Discussion forum etiquette and protocols for contributing to online discussions.

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eLearning OHIO • April 2012
Online Discussion
Guidelines: Etiquette and
Protocols for Posting

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Part 1. Discussion Forum
and Email Etiquette
Email and discussion boards will play a very
important role in your online course!
Following is a brief guide to email and
discussion board etiquette.
Source: The following information on
etiquette was modified from materials
created by the University of Wisconsin-
Whitewater and the University of Oklahoma.

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Be Considerate and Appropriate
 Be considerate and appropriate when
using the discussion board and the chat
room. They are extensions of your
classroom. Please keep in mind, as you
contribute to a discussion forum or chat
room, that not everyone comes from the
same background, or shares the same
values and ideals. Please be appropriate
(professional) and considerate of others.

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Be Aware of Your Tone
 Be aware of your tone. The "tone" is a very
important part of electronic communication.
You might find it helpful to read your email or
discussion board post out loud before you
submit it. When you read your message out
loud does it sound the way you would speak
to another student in the classroom?

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Use People’s Names
 Use people's names (or nickname). When
you reply to someone in a discussion
forum, use their name! You can say "Hi
Jessica" or "Hi Michael" or whatever their
name/nickname might be. That is the only
way you will really start to learn the names of
the people in your online class!

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Sign Your Email
 Sign your email. Although email is often
very informal in style, it is important to "sign"
your email by including your name at the
bottom of the email.

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Sharing Ideas
 Sharing ideas. The point of a discussion
forum is to share ideas, not to prove to
others that you are right and that they are
wrong. Differences of opinion are going to
occur in any forum, and your goal should be
simply to convey your ideas as clearly as
possible.

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Joking Around
 Joking around. It is important to remember
that tone of voice often plays an important
role in letting people know that you are
making a joke or being ironic. If you want to
convey that tone in your email or discussion
board post, you can learn to use smiley's or
simply add parenthetical comments like “(just
kidding!).” And be careful: sarcastic
comments are easily misunderstood in any
online discussion.

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Reading and Replying
 Reading and replying. Very often people
will read postings in a discussion forum but
not make a reply. Sometimes students
become upset when they see that their post
has been "read" but with no reply. This does
not mean anything at all! Please do not feel
offended or take that personally.

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Reporting Problems
 Reporting problems. If you find something
in a discussion forum that strikes you as
upsetting or unacceptable, please be sure to
let your instructor know about it as soon as
possible.

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Part 2. Protocols for
Contributing to Threaded
Discussions
Source: Gilbert, P. & Dabbagh, N. (2005).
How to structure online discussions for
meaningful discourse: A case study. British
Journal of Educational
Technology, v36, n1, pp. 5-18.

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Evenly Distributed Posts
 Postingsshould be evenly distributed during
the discussion period (not concentrated all
on one day or at the beginning and/or end of
the period).

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Length and Type of Postings
 Postings should be a minimum of one short
paragraph and a maximum of two
paragraphs (unless instructed otherwise).
Avoid postings that are limited to “I agree” or
“great idea,” etc.

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Support Your Statements
 Ifyou agree (or disagree) with a posting then
say why you agree by supporting your
statement with concepts from the readings or
by bringing in a related example or
experience.

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Address the Questions
 Address the questions as much as possible
(don't let the discussion stray).

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Use Quotes
 Try
to use quotes from the articles that
support your postings. Include page numbers
when you do that.

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Build on Others’ Posts
 Build on others' responses to create threads.

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Use Prior Knowledge
 Bring
in related prior knowledge (work
experience, prior
coursework, readings, etc.)

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Follow Proper Etiquette
 Useproper etiquette (proper
language, typing, etc.)