Positive development for Network Neutrality - via Netiquette IQ

There was positive news last week as the FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler announced plans to re-instate the Open Internet Policy the courts recently overturned. See the republished link below for the latest development. Many are keeping their attention on this as it could have a profound global effect, mainly negative, for the people and organizations who rely on the current accessibility structure. All of us at Netiquette IQ hope these efforts will succeed!

The FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says he has a plan to re-instate the agency's Open Internet rules, which the public will hear about in more detail in the "coming days."

by Marguerite Reardon CNET

February 11, 2014 3:33 PM PST

As politicians put on the pressure, Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler says he's about to reveal his plan for keeping the Internet open for everyone.

On Monday during a speech at the University of Colorado Law School, Wheeler said that the FCC, which suffered a legal defeat last month when a federal appeals court threw out its Open Internet rules, is working on a plan that will re-instate Net neutrality protections. Wheeler indicated that the agency was encouraged by the court's decision, which rejected the regulation on a legal technicality, but upheld the agency's authority to regulate broadband networks to encourage adoption and investment. He said details would be made public soon. 

"In its Verizon v. FCC decision, the Court of Appeals invited the Commission to act to preserve a free and open Internet," he said. "I accept that invitation, and in the coming days, I will be outlining how I propose to proceed."

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The plan can't come soon enough for Democrats in Congress, who have been pushing for action. On Tuesday, five leading Democrats in the US Senate sent a letter to the FCC. Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the agency "to act with expediency." They went onto say that, "Consumers, entrepreneurs and innovators deserve to know their right to view or use the content and services of their choice online will be protected."

This comes on the heels of legislation drafted by Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senatethat would temporarily re-instate the FCC's Net neutrality rules until the agency can craft its own solution that will stand up to judicial scrutiny in the courts. 

The FCC's move.

The big question now is how the FCC will impose such rules. In January, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals found that the FCC has general authority to regulate broadband networks and to impose rules, such as the Open Internet rules adopted in 2010, under the Telecommunications Act of 1996. But the court also found that the FCC had based these specific rules on flawed legal logic. Specifically, the court said that the FCC could not regulate broadband providers using the same rules that apply to phone companies.

From a legal standpoint, the easiest solution would be to reclassify broadband providers as so-called "common carriers," which would put them under the same regulatory framework as the traditional phone network.

While simply changing the classification of broadband sounds like an easy fix, in reality it's not. This type of change would likely ignite a firestorm of protest among broadband providers, such as Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and others. These companies argue that such a reclassification would essentially change the regulatory framework of all things associated with the Internet.

Another option to fix this problem for the FCC is if Congress revises the Communications Act to spell out the specifics of Net neutrality. But in his speech on Monday, Wheeler acknowledged that although such a reform is necessary, it will take years. In fact, the 1996 re-write of the law took eight years. Wheeler also added that even a change in the law is not likely to be enough. He said that as soon as a new statute is adopted, it will likely be outdated, leaving the FCC once again to interpret the statute and exert its authority to ensure that public interest is protected.

And he acknowledged that something else must be done now.

"We can't just kick the can down the road," he said. "We have an obligation to act now with the principles that have been transmitted to us in the form of statutes, judicial and regulatory precedents, scholarship, and experience."

Exactly how Wheeler will navigate through the legal and political obstacles to protect Net neutrality is what is still unknown. Regardless, the Democratic Senators said in their letter that they want to see something from the FCC soon.

"We urge you to quickly adopt enforceable rules to prevent the blocking and discrimination of Internet traffic," the letter states. "These rules must stand on strong legal footing to withstand judicial scrutiny. Without such rules in place, Internet service providers are prone to act as gatekeepers of the Internet, controlling access by blocking or throttling certain content and thereby limiting the opportunities for innovation, speech, and commerce."
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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ. 

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.

Netiquette IQ
email
FCC

Netiquette Basics from Pope Francis - Via Netiquette IQ

Pope Francis became the first pontiff to issue a complete message of his  views on email, Netiquette and social media. His beliefs, given below, outline how positive the world of communications can be in promoting beneficial events and activities throughout our world. No matter what one's affiliation may be, there is much food for thought in what the Pope has said. It is something we all can consider when we use our communications.!                                                                                                                 

Pope Francis Releases a Dove in Vatican Square

48th World Communications Day
Communication at the Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter
1 June 2014
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we are living in a world which is growing ever “smaller” and where, as a result, it would seem to be easier for all of us to be neighbors. Developments in travel and communications technology are bringing us closer together and making us more connected, even as globalization makes us increasingly interdependent. Nonetheless, divisions, which are sometimes quite deep, continue to exist within our human family. On the global level we see a scandalous gap between the opulence of the wealthy and the utter destitution of the poor. Often we need only walk the streets of a city to see the contrast between people living on the street and the brilliant lights of the store windows. We have become so accustomed to these things that they no longer unsettle us. Our world suffers from many forms of exclusion, marginalization and poverty, to say nothing of conflicts born of a combination of economic, political, ideological, and, sadly, even religious motives.

