Just because you CAN do it, doesn’t mean you’re always welcome to.

A lot of civilized society functions based on trusting people to do the right thing and to be respectful. While we cannot really tell a criminal to stop stealing “because it’s rude” or a rapist to stop raping because “men need to respect women,” we can expect a level of conduct from civilized people. And for some reason, manners seem to go out the window when it comes to the Internet. Apparently, some people need their moms and dads to tell them exactly what to do in a new situation… And if mommy and daddy hasn’t specifically told you it’s not OK, you think it is..?

So. Here are some stuff that mom and dad might have not mentioned because the Internet hadn’t been invented yet.

1. Not every person online is a celebrity. You are not always welcome to read a private website, diary, or even a discussion forum, even if it’s set to public. It may be intended for a specific group of people who they haven’t met yet and thus can’t invite to read it, which is why it’s public. Whatever their reasons, do check out the front page or about me page to see if they’ve meant it for everyone and under what conditions.
2. If a straight/gay person is posting nudes on a public profile/website, it doesn’t mean a gay/straight person is welcome to look. You wouldn’t look through his or her open windows, so don’t do that online, either. You’d be right to feel disgruntled if you can see their naked antics just walking by or right from YOUR house or yard without any effort. They owe you discretion; you owe them respect for their privacy even if they don’t lock everything up with locks, chains, and “private property” signs. This means that as long as they give you a little heads-up as to what it’s about, you should not feel welcome to inspect it, even if they didn’t password-protect it. (Dumb, maybe, but there are reasons why people might do that anyway; that is not for you to judge. I once walked by a BMW left running in a grocery store parking lot. Do you think I just jumped in and drove away? Dumb, but it won’t be ME who does the wrong thing, right? Did I stop to tell the guy who owned the BMW that he “shouldn’t have” left it running with keys in? Do you think he was so dumb he didn’t know he took a risk?)
3. Each social website has an internal culture. ALWAYS familiarize yourself with the ‘vibe’ of the website/sim/profile/app before you join in. Nobody wants a disruptor around.
4. Negativity doesn’t make you friends online. Attacking admired people MOST OF THE TIME doesn’t make you special in their eyes; just an idiot. If a creator doesn’t respond to other hateful comments, they won’t think yours is going to be the glorious example of wit that you might think it is. Picking a fight might work in some cases to make you a friend, but I certainly wouldn’t confuse attention for interest if I were you. Often, the motivation to respond to you is done for everyone else there, not you.
5. When posting online, remember there are a lot of people who think they’ll be rescuing you from whatever you are doing. “You are smarter than that” to a girl who thinks her only chance in life is OnlyFans may sound like the best thing said ever to anyone, but to an OnlyFans model who LOVES doing it, it sounds nasty and passive-aggressive. ALWAYS assume people have the best of intentions at heart because, most of the time, they do. EVEN WHEN they’re picking a fight, they may try to tell you that they ADMIRE YOU but want you to see them as their equal. There’s a lot of “hate” online, but not all of that is actual hate. Much of it is concern or interest expressed in a way that is not typical to you. Remember, people are very different sorts, but NORMALLY, they’re quite well-intentioned. A lot of people feel very irritated when they feel someone is harming themselves by doing what they do. Don’t take that personally; they just don’t understand you.
6. The Internet is too big of a place to get hung up on someone who thinks differently from you. Shake your head and move on. They don’t need to hear your opinion or moral objections. Just remember you cannot save them from going straight to Hell if they literally want to go see Hell for themselves and move on. OFFER, but don’t push it.
7. ASSUME a lot of irritating (trans) stuff is a parody. That saves you a lot of grievances.
8. Just because you can copy other people’s images, text, and media doesn’t mean you have even the legal right to, let alone a moral one. If you need images, join Midjourney, while that’s still legal.

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