Should Newbies Need To Read The Rules?

from the such-is-life dept

This idea seems to occur to everyone once they get frustrated enough with something stupid happening online. Here's yet another column suggesting that newbie internet users be required to read and understand a set of rules (such as "do not reply to spammers") before they can get online. Could anyone actually come up with a set of rules that everyone would actually agree with?
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  • identicon
    Tony Lawrence, 12 Apr 2004 @ 5:22am

    A Simple test instead

    I propose a simple test instead. Actually, this could be used for all sorts of qualifications. It's just one question:

    Are you smart enough to understand that you aren't?



    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      thecaptain, 12 Apr 2004 @ 5:30am

      Re: A Simple test instead

      Good one.

      I'd also want to add...are you mature enough to understand that being semi-anonymous does not give you license to act like an asshole to piss people off on purpose? (For all the trolls and griefers out there)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Ryan King, 12 Apr 2004 @ 5:39am

        Re: A Simple test instead

        See, the irony is it basically does.
        What are you going to do about it? I can reply to spam too if I want and you can't do a thing about it.
        Having 'rules' for the internet seems silly to me. If you can't enforce it, what's the point?
        Education, better FAQs, learning curves, those do something. Rules just give kids something to rebel against IMO.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          AMetamorphosis, 12 Apr 2004 @ 6:37am

          Re: A Simple test instead



          I agree to this as soon as stupid people are required to get a license to pop out babies and suck up welfare ...

          link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Apr 2004 @ 7:09am

    No Subject Given

    Short answer to your question; No. People (read more than one) will seldom agree on one thing much less a list of things.

    It would be nice if users were some how required to be educated before they jumped on line as it might save some of the more gullable and/or less techno oriented a lot of troubles.

    Some of the very basics (virus identification, ID theft, scams, credit card security, etc).

    It might also dispell some of the myths that many users live under (my credit card info will be stolen !!!!)

    But agreeing on what ... good luck. Hmmmm... would probably give state lawyers something to do. They could each come up with their own rules and treat them like drivers licenses (gotta get it before you surf). They could also charge for the test like the drivers license and alleviate some of their tax woes and renew it every 4 years to do a technology catch up ... and collect more taxes !!!!

    What a great idea !!!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      caiuschen, 12 Apr 2004 @ 8:26am

      Re: Internet Rules

      While the suggestion may have been to implement this legally, it might be useful to just have a largely agreed upon set of unofficial rules that everyone could link to and point out to newbies. It would have to be acceptable to most people to reach that amount of popularity and have much of an effect.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joe Schmoe, 12 Apr 2004 @ 8:42am

    No Subject Given

    Wouldn't we be better off with viral attachments that just knock these people offline once and for all? >;)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Riverside, 12 Apr 2004 @ 6:47pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      John Dvorak proposed this several years ago except he was talking about PC ownership. He told a story about a friend who freaked when Dvorak pulled the RAM out of his computer thinking that "everything would be lost." Regarding internet/email use, I'd like to add that before you forward an email story that you have to research it to prove that it is not an urban legend.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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