillbeflagged
offandremovedwithduewarningtothepersonpostingit.Repeated(morethantwice)actsof
postingunsuitable/irrelevant/promotionalcontentand/orusageofbadlanguagewillresultinthe
personbeingblockedfromparticipationintheforum.
Herearesomeguidelinesforyoutofollowinordertomakethediscussionforumaplaceofsharing,
learningandinteractingwithyourpeerlearners.Followingtheseruleswillhelpyoumaximizeyour
onlinelearningexperience.
© All Rights Reserved, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
InternationalBusinessEnvironmentandGlobalStrategy
SushilVachani
GroundRulesforOnlineDiscussionForums
General
1. Discussionforumisaccessibletoallregisteredparticipants.Youruserdetails(asgivenduring
registration)willbeusedforposting–noanonymityisallowed.
2. Ifthereareanytechnicalissueswithrespecttoposting,replyingorviewingthreadsinthe
discussionforum,kindlygetintouchwithedXTechnicalSupportteamorbringittothe
attentionofcoursestaff.
3. Onceposted,adiscussiongoesliveandcannotbeedited/deletedbyyou–sothinktwice(if
neededreadyourcontentaloud)beforeposting.
Content
4. Youcanengageinthediscussionforumsby:
a. Startingyourownnewdiscussionthread.Pleasenotethatweencourageyoutocheckif
thereisalreadyanexistingthread(startedbyanotherlearner)onthesametopicthatyou
wishtoposton.Onlyifsucharelevantthreadisabsent,shouldyoustartanewthread(post)
yourself.Thepurposeistoencourageconversationamongpeerlearners.
b. Replyingtoanexistingdiscussionthreadstartedbythefaculty,moderatororpeerlearners.
5. Onlypostcontentrelevanttotheonlinecoursethatyouareparticipatingin.Anyothercontent
whichisfoundtobeunsuitableorirrelevantwillbedeleted.
6. Rememberthatthecontentyoupostissharedpubliclywithallregisteredparticipants.
7. Youareencouragedtosharecontentthatyoudeemusefultopeerlearners.Pleaseremember
tocitesourcesasapplicable.
© All Rights Reserved, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
InternationalBusinessEnvironmentandGlobalStrategy
SushilVachani
Language/WritingStyle
8. Payconsiderableattentiontothelanguageusedandyourwritingstylewhilepostingonline.
Excessiveuseofacronyms,emoticonsandtypicaltextingphrases(usedinSMS)isdiscouraged.
9. Uppercaseisnotallowedsinceitisconsideredequivalenttoshouting.
10. Themessageyoutypemayappearcleartoyou,butnotsotothereaderwhoisnotinfrontof
youatthetimeofreading.Onewaytoavoidmisinterpretationistoreadoutyourpostloudlyto
makesureitconveysthecorrectmeaningbeforeposting.
11. Respectyourpeerlearners.Evenifyoudisagreeordifferwithanopinionexpressedonline,do
sousingappropriatelanguageanddonot,underanycircumstance,getpersonal.
12. Positiveandcriticalfeedbackisgood–butcriticizingforthesakeofitusingnegativeand/or
abusivelanguagewillnotbetolerated.
13. Bebrief,conciseandtothepointwithoutbeingpreachyorpompous.
14. Rememberthatinavirtuallearningenvironment,participantscomefromdiversegeographies
andcultures.Besensitivetothat.
15. Donotusethediscussionforumstosolveyourhomeworkproblems.
Andremember,mostoftheseguidelinesare“commonsense.”Welovetolistentoyourthoughtsin
thesediscussionforums.Afterall,discussionforumslaythefoundationforstrongonlineinteractions,
student-facultyengagementandpeerlearning.So,don’tjustreadwhatothersareposting–joinin!
© All Rights Reserved, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore