Our approach
Etiquette sits between fact and custom. Some of what we publish is factual — the federal cash wage for tipped workers, the allergens that U.S. food labels must declare, how many Americans say they know their neighbors. Some is convention — where the dessert fork goes, how soon to send a thank-you note. We treat the two differently.
Facts and statistics
- Every statistic links to the organization that published it, usually the original survey or study page.
- We prefer primary sources: government agencies (FDA, CDC, NIH