I was talking to a friend of mine about text messaging and it led us to discussing proper text message etiquette… and this got me thinking that there really is such a thing. So, I’m going to share my top nine rules of text messaging, (I hate even numbers if you haven’t figured that out yet.) Feel free to agree or disagree right here, and of course, please add your own!

TOP NINE RULES OF TEXT MESSAGE ETIQUETTE according to Christina Parisi (with a little help from a friend…)

1. If your question takes more than three sentences to answer, CALL. DO NOT TEXT.

2. Always reply to a text, even if it’s not a question, to acknowledge you received it. (This comes from my friend, but I wholeheartedly agree.)

3. Be aware – not everyone understands text abbreviations. I swear to you, I have had to Google some…

4. Spell check is the enemy, as I’m sure we can all agree, but if it changes your message to such a degree that its indecipherable, send another text correcting it…

5. Group texts are annoying. Plain and simple.

6. Sarcasm doesn’t translate well through texts so be wary of your use of it. (I’ve learned this the hard way.)

7. There are just some times sending a text is inappropriate – deaths, special events, flaking… (but yes, I know, they are the easier way and I am guilty of this too.)

8. My biggest pet peeve – sending me a text to ask me how I am if we haven’t talked in a while. Really? Beyond “fine”, how much can I really say in a text?

and finally, perhaps the most important….

9. Emoticons have their purpose but are not meant for EVERY text you send.