Chatting rules

Here are the guidelines and rules for chatting online that I have compiled over the years. It's a working document, and needs to be organized a little better. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

1. Treat people in a chat room as though they are standing in front of you. The internet is not an excuse for abandoning the basic rules of social etiquette.
   
2. If somebody pvts (i.e. privates, or IMs (instant messages) you, acknowledge it, even if they are rude, not your type, or cruising when you are not. If they are being rude, play the higher ground and *politely* inform them of that. If they are not your type, that's fine, just say "Not my type, thanks If they are cruising and you are not, just say "Not looking, thanks
   
3. If somebody is not answering your pvt, presume they are not sitting in front of the computer. Try again later, but make it a minimum of five minutes before you do.
   
4. If you are going to pvt somebody, please have a topic of conversation in mind. Don't expect them to carry the conversation. After all, you pvted THEM, not the other way around. It's your responsibility to maintain the relationship.
   
5. The first person in a chat room argument that resorts to personally insulting somebody as opposed to debating the actual topic at hand automatically loses.
   
6. There is actually a very clear definition of an opinion: A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof. Please note the difference, as somebody telling you that you are wrong about something is not necessarily stating an opinion. They may be correcting your incorrect facts, or lack of any.
   
7. Compliments are a dime a dozen. Don't presume you will win over somebody's undying gratitude for telling him he is attractive - if he really is cute, it's doubtful you're the first person to tell him so. Either acknowledge that the compliment was all you had to say to him, or refer to rule 4 above.
   
8. Don't be afraid to give somebody a compliment. Everybody needs self-reassurance once in a while.
   
9. Take compliments gracefully. When you're 50, they come fewer and far between.
   
10. Insulting somebody merely over his HIV status is NEVER EVER cool. Never wish somebody to catch AIDS - karma will bite you in the ass most likely.
    
11. Never talk about your tricks in the chat room by name: screen name or real name.
    
12. Never talk about somebody else's tricks in a chat room.
    
13. Criticizing others' unattractiveness is never appropriate. You're ugly to plenty of people in the room too.
    
14. Old age and treachery will outdo youth and skill every time.
    
15. Don't pvt somebody with the intentions of hooking up with them if you are clearly NOT their type according the profile they filled out.
    
16. Don't ever presume that you are going to be the exception to the rule. If you were the exception to the rule, chances are that guy would have pvted you by now.
    
17. Don't be a hypocrite. Don't hold people to a standard that you wouldn't follow yourself.
    
18. It's never cool to insult anybody over the things that you find protected in the Bill of Rights.
    
19. It's not your duty or a good thing to talk about somebody else's venereal diseases in a chat room. It's everybody's duty to be aware of safer sex, and frequent testing, to avoid them in the first place.
    
20. A winking smiley face [ ;-) ] indicates sarcasm. Be aware that sarcasm doesn't work on everybody.
    
21. Face pics are not a requirement for general chat. But you should be expected to have one to meet somebody for a sexual liaison.
    
22. Don't lie about your stats - they'll only find out in the end what a pathetic loser you are for lying.
    
23. Arguing the definition of a word is pointless, as everybody has a different connotation of words. Find out what they intended to say instead, and state what you intended by the usage. Dictionaries are not rulebooks of definitions, they *reflect* usage.
    
24. Don't presume that somebody is pvting you to hook up. They may actually like your mind and are looking to make a new friend. After all, chat rooms were created to bring together people that wanted to meet and converse, not for hookups.
    
25. Don't endlessly repeat the same solicitation (i.e. begging) for the type of guy with whom you'd like to hook up. Chances are, 90% of the room saw it the first 6 times, and you should be putting it into your chat bio and profile anyway.
    
26. In fact, if you follow presumptive rules 3 and 1, soliciting in the chat room is beating a dead horse. If people aren't pvting you, it's because they don't want you. Everybody is usually just sitting there scanning profiles anyway.
    
27. Anything stated in a public chat room is open for discussion, criticism, or derision. You have no right to tell somebody to butt out. Be aware that anything stated in response to a comment may violate rule 6 above however.