Much has yet to be written about the formative years of computer-based social media, and that’s because many of its standards still haven’t been established.

We know that concerns about electronic etiquette happen every day. Someone’s choice of words, or even the choice of a particular emoticon face, can easily make at least one viewer wonder.

It’s not all that much different from what happens in public places, when words or actions stand out for several or more observers.

The difference is that in social media it automatically goes out to an entire assortment of people who are equipped to receive notification. Only in a newspaper, through radio waves, or on television has any particular set of words reached so many people so instantly.

It’s a good reason for thinking twice about what to say. An advantage of the writing process is that the writer has all the time he or she wants to choose the words.

The flip side is that once they’re chosen and published they exist. The words will be interpreted without the help of a facial expression, vocal tones, or body language. It’s just the message itself, historically what’s on the page and now many times what shows up on someone’s computer screen.

Looking back at what you could find many years ago in old newspapers is actually a good comparison to what might take place on 21st century social media. It’s called TMI (too much information) now, and at least much of the time it describes what could happen back then.

Frontier towns in the American West tended to have more than their share of published examples. It wasn’t unheard of for a husband to accuse his wife of adultery through a letter to the editor. Other allegations such as lying or stealing also sometimes were put in print.

It happened in communities that were new, wide open and often free-wheeling. Outlaws gained widespread fame. Some of them later became marshals or sheriffs.

It all took place in a social fabric that didn’t as yet include well-established norms. Those took time to develop, yet slowly and surely they did.

Historian Frederick Jackson Turner, around the time of the 1893 Columbia Exposition, put forth a thesis that there was no longer a Western frontier. He claimed that transcontinental railroads, statehood for all but several southwestern territories, and advancements in farming and industries all meant that civilization had spanned the North American continent.

Even for those who lived beyond civilization’s standards, life and circumstances changed. It became very different from the days shortly after the demise of the James gang, from which phrases such as “notches on a gun belt” (for men killed in gun battles) took root.

Instead the last of the most famous outlaws, Wild Bunch leader Butch Cassidy, included never having killed a man as part of his claims of success with robbing banks and trains.

Finally, after the start of the 20th century, even Butch Cassidy and his gang were no long able to withstand modern social standards and the ever-increasing strength of law enforcement. They retreated to South America, where they continued their activities before eventually disbanding.

It all happened within a span of less than 40 years. The Internet became commonplace in the late 1990s, so if the pace is similar social media standards will before too long lead to a much stronger definition of what’s appropriate and what isn’t.

It most likely will not add up to a global village. Instead, people are likely to make choices for what they want out of social media. They’re likely to choose what they consider tasteful and appropriate, and to shun material that goes against their standards.

We’re already seeing situations where bad online review postings, if they basically venture into defamation, are more likely to prompt lawsuits. More efforts are being made to investigate online comments that clearly seem anti- social, to make sure that they aren’t more serious than a spur of the moment TMI outburst.

We’re all gaining more experience as far as when to feel offended by something a friend said online, and when to give someone the benefit of the doubt in terms of a poor choice of words or a typing error.

Hopefully it adds up to another valuable communication outlet. It’s a matter of just being able to approach social media with a sensible “savoir faire” (knowing what to do).

Norms can act as a good thing if they create cohesiveness, along with a comfort level that facilitates social interaction. Once established, they aren’t necessarily set in stone.

Instead some highly specific rules of thumb can later be changed or modified. Other basic core expectations tend to stand the test of time and to stay in place in ways that are consistently helpful. As always, we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.