Sometimes the relative anonymity of being online and the relative invisibility of others and their emotional responses makes it easy to forget norms of conversational politeness. Remember that you can't always know how others are going to take what you say. So I'd like to lay down some ground rules for internet discussions that should allow us to be honest with one another and constructively critical while also maintain civility and respectfulness. (I claim no originality in proffering this list.)

Be kind. Every one of us goes through struggles the rest of us know nothing about. Knowing that you’re right is of little value if you’re such a troll that nobody will listen to you.
"Don't do to others what you would take ill coming from them." Pittacus of Mytilene
Be honest. Say what you really think (but in the kindest way possible). Work on that.
Be clear. “Write not only that you might be understood, but so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.” Quintillian, a Roman rhetorician.
Be charitable. Read other's posts with interpretive charity. Give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone says something that you think is stupid, ask yourself if there is something else they could have meant. Wherever possible, between any two interpretations of another's words, try to read/interpret the other as having meant the kinder, truer, more logical of the alternatives.
Be patient. When someone says something you're not sure you understood, ask them to clarify. When someone asks you to clarify, if you’re sure your explanation was adequate, really try to elaborate more for them. We don’t all share the same background assumptions. There may be things that one or the other of you take for granted, but the other doesn’t.
Be forgiving. Sometimes you might be misunderstood; someone might “jump down your throat” (for instance, because they didn’t follow rule #4). Refer back to rules 1 and 5.
Be civil. In the end, sometimes we have to “agree to disagree”, but we don’t have to be mean or disrespectful toward one another. We have to assume that we are each on a journey, and not all at the same place in that journey. “Sticking to one’s principles” doesn’t license anyone to be a troll in my online classroom. Refer back to rule #1.

Finally, here are a couple brief videos.

The first video goes over a whole list of seven additional commonsense netiquette rules:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRoclqDJh0 (Links to an external site.)

The second shows how netiquette is being approached in another culture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nLqwTasGLI (Links to an external site.)