netiquette

When the first computer networks were being developed in the 1950s and 60s, few people could have predicted the extent to which the Internet would revolutionize our culture - and our language. These days, you don't have to be a computernik (a computer expert or enthusiast) or a mouse potato (someone who spends a great deal of time using a computer) to be familiar with words like "blog," "download," or the verb "google." And even "computerphobes" are likely to know that in modern jargon, a "mouse" isn't necessarily a small furry rodent and the newest "virus" may be more of a threat to your computer than to your health. "Netiquette," a blend of "net" (as in "Internet") and "etiquette," joined our language in the late 1980s.