etiquette

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Emailers Search for the Right Sign-Off
Emailers Search for the Right Sign-Off 
OPINION

Emailers Search for the Right Sign-Off

Regards? Best? XOXO? That's me, yo?

(Newser) - Saying goodbye at the end of an email, especially a business one, is a puzzling minefield of etiquette with no clear rules, Ruth McCann writes at the Washington Post. "Best" is becoming more popular, McCann observes, but many swear by the slightly stiff "Sincerely," while others still...

How to Tip Like a Local
 How to Tip Like a Local 
TRAVEL

How to Tip Like a Local

Rules vary by country, region, scenario

(Newser) - Sure, you’ve mastered tipping etiquette in the good old US of A. But what happens when you go abroad? Not only do tipping rules vary by country, they also vary by region and scenario. Condé Nast Traveler has you covered with a new tipping guide. Highlights:
  • Dubai: You can
...

Dad on Facebook? There's a Support Group for That

(Newser) - Facebook is graying, and the Web has already produced an outlet for youngsters fleeing the site to escape friend requests from—gasp!—their parents, Time reports. MyParentsJoinedFacebook.com collects horror stories of parental incursion into the once uniformly young realm of social networking. “No matter how embarrassing your...

Smartphones Dial Up Etiquette Debate

Some call tapping rude; others call it necessary

(Newser) - Most companies don’t have rules about smartphone use at work—but with more people eying their BlackBerrys during meetings, a debate is raging over smartphone conduct, the New York Times reports. Many call excessive BlackBerrying the height of rudeness, but others hold that today’s world requires constant electronic...

White House Gets Greetings All Wrong
White House Gets Greetings
All Wrong
OPINION

White House Gets Greetings All Wrong

Egalitarian handshake better than hugs, curtsies: Miss Manners

(Newser) - After watching six presidents botch greetings with their global counterparts, Miss Manners has had it. “Where is the Office of Protocol, for goodness’ sake,” Judith Martin fumes in the Washington Post. Fifty years ago, “the American huggy movement” replaced the egalitarian handshake—a gesture that made Americans...

Etiquette for 2009: Don't Mention Your Job

Unemployment straining friendships

(Newser) - The onetime small-talk staple “So, how's the job going?” is liable to get you into trouble these days, reports Newsweek. Rising unemployment is straining friendships as the haves learn to interact with the have-nots. Among 30- and 40-somethings, discussing luxurious vacation plans is not a good idea, and for...

Blimey! Michelle Touched the Queen

(Newser) - During her chat with the queen today, Michelle Obama briefly and lightly put her hand on the royal back. And while this may not seem like a big deal to ordinary humans, it is a violation of strict rules of royal etiquette, which amount to: Beyond a limp handshake, keep...

Recession Adds Drama to Paying for Lunch

Power diners shy away from picking up big tabs

(Newser) - Power lunches once ended with diners diving for the bill, corporate cards held high. These days, the checks tend to sit there uncomfortably, everyone hoping the other guy will pay, writes Laura Holson in the New York Times. The recession has turned picking the tab into a virtual earnings report....

Aussies Are World's Rudest Employees

Americans, Britons most easily offended

(Newser) - Australian businesspeople are the rudest in the world—or so says a new study, Reuters reports. Aussies are more likely than their peers in other countries to curse, talk loudly, and take personal calls on the job—actions considered grave violations of workplace etiquette in nations like the US and...

Believe It or Not, There's an Art to This

NHL pugilists follow strict etiquette before the gloves come off

(Newser) - Fisticuffs may be frowned upon in most pro sports, the Boston Globe reports, but the NHL has a definite, if brutal, code to fighting on the ice that goes back to hockey’s rural Canadian origins. Most fights are mutually agreed upon between players, and brawlers know who not to...

McCain, Palin Embrace Hugging Etiquette

What's the etiquette for a mixed-gender ticket?

(Newser) - In 1984, Walter Mondale had a strict "hands-off" policy with running mate Geraldine Ferraro, never even putting his palm on her back when they waved to crowds. Two decades later, times have changed: John McCain and Sarah Palin have been embracing on the campaign trail, forgoing handshakes for a...

