Social Niceties

Tonight we went out to a "Drinking Skeptically" get-together.  I didn't learn much about the local skeptics, and I didn't make any friends, but I did come up with a list of things to consider if you're a considering going out to a group meetup of some kind.

• Hate isn't attractive.  If you are arriving with an agenda to rant about, perhaps you might like to reconsider.
• Ego is boring.  Nobody wants to hear about how proud you are of yourself.  Seriously, I'm glad that you've supported yourself from the age of 18, without an education, but you're not special.
• Anecdotes are cool, if they're on topic.  If not--especially if they take five minutes to relate--they're irritating.
• Being mean to people is NOT cool.  When you tell me all about how you shamed a person in front of others, I don't see it as some kind of victory for you.
• Being kind to people IS cool.  When you ridicule that, I think less of you.
• Just listen a bit, perhaps?
• And ask people about themselves, rather than ranting about your own life.  Is that hard?  When you engage them, they'll respond and ask about you.  It's a simple formula.