In a world like this, media can help us to feel closer to one another, creating a sense of the unity of the human family which can in turn inspire solidarity and serious efforts to ensure a more dignified life for all. Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one another better and ultimately, to grow in unity. The walls which divide us can be broken down only if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. Media can help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances. The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.

This is not to say that certain problems do not exist. The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgment, and this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of self-expression. The variety of opinions being aired can be seen as helpful, but it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information which only confirm their own wishes and ideas, or political and economic interests. The world of communications can help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings. The desire for digital connectivity can have the effect of isolating us from our neighbors, from those closest to us. We should not overlook the fact that those who for whatever reason lack access to social media run the risk of being left behind.

While these drawbacks are real, they do not justify rejecting social media; rather, they remind us that communication is ultimately a human rather than technological achievement. What is it, then, that helps us, in the digital environment, to grow in humanity and mutual understanding? We need, for example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm. This calls for time and the ability to be silent and to listen. We need also to be patient if we want to understand those who are different from us. People only express themselves fully when they are not merely tolerated, but know that they are truly accepted. If we are genuinely attentive in listening to others, we will learn to look at the world with different eyes and come to appreciate the richness of human experience as manifested in different cultures and traditions. We will also learn to appreciate more fully the important values inspired by Christianity, such as the vision of the human person, the nature of marriage and the family, the proper distinction between the religious and political spheres, the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, and many others.

How, then, can communication be at the service of an authentic culture of encounter? What does it mean for us, as disciples of the Lord, to encounter others in the light of the Gospel? In spite of our own limitations and sinfulness, how do we draw truly close to one another? These questions are summed up in what a scribe – a communicator – once asked Jesus: “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk 10:29). This question can help us to see communication in terms of “neighborliness”. We might paraphrase the question in this way: How can we be “neighborly” in our use of the communications media and in the new environment created by digital technology? I find an answer in the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is also a parable about communication. Those who communicate, in effect, become neighbors. The Good Samaritan not only draws nearer to the man he finds half dead on the side of the road; he takes responsibility for him. Jesus shifts our understanding: it is not just about seeing the other as someone like myself, but of the ability to make myself like the other. Communication is really about realizing that we are all human beings, children of God. I like seeing this power of communication as “neighborliness”.

Whenever communication is primarily aimed at promoting consumption or manipulating others, we are dealing with a form of violent aggression like that suffered by the man in the parable, who was beaten by robbers and left abandoned on the road. The Levite and the priest do not regard him as a neighbor, but as a stranger to be kept at a distance. In those days, it was rules of ritual purity which conditioned their response. Nowadays there is a danger that certain media so condition our responses that we fail to see our real neighbor.

It is not enough to be passersby on the digital highways, simply “connected”; connections need to grow into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves. We need to love and to be loved. We need tenderness. Media strategies do not ensure beauty, goodness and truth in communication. The world of media also has to be concerned with humanity, it too is called to show tenderness. The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people. The impartiality of media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in their communication can become a true point of reference for others. Personal engagement is the basis of the trustworthiness of a communicator. Christian witness, thanks to the internet, can thereby reach the peripheries of human existence.

As I have frequently observed, if a choice has to be made between a bruised Church which goes out to the streets and a Church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly prefer the first. Those “streets” are the world where people live and where they can be reached, both effectively and affectively. The digital highway is one of them, a street teeming with people who are often hurting, men and women looking for salvation or hope. By means of the internet, the Christian message can reach “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Keeping the doors of our churches open also means keeping them open in the digital environment so that people, whatever their situation in life, can enter, and so that the Gospel can go out to reach everyone. We are called to show that the Church is the home of all. Are we capable of communicating the image of such a Church? Communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the entire Church; today the social networks are one way to experience this call to discover the beauty of faith, the beauty of encountering Christ. In the area of communications too, we need a Church capable of bringing warmth and of stirring hearts.

Effective Christian witness is not about bombarding people with religious messages, but about our willingness to be available to others “by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence” (BENEDICT XVI, Message for the 47th World Communications Day, 2013). We need but recall the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. We have to be able to dialogue with the men and women of today, to understand their expectations, doubts and hopes, and to bring them the Gospel, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate, who died and rose to free us from sin and death. We are challenged to be people of depth, attentive to what is happening around us and spiritually alert. To dialogue means to believe that the “other” has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute.

