MISS MANNERS by Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m actively involved in a local writers group. Even though I’m a bit younger than the average member, I have more training as a writer, having earned a graduate degree that has led to a few publications. After joining, I took it upon myself to set up and run the email list that gets the weekly prompts out to the writers. I enjoy this.

What I enjoy less, however, is when other members tell me to do things, rather than ask. It’s not unusual for any one of them to say, “Send this out,” “Add this person” or even, “Read this and let me know what you think.”

I once said to them, “‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ go a long way,” and they were better for a while, but not for long.

Looking ahead to a time when

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