West Hoathly Church of England Primary School

THE GOLDEN RULES

1. Never give out personal information like your name, address, school, phone/mobile number or password.  Restrict yourself to your User/Member Name and/or e-mail address when chatting or sending e-mail.
    
2. Remember that nothing you write on the Internet is private.  Anything written on the ‘Net' can be read by anyone online, so be cautious when sharing your opinions with others, or posting potentially embarrassing material.
    
3. When posting messages on Social Media websites, make sure that you have selected Private under the account settings, or under the individual message settings – Unless you want anybody to be able to view them!
    
4. Don’t send ‘Flames’; rude or offensive e-mails or postings.  If you get flamed, don’t do it back, let a trusted adult or someone in authority know, its abuse, remember laws are laws.
    
5. Avoid using inappropriate and offensive language.  People are watching and your e-mail account could be terminated!
    
6. Avoid using all CAPITALS.  It’s considered to be shouting on online. Only use them when you wish to deliberately emphasise a point and do it sparingly!
    
7. Be cautious when using sarcasm or humour as people won’t always get it!  Try using emojis or emoticons (Smileys) when you want to be funny.
    
8. Don't get carried away with abbreviations or emoticons :)  Use them sparingly and wisely as the message can become muddled and confusing.
    
9. Be concise, to the point. E-mail and chat sessions will be more productive if you keep your messages short.
    
10. Always delete unknown e-mail attachments without opening them.  They can contain destructive viruses.