May the image of the Good Samaritan who tended to the wounds of the injured man by pouring oil and wine over them be our inspiration. Let our communication be a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts. May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects, but rather of our being loving and merciful “neighbors” to those wounded and left on the side of the road. Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for, and present in, the world of communication, in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ. She needs to be a Church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along the way. The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge; may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.

From the Vatican, 24 January 2014, the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales.

Text from page http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/23/pope_francis:_communication_must_promote_culture_of_encounter/en1-766566
of the Vatican Radio website.

A Special Valentine Blog - It is Good Netiquette to Send an Ecard!

There is considerable discussion which always grows as each holiday comes along. The question arises: "Should I send an ecard?" Most people would prefer something tangible but if this is impossible or inconvenient, an ecard is perfectly fine, most of the time. I discuss this more in other blog posts and my book (see below).So, if you are running late with sending a card, it is far better to provide an ecard than none at all.

The excellent post below gives a bit more elaboration and information.

Happy Valentin's Day!

Valentine's Day dilemma: OK to e-mail a card?

Michael Antonoff, Special for USA TODAY 10:31 a.m. EST February 13, 2014

Valentine's Day has always been about risky choices such as chocolates or flowers and whether to pop the question or not, but now the holiday has come down to whether it's VC (Valentine Correct) to send an e-card instead of a greeting card.

Traditional Valentine's Day cards won't be going away anytime soon. "Even my 18-year-old daughter said if she only got a text rather than a card from her boyfriend, she'd be unhappy," says Kathy Krassner, director of communications for the Greeting Card Association in Washington, D.C.

That's one reason Krassner anticipates sales of Valentine's Day cards will "remain relatively stable over last year's number of 145 million purchased."

Nevertheless, compared with sales of other gifts associated with Valentine's Day, greeting cards will exhibit the least amount of growth in 2014, according to IBISWorld. The research firm expects just 0.9% growth in the category on an annual basis compared with 2.1% for clothing and lingerie, 2.5% for candy, 3.9% for flowers, 4.1% for dining out, 4.2% for jewelry and 5.1% for a romantic getaway.

Additionally, just weeks before Valentine's Day, the cost of a first-class stamp was raised to 49 cents. The increase could not have come at a worse time for the greeting card industry because, according to the Greeting Card Association, roughly 60% of greeting cards are sent using the United States Postal Service. And with Valentine's Day being the second largest holiday (after Christmas) for purchasing cards, IBISWorld industry analyst Brandon Ruiz says that consumers will be "less likely to purchase greetings cards and more likely to purchase e-cards, which are more affordable."

Thousands of electronic valentines, many incorporating animation and music, can be personalized and e-mailed from a variety of websites. E-card prices range from free to $12 to $15 as part of an annual subscription.

Krassner says she's not sure how the postal hike will impact Valentine's Day sales, since many of those cards are handed over in person. One thing she is certain about is that a real card has more of an impact.
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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ. 

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.

6 Creative Methods to Resend an Email (job-seekers and students) - via Netiquette IQ

There is a prevailing school of thought and Netiquette which says that any email sent within a business or employment environment should be plain, without any embellishments. Although I did once believe this conservative approach was indeed not to be tampered with, in recent times I have evolved on this, particularly with the rapid growth of social media and explosive technology innovation. This is particularly the case in job-seeking and student applications.

Fewer and fewer emails are responded to and it has become increasingly difficult, with this lack of email etiquette, to even know if a message has been read. What I have concluded is that there is a way to blend a standard set methods with more innovative ones for a more contemporary approach.

The matrix below was put together during the current writing of my forthcoming book that will focus upon Netiquette IQ for job-seekers, recruiters and hiring people. Essentially it offers suggestions on how to construct first, second and third emails, based upon the place in the hiring or acceptance process from which the email is sent. 

For example, if someone has not received a reply after two emails, it is proper Netiquette to add some embellishments. The thought here is that perhaps this will assist the recipient to open and read the message! Form my perspective, it makes to make little sense to send the exact same message if no reply has been received.

In conclusion, utilize all you can, within Netiquette rules, to  increase your likelihood of delivering a successful email.                                                                 

Don’t send the same email the second and third times

	First Email	Second Email	Third Email	After A Response	After Response –No Other Answer	After Offer
Special Characters	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Photo	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Icons	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Links	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Colors	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
3-D	No	No	Yes	No	No	No

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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ. 

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.