I hate WhatsApp messenger for the following reasons.
- It is closed source
- It actively prohibits any kind of attempt at reverse engineering it and making a better product. Read what happened to WhatsApp MD, Whatsapp+
- It does not work on desktop (okay, they have a sucky web support now)
- It does not work on more than one device at a time
- It does not care about the privacy of our phone numbers
- It is owned by Facebook
- It does not have a easy way for keeping the message history intact (its backup system sucks)
- It does not even look good on Android
And all these would have been fine if there were no better alternatives. But there is. I use Telegram messenger because it undoes many of these wrongs
Etiquette
In case you still have to use WhatsApp, please try to follow these etiquettes.
Group admins
- Describe the group and ask permission before adding anyone to a group.
- Alternatively, immediately after creating a new group, give a description of the group and make sure everyone is given a chance to leave immediately.
- Have clear idea about what the group is about and discourage off-topic posts.
- Warn and remove members who are ill mannered.
- Give admin rights to a few capable people.
Sharing Media
- While sharing audio/video follow it up with a description on what the media is about and why people should watch it. If it is a surprise (which does not involve the overused sudden voice after a brief period of silence), still try to give a description that does not give away the surprise part.
- While sharing images, caption them. This is also useful in searching for old images.
- Make sure the files you share are on-topic and appropriate for all participants in a group.
- Mark NSFW media as such in description.
- Avoid posting large number of media simultaneously and without warning.
Forwarding messages
- Do not forward messages which you haven’t read/watched/heard yourself.
- When you forward a message, assume the responsibility over it as if you personally composed and sent it.
- Do not forward messages that have the text “please forward this to all/friends/groups” in them. In case you want to, edit and cut that part of the message.
- Do not forward chain forwards which are obvious hoaxes. If you aren’t smart enough to figure out hoaxes, please do an online search about the content of the message. There are websites like snopes.com and skepdic.com which slay these urban legends.
- While forwarding, especially so, do not send off-topic messages to groups.
Personal messages
- Do not add people to a broadcast list and send good morning, good afternoon messages with random SMS quotes. They can easily figure it out.
- If someone does not reciprocate with good morning messages, do not continue sending them every day.
- When you’re messaging someone whom you do not know personally, introduce yourself first before talking about anything else.
- Acknowledge that you’ve read requests/questions even if you can’t respond to the request/question immediately. Tell them that you’ll come back to it later.