Faster, Stronger ... and More Polite?

US athletes hit 'manners training' to avoid Bode fiascos

(Newser) - US Olympians are getting a new type of training: lessons in how to behave in Beijing, reports the Wall Street Journal. In a required course the USOC calls the "ambassador program," US athletes are receiving instruction on topics ranging from appropriate chopstick use to the correct way to...

10 Summer Intern Success Tips
 10 Summer Intern Success Tips 

10 Summer Intern Success Tips

Keep your head down, follow orders, make some connections

(Newser) - Heads up, summer interns. Vogue passes along advice from fashion publishing, design, and PR insiders for making a shining impression (hint: It's not about you):
  1. Think creatively, dress conservatively: Leave the flip-flops at home.
  2. Don't play it too safe; a little flair shows the boss you have a sense of
...

Pushy Waiters Should Put a Cork in It
 Pushy Waiters
 Should Put
 a Cork in It 
OPINION

Pushy Waiters Should Put a Cork in It

Overzealous waiters can kill an evening of good wine

(Newser) - Barbaric waiters are storming the dinner table, "butting in and pouring wine without being asked" and expecting diners to hurry up and pony up to replace the drained bottle, laments Christopher Hitchens in Slate. Leaving punchlines and evenings in tatters, their unsolicited interruptions aren't just a sign of bad...

10 Tips for the Stylish Gent
10 Tips for the Stylish Gent

10 Tips for the Stylish Gent

Designer Paul Smith dishes on T-shirts and tailor-made suits

(Newser) - Natty British designer Paul Smith outlines his do's and don'ts for the 21st-century gentlemen in a cagey Details interview. Cologne lovers, beware:
  1. T-shirts seem easy, but they're a big no-no; go with a collar.
  2. A good, bland haircut is better than a failed stylish one.
  3. Women first! Don't ignore them
...

Obama, Clinton Skip Courtesies
Obama, Clinton Skip Courtesies

Obama, Clinton Skip Courtesies

Congratulations are out, while stepping on toes is in for 2008

(Newser) - Perhaps the super-long primary season has made candidates forgetful, but the Democrats were not at their most courteous last night, as Hillary Clinton failed to congratulate Barack Obama on his Wisconsin victory, and Obama took the stage in Texas while Clinton was still speaking in Ohio. No rules govern either...

Cold Calls to Loved Ones: 'Buy This!'

More stores bug buyers with calls; etiquette experts cringe

(Newser) - Tired of dropping hints and still getting the "wrong" gift? Now more stores notify potential buyers about what their loved ones want, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chains like Searle call up about that $300 scarf and onliner retailer Net-a-Porter sends video emails—along with the warning, "Let's...

Should Tonsil Hockey Be More Taboo?
Should Tonsil Hockey Be
More Taboo?

Should Tonsil Hockey Be More Taboo?

Perhaps public displays of affection go too far

(Newser) - Birds do it. Bees do it. Even Tipper and Al do it. Smooch sloppily in public, that is. A recent rash of public heavy petting has Miss Manners everywhere exasperated, CNN reports. The year’s most outrageous makeout may be Richard Gere’s caresses of a Bollywood actress, leading to...

Is the Writing on the Wall for Letter Writing?

Teens call snail mail passé, but etiquette expert defends the pen

(Newser) - A quarter of teens call snail mail the most passé way to convey in 2007. But the great-granddaughter of an etiquette doyenne wants to rescue letters before the 'Net makes them extinct. She says ink on paper still carries “more weight” than email, not to mention leaving a permanent...

How to Survive the Email Onslaught
How to Survive the Email Onslaught

How to Survive the Email Onslaught

Salon surveys advice for those losing the battle with their deluged inboxes

(Newser) - A spate of new survival manuals is addressing the problem of swamped inboxes, writes Salon's Scott Rosenberg. But how does one navigate through the sea of attachments, spam, and forwarded off-color jokes? Most experts agree on striving for emptiness: delete ruthlessly.

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