Rule 1- NEVER give out personal information.
Not on your social networking sites, Not on forums you go on, not even when you sign up for an e-mail account. It just makes it easier to track you. You may think people have better things to do that hunt people down over the internet, and that is where you are WRONG! I've PERSONALLY watched websites hunt people down, through a combination for Facebook, Google, Google Maps and various other websites and it wasn't just one guy, it was at least 100 non-admin, regular users who decided to get revenge on someone who decided to harm a cat and post it on the internet thinking that they were cool for doing it. If you poke the internet beehive, you're not just going to get stung, you're going to get SWARMED.
Rule 2- LIE about everything. No one on the internet has to know anything about you.
Yes, you can tell someone that you like cats or specific hobbies, but they don't need to know your real name or even your cats name. If someone asks for your name, tell them your name is David or Jane.
Rule 3- Change your password like you change your underwear. Seriously, just do it. Never give out your password, not even to loved ones.
You never know when he or she will log on as you and screw up your social network, but it will probably be while he/ she is drunk, when he/shes mad at you or after the break up.
Rule 4- Stay under the radar.
If you attract too much attention to yourself, you will be putting a big bulls eye on your back. The internet populous is just like high school, they'll hover around the popular kids just to watch them fall, the big difference is, someone on the internet will make every attempt to bring you down (either through hacking, harassment, ect). No matter how great a user you are, someone will absolutely HATE you.
Rule 5- Always assume you are communicating with a 40 year old man from Wisconsin, It's just easier that way.
Even if they provide pictures, it's probably a trap or a lie. Seeing this person IRL or video chatting* with someone is the only logical way of bypassing this rule.
*= Video chatting can also be a lie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-goXKtd6cPo
This is a viral video. This entire video blog was a lie right from the start, but it tricked millions of people into viewing it.
Rule 6- Pics or it didn't happen.
No one will believe you otherwise and you have no reason to believe anyone's claim otherwise. Even then there is Photoshop,... you know what; don't trust anything.
Rule 7- Do NOT feed the troll.
It's all fun and games till he turns on you. He will. Always
Rule 8- When in doubt, Google it first.
Don't be lazy, you're already wasting time on the internet, you might as well make your time useful ....Well? GET GOING!
Rule 8.5- If it's not on Google, it doesn't exist.
This is the truth, if you can't find yourself on Google, YOU don't exist. Try to prove me otherwise.
Rule 9- You are not special, you never will be, at least on the internet.
It doesn't matter if you're a rocket scientist from NASA, someone will be (or at least act) better than you, and there's nothing you can do to disprove them or discredit them, you can give them mounds of information that they honestly did not know and they'll just say "I already knew that" and if you asked that same person a question, they have google to answer it in greater detail.
Rule 9.5- Because you are not special, you (nor anyone else on the internet) should try to get into internet arguments.It's pointless because the opponent will always make themselves out to be the winner where as the other internet contender will also be making themselves out to be the winner where as, in the grand scale of things, both are LOSERS.
Rule 10- There will always be more F$*%ed up things than the last thing you saw.
It doesn't matter how desensitized you've become, there will be something worse on the horizon, it's only a matter of time. [I could give you references, but that would be incredibly NSFW and I don't want to be responsible for you throwing up all over your screen, but if you're even remotely interested e-mail me (see rule 1)]
