Etiquette for the Modern Age!
This has been a gripe of mine for more than a decade online. I am constantly saying that people seem to switch on their modems and switch off their manners.
I am constantly harping on for some simple “old fashioned” manners to be brought back into current trends. Why is it that simply because we are not face to face with someone it suddenly becomes quite acceptable to treat people as disposable assets? They are as much an entity as you are and as the saying goes, treat others as you would really like them to treat you.
So when you send an email, no matter how short, address the person by name or nickname, show some respect, greet them, have your say and then sign off with your name. That is not too much to ask for and I absolutely require it or I just treat the correspondence with the same respect it has shown me.
I have a name and it’s not “Hey”! You also have a name so sign it to your message and take ownership of it. Even if it is an sms. How am I supposed to know who the beep you are if you don’t tell me but send a moronic sms to a wrong number? Pay for the extra characters in your sms and show it the respect it deserves.
Chatting online is yet another subject. How hard is it to say hello/goodbye when you are done with the chat or leaving for the evening or day? I must confess that I do not pay an awful lot to end my chats online with, “Ciao, enjoy the rest of your day!”
If you say chat just now, then mean it. If I have enough respect for you to hang around waiting for you to come back, then show me the same respect in coming back!
“Later” is not a commitment. It is a sorry excuse that people use in our modern age to avoid commitment. “Later” can be in 5 minutes or 5 years. Show some backbone and specify when you intend to dignify me with your presence. I too have a life and may not be waiting around till your royal highness will bless me with a brief message in passing.
What amazes me the most is that people who do these things as a daily ritual take great offense when it is done back to them. Unless you are performing on your webcam, I really cannot see you taking a potty break or going out to dinner so forgive me when I take offense at the insult of not being told you have now ended the conversation because it is inconvenient for you.
So everyone, show some respect, give people a piece of yourself, and be present even if only on a cyber level! Treat everyone with the same tenderness as you would your own elders around the Christmas table. It’s called being human!
Your avatar will approve… Promise!
