The Social Graces are not a myth. Despite the rude behavior of many, there are some rules, and the graceful Sloane Crosley gives us New Yorkers the skinny on “technetiquette“. [Published in 2004, this Village Voice article is still relevant. I added my notes in the brackets.]

1) Ideally, don’t use Evite. Send out a mass bcc’ed e-mail or pdf or invites on dead trees. If you somehow feel inexplicably drawn to the Evite, drop the irony act and make it as basic and functional as possible.

2) Forwards. Sloane proposes we use mass forwards for emergencies only. [With the current 2008 economic crisis, sent forwards if you may homeless, jobless or hungry. Your friends will help.]

3.Texting. Keep it simple, skip the conjunctions and the run-on sentences and remember that texting is more closely related to phoning than e-mailing.

4)Camera Phone. “It’s just a picture. Why not?” [Well, I think you should get picture approval if the pictures are going online anywhere. Or you can just stay at home.]

Update: Sloane is now author of collection of essays, I Was Told There’d Be Cake.