When operating in an online world, it can be much more difficult to remain ethical and perform morally upright behavior. This is due to the fact that the Internet offers greater anonymity and loosened accountability. There is no one around to check your facts, and as such you could basically make up whatever you wanted and present it as truth. This presents an incredible ethical problem, as you may wish to twist facts in order to further a particular agenda you have. However, that is not the way in which to convince someone of your argument, as when the eventually discover the deception (and they likely will), they will be resentful of the way you attempted to persuade them and find fault with your position.
It is also important to not steal material from others, such as music and media, and present it through your own website portal, as that is an infringement of copyright laws. The company that creates that media does not get royalties from illegal or unsolicited distribution of the product online, making that action illegal and subject to the appropriate consequences. Make sure you have permission from the individual or representative of the material before displaying it.
In academic terms, the online world can cause even greater problems. With the advent of websites like Wikipedia, it can be very easy for people to plagiarize and pass other people’s work off as their own. This must be avoided, especially in a classroom setting, as it is not indicative of your own work and will give you a grade that was undeserved. What’s more, there are grave consequences if your plagiarism is discovered (forfeit of grades, failing the class, etc.).
Online interactions are also ethical and legal gray areas; it is more important than ever to be honest and communicative in these instances, as it is a more immediate conversation with another. As a result, it can be harder to plagiarize, but it is still vital to do the proper research and present the information as your own. If you get any information from external sources, they must get the proper acknowledgement and citation.
