Maintaining your online presence
The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.
Look respectable
Choose a good name
Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do not choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.
Don't post embarrassing photographs
Decide between two options:
- Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
- Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).
It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.
Use decent language, spelling, and grammar
Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.
Think hard before raising controversial issues
Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.