Fishman and Pea suggest that any special ground rules for primary and
secondary students in cyberspace should be based on existing sets of
analogous guidelines. The most important of these is probably the
school's existing policy on speech and behavior. They recommend that
schools not routinely inspect students' private email or other areas designated as private. However, they do approve of rules against obscene,
harassing, or abusive language. Additionally, just as students are
expected to behave especially well when they're on "field trips" away
from school, they suggest reminding students that they are in effect on
a "virtual field trip" when they communicate with others in cyberspace.
I performed a few brief, totally unscientific interviews with some high
school Internet users in my neighborhood. These students operate
under rules that conform fairly closely to what Fishman and Pea suggest: