Have you ever been on a group chat with WAY too many people? Or a few people who text WAY too much?
Someone talked to a snooty British “etiquette expert.” Here are the top unspoken group chat rules they say we should all be following.
1. Think before messaging. Basically, don’t waste people’s time or add extra “dings” for no reason. Don’t ask questions you could answer yourself with a quick Google search. And before you send that meme, ask yourself if the majority of the people on the chat will want to see it.
2. Remember the aim of the chat. If it’s about “Spring Break Planning,” don’t share a bunch of unrelated stuff. Stay on topic. And if it’s a work chat, keep it professional.
3. Consider the size of the group chat. You don’t always need to reply. If it’s just three of you, whatever. But if it’s a Slack group with 50 people, think twice before you send one-word answers like, “cool.” 50 people equals 50 dings.
4. Keep it clean and decent, especially at work. Don’t get too informal. Assume anything you say could get shared with your boss, even if they’re not on the chat.
5. Less can be more. Don’t write a novel. If you need to say that much, you might want to send an email instead.
6. Clarity and style do matter. It’s not a college essay, so grammar doesn’t matter so much. But at least do your best to be clear and concise.
7. How to properly leave a group chat. If the constant dings get too annoying, maybe just mute the conversation. But if you do need to duck out . . .
Whether you announce it or not depends on context and who’s in the group. So just use your best judgement. If it’s a work chat, at least DM the main person in charge to let them know. Don’t just ghost everyone.
(Personal pet peeve: Put everything in ONE text, please. Don’t be that person who causes back-to-back dings with texts like, “Ha” . . . DING . . . “Totally” . . . DING . . . “That’s so true” . . . DING.)
(AP)
