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Some rules are just meant to be broken. A lot of social standards are considered "norms" by many, but they can also leave others rolling their eyes.
I recently stumbled across a Reddit thread where people shared unspoken social etiquette rules they absolutely refuse to follow. Here are the ones that are a hard pass for them and the reasons why:
1. "I often don't respond immediately to missed calls or text messages. People think you're either ignoring them or that something happened if you don't respond right away. I miss cell phone culture from the late '90s and early 2000s, when this wasn't the expectation."
2. "Congratulatory email chains. Yes, I get not wanting your inbox overwhelmed by every coworker who's spoken to you over the years when you get a promotion or big win, but I just can't add to the chain. There's something...unappealing about the whole thing."
3. "If there's one bit of food left on a shared plate and no one else says they want it, IDGAF, I'm eating it. I can't stand it when everyone is being so polite that they'll just let the waiter take it away rather than SOMEONE eating it."
4. "Not wearing the same dress/outfit to two different events, especially events with the same group of guests, and for some reason, especially weddings. F*ck that rule. I have one dress that I have worn to many weddings. Most people don't care, and anyone who is offended by this is someone I don't care to know."
5. "Respecting someone's opinion when it's based on nonsense and they clearly haven't got a clue what they're talking about."
6. "I don't help friends move. I move myself or hire movers, so I'm never in a position where I 'owe' it to someone. I'd do anything for ya, but not that."
7. "Workplace thing: whatever internal chat tool you use — Teams, Slack, etc. — people will say 'Hi' and wait for a response before they ask the question that they're really messaging about. I do not respond if the only message is a greeting. I don't care if it's marked read. I also don't do it myself. I may preface a question with a greeting, but it will be on the same line: 'Hi, how do I...?'"
8. "I hate how taboo it is to give cash as gifts and think 'it's the thought that counts' is meaningless. You know yourself better than I know you, so unless I have an insider deal that you can't get (like free tickets to a show through my employer or family/friends), then giving you cash generates 100% practical value on the dollar for you, while getting you a physical gift is a dice roll."
9. "If someone offers me food and I politely decline and they bring it to me anyway, I won't eat it. Many people will eat just to be nice. I won't."
10. "If you offer to pay for something, I'll politely decline exactly one time. If you insist on paying again, then I'm gonna let you. I don't have the energy to go back and forth, and I love not spending money."
11. "Ever have a coworker, friend, or person who will sigh or make some signal that they want you to ask them a question? I won't. I just pretend I didn't hear anything."
12. "As a woman, I will NEVER, ever smile when a man — usually a stranger — commands me to. It ignites murderous rage in me."
13. "Inviting a ton of people to your wedding that you barely know or talk to just because it's family."
14. "Don't wave me through when you have the right of way. A good driver is a predictable driver, not a nice one."
15. "I have family members who wig out if thank-you cards do not appear. It's like, how many times and in how many ways do you actually have to say thank you? UGH."
16. "My first kid was before the gender reveal trend. My second and third kids were shortly after the trend started, and my sister-in-law was very upset that I would not let anyone throw me a gender reveal party for either of them. My husband also didn't want one; we both think they're weird AF."
17. "Waiting to start the meeting because THAT person is late again. Nope, the meeting starts at the specified time."
"And don’t catch them up when they do finally show up. This infuriates me even more."
18. "I don't say or do anything when someone sneezes."
"Same, and I say excuse me when I sneeze, and I don't need anyone else to get involved."
19. "Greeting cards. They're way overpriced, and people look at them for five seconds."
20. "'If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late by my standard.' I show up when you ask me to, and it's not good enough? If you want me to be here at 4:45, schedule me for 4:45, not 5."
21. "I don't answer the door anymore. I don't have any friends or family who would just drop by without at least a text first. It's 100% of the time a salesperson or some other sort of nonsense I want no part of."
22. "Waiting to walk somewhere because someone is filming social media content in public."
"I was taught to wait a couple of seconds if someone was taking a picture. That is, A picture, singular. Pause, click, we're done. But so many people today, even for still photos, want to art direct for half an hour."
23. "Putting up with bad behavior and general bullsh*t from people because they're family. Sorry, if you're an asshole, I'm out."
24. And finally, "F*ck tipping culture entirely. Pay people proper wages."
Share an unspoken social etiquette rule you won't follow in the comments, or submit anonymously using the form below. Your response might be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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