Texting's 7 Deadly Sins

1. Just say no — to texting while driving, operating machinery, crossing the street without looking or anything that jeopardizes public safety.

2. Listen to Miss Manners — never text during dinner, church, a date or a job interview. It’s just rude. (And sometimes really stupid.)

3. Don’t forget your grandparents: text to their landline.

4. They may not "get" your LOL. While we’re talking about grandma and grandpa, remember that "text language" is for texting only. Sure, when you’re limited to a few characters it makes sense to abbreviate and use acronyms; it's part of texting culture. But don't forget that grandma won’t understand when you respond to her joke with LOL.

5. Can the spam. There is no such thing as an acceptable unsolicited text. If we don’t know you or didn’t ask to receive your message, chances are we’ll interpret your text as spam — especially if we don’t have unlimited data plans. That’s just the way it goes.

6. If you must ... do it in person. Don’t underestimate the power of "face-to-face." SMS and MMS can be great ways to get in touch, find out if someone is available or send a picture in real time — but I say no to breakup proposals, firings or the like via text. Some messages are best delivered in person.

7. Enough already (don't "re-text"). If you’ve texted someone and are in need of a response, don't text the same request again and again. One of the luxuries of text messaging is it affords us time to reply when it suits us, and sometimes that won’t be for a while (insert any number of scenarios where texting might be inappropriate). Text once and stand by.

[via mobilemessaging2.com and J.D. Biersdorfer]