4. Digital Etiquette

An example of inappropriate behavior is Helen Zille's tweets about colonialism.

The former leader of South Africa's main opposition party has sparked a public outcry over a series of social media posts that suggested colonialism brought benefits to the country. 

"For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water," Helen Zille, the current premier of the Western Cape province, wrote on Twitter.

No Helen Zille, colonialism did not bring 'development' to Africa. It brought oppression, exploitation, racism, poverty, etc, etc, etc. pic.twitter.com/mz9oqp19df

— Ulrich J van Vuuren (@UlrichJvV) March 16, 2017

Zille's comments drew strong criticism from political opponents and those within her own party, as well as on social media.

She has since apologized, for make these statements but will now have to face a disciplinary process by the DA in which could result in her being removed from the political party

This tweet also damaged the DA's reputation and will most likely have a negative affect the party in future election. The issue of the legacy of colonialism is a divisive and sensitive topic in South Africa

If proper Netiquette was followed the above problem would never have occurred and the help the users here are the Core Rules of Netiquette by Virginia Shea.

• Rule 1: Remember the Human
• Never say anything online that you wouldn’t say to your reader’s face
• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
• Be ethical in your engagement and know that breaking the law is bad netiquette.
• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
• The netiquette required will differ from domain to domain. If you are in a forum of experts, your netiquette should reflect respect
• Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
• When sharing files or documents, bear in mind the audience’s bandwidth
• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
• Check grammar and spelling before you post
• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
• Offer answers and help others where you can.
• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
• Don’t respond to flame-bait, do not post spelling or grammar flames, and apologise if you have done so or perpetuated a flame-war.
• Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
• Don’t give out other people’s details, online or offline.
• Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
•  The more power you have, the more important it is how you use it.
• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
• We all were once a newb

 

References

 Miller, Eric. Helen Zille  2009 World Economic Forum On Africa . 2009 [Online]https://commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Helen_Zille,_2009_World_Economic_Forum_on_Africa-1.jpg . 20 May 2017.

Helen zille colonialism tweets. 2017. Helen zille colonialism tweets. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ewn.co.za/Topic/Helen-Zille-colonialism-tweets. [Accessed 22 May 2017].

Huffington Post South Africa. 2017. Helen Zille To Face Disciplinary Action Over Pro-Colonialism Tweets, says Maimane. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/04/03/helen-zille-to-face-disciplinary-action-over-pro-colonialism-twe_a_22023077/. [Accessed 22 May 2017].