99
votes
How to tell someone I'd like to become friends without causing them to think I'm romantically interested in them?
If you want to meet with someone but don't want them to think you are considering romance, invite them and their partner (if any) to get together with you and your partner / spouse. That makes it ...
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94
votes
I sent an interesting link to a friend that he didn't ask for at all, and he replied with "thank you" - what should I reply?
Nothing
You did something that you thought he might like. He thanked you for it (either because he liked it or because he just wanted to be polite).
Unless you want to initiate chit-chat for some ...
- 801
75
votes
Accepted
How can I stop acquaintances from reposting my photos on social media without credit to me?
Well, you could try contacting each person in turn, and asking them to give you credit by following the steps you described in your post. You shouldn't bring them stealing your work into the ...
- 17.1k
67
votes
Accepted
How to get friends/partner to stop texting me pointless pictures/videos
Welcome to the wise and wonderful world of being a curmudgeon. It's ok many of us stayed in the closet for years, but at some point, you just gotta embrace your inner angry old person and let it out.
...
- 54.7k
56
votes
Accepted
I sent an interesting link to a friend that he didn't ask for at all, and he replied with "thank you" - what should I reply?
I think you're overthinking this a little, they're thankful for what you sent them. A simple "you're welcome" would suffice, but if you want to carry the conversation on, you could say something like:
...
- 9,709
54
votes
How do I support a friend on Social Media who contacted me directly about something I don't want to be involved in?
First, let me explain why your friend has a problem with "all lives matter." It sounds like a rebuttal, like you're correcting the person who said Black Lives Matter. I've seen analogies like "if ...
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43
votes
Accepted
WhatsApp: read and not reply without sounding rude?
It is in my opinion rude, but maybe not for the reasons you could think.
You have the right to think their texts are pointless, of course. And you have the right to tell them :
Sorry, I'm somewhat ...
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36
votes
WhatsApp: read and not reply without sounding rude?
It isn't rude to read and not reply directly. But from the three examples you gave, I would say it would definitely be considered rude by the other person if they never go a reaction from you.
To ...
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34
votes
Accepted
How can I politely ask my audience to not use their cellphones when I am giving a talk?
Because Mobile phones have made it harder for speakers to compete for their audience's attention, the speaker has to give them more value that their mobiles would never be able to do in that situation....
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30
votes
How to tell someone I'd like to become friends without causing them to think I'm romantically interested in them?
Be explicit
I've had this problem a few times, and my choice was always to make it completely explicit. By this I mean stating "I have a partner and nothing romantic is on the table". Of course, don'...
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28
votes
Accepted
How to ask a friend to remove/not post photos of me on social media?
I want to tell my friend about my privacy concerns without risking to reduce the strength of our friendship.
I would tell them the truth. If they are really your friends, they'll understand. Your ...
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28
votes
Accepted
How to get to know someone who doesn't use social media frequently?
You could just ask.
If he's interested in getting to know you better, and wants to invest the time, asking him for his phone number or for a way to contact him is a pretty reasonable thing to do.
...
- 54.7k
24
votes
Accepted
How to politely say, "I know, right?"
Maybe I'm out of the loop but I was always of the opinion that "ikr" means "I feel the same way". I was taught as a kid not to say "I know" because "it's rude"... I'm not sure that's true but it's ...
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19
votes
How can I politely ask my audience to not use their cellphones when I am giving a talk?
One other thing to consider is that you might be wrong about what people are doing on their phones.
I use my phone to take notes at things like faculty meetings and conferences. I find it very ...
- 3,694
19
votes
How can I tactfully ask someone whether posts they made are potentially about me on social media?
"If you have ever left me or stopped talking to me for any reason, don't come back without 10 good reasons why I should let you"
Personally, and I'm aware that this isn't really IPS centered, but ...
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19
votes
How do I explain to my coworkers I'm not 'facebooking'?
I've been in a similar boat, and my answer depends heavily on who I'm dealing with.
If the person in question is someone I'm on good terms with, and joke around with, I'll be light hearted, and maybe ...
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18
votes
How to get friends/partner to stop texting me pointless pictures/videos
Maybe try being honest with them. Instead of short replies, I say things about what I got & try to stay polite, but not convey any sense of enjoyment. I might say something like
Hey so you ...
- 10.1k
15
votes
Accepted
Should permission be sought if someone's picture will end up on my online post about a restaurant?
I would endeavor to keep others out of the photos in the first place, as you really never know when someone needs to avoid detection.
I am reminded of a workshop I once gave to educators. The ...
- 2,776
15
votes
How can I stop acquaintances from reposting my photos on social media without credit to me?
There's a less sinister reason than you might think for them to download and re-upload: It can be easier. This is especially true if they want to crop them* to highlight their own involvement, or to ...
- 788
15
votes
Accepted
My girlfriend keeps me out of her Facebook profile - how to understand why?
Your comment
Thanks for the answer. For me this is a sign of weakness. It forces to humiliate yourself asking for explainations she is supposed to give, even better... explainations for a behaviour ...
- 1,778
14
votes
Explaining why I don't use social media
Why not be honest about it? Tell the askers what you told us.
I don't really like it. So I avoid it. Besides, you can contact me through (other ways listed here)
That should be enough. It's not ...
- 10.3k
14
votes
Accepted
How to politely convey that you don't want to be tagged in irrelevant social media posts?
Contact them privately to avoid any potential embarassment. Consider framing your request in the context of why you care about it: "Hey, my timeline is really noisy. Can you avoid tagging me on so ...
- 3,138
14
votes
How can I politely ask my audience to not use their cellphones when I am giving a talk?
But when I am talking in a conference or something, I think that this could be insulting to senior professors etc.
You are correct; it would be.
Unless you're actually the organizer of the ...
- 725
14
votes
Accepted
How do I explain to my coworkers I'm not 'facebooking'?
Sorry, I am currently working on Task [xyz] getting ideas from Amazon's design to incorporate into product [zyx] - can I help you with your problem later?
Show them that you are currently working on ...
- 1,281
13
votes
Accepted
How to politely decline a friend request from a colleague who wants to add me on Facebook?
Let it be.
If friend requests come from people I don't really feel like sharing my personal photos and stuff with, I don't accept, I don't decline, I just ignore it.
They'll automatically become ...
- 10.3k
12
votes
How to get friends/partner to stop texting me pointless pictures/videos
Just don't respond.
No one will care and for the few people who do mention it ('didja see my email with the kitten in a bow-tie? wasn't it hilarious?'), just say you prefer lolcode to lolcats.
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