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Miss Manners Says It's Cool to Ignore Friend Requests

GeekSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:00:45 -0700

Take it from Judith Martin, Miss Manners herself, that when it comes to friend requests on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace, you don't have to feel obligated to accept these invitations - especially when it involves mixing business with pleasure. The columnist in the Chicago Tribune recently said this about turning a blind eye to certain invitations:

Miss Manners is not one to suggest ignoring invitations, but this is more of a commercial solicitation. Even messages such as these from people you know socially are so widely distributed as to resemble the sort of open invitations that teenagers post on trees when their parents are out of town.

So there you have it. You can ignore those little invites and not feel guilty about it. Why? 'Cause Miss Manners said so.

Ask a Geek Girl: Dealing With Annoying FB Status Updates

GeekSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:30:31 -0700

We probably all have one or two in our update feed: a friend whose Facebook status updates - for any reason - drive you nuts. Maybe they update too frequently, are serious oversharers, or post updates about things you just don't find interesting. Reader DefyAllLogic posted this etiquette question in our Ask a Geek Girl group:

"I've already created lists of 'friends' and 'not really friends' and have my homepage set to only show the 'friends' updates. But I'm starting to think I need to only be Facebook friends with people I'm friends with in real life. Is it wrong to defriend people because their status updates are annoying?"

For my advice, read more.

Now that the friending frenzy seems to have ended, a lot of people are looking to streamline their Facebook friends list. When I asked, 82 percent of you said you've had to unfriend someone, whether it was the result of a failed relationship, a falling-out, or just because you didn't feel close enough with the person to consider them a Facebook friend. I'm a big fan of Facebook's "hide" features that allow you to block out status updates, photos, and other unwanted content from friends. This begs the question: if you don't want to receive someone's Facebook updates, what's the point of being their Facebook friend?

If you're ready to pare down your friends list, create a list of friend standards. Try, "I'm only Facebook friends with people I'd feel comfortable calling on the phone." Having a set of rules in place gives you a defense if your former Facebook friend confronts you after figuring out you've defriended them Besides, if Miss Manners says ignoring friend requests is OK, then gracefully defriending is acceptable, too!

Do you have more Facebook friend advice for DefyAllLogic? Share your thoughts with the group in the comments.

Do you have a tech question you'd like to ask us? Join the Ask a Geek Girl group where you can ask everything and anything related to technology. And you never know, it could be featured on GeekSugar! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

Back to Basics: What's Your Take on Internet Etiquette?

GeekSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:30:30 -0700

If there was a test based on Internet manners and etiquette most of us would fail. People sign on Gchat, but stay invisible. Others friend you on Facebook hoping to scope out your albums, but don't ever engage with you. And don't even get me started on people who announce their makeups, breakups and hookups via status updates. Where do you stand on the Internet etiquette divide? Find out before you offend someone.

Online Etiquette: Acceptable Instant Messenger Behavior	Miss Manners Says It's Cool to Ignore Friend Requests	Have You Ever Had to Defriend Someone Online?
How Do You Feel About Relationship Status on Facebook?	Do You Set Status Updates on IM?	The Worst Commenters on the Internet...It's Really That Bad

Do You Practice High-Tech Manners?

GeekSugar — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 07:00:54 -0700

I can't deny the fact that I'm constantly on my BlackBerry- whether I'm returning a missed call, listening to my voicemail or sending a text message, I am always connected in some way, shape or form. Although I'm guilty of being glued to my phone 24/7, I can recognize that there is a time and place for cell phone use and know when to turn my phone off. According to CNN, Pew Research conducted a poll last year, which found that 81 percent of people were irritated by loud and annoying cell phones in public places. The poll also revealed that a quarter of respondents would answer their phone even if it interrupted a meal or meeting. And it was no surprise that a 2006 ABC News poll indicated that three-quarters of those surveyed had observed someone using a phone or e-mailing and text messaging in mid-conversation. Time to fess up! Where do you fall in these statistics? Do you practice tech manners when out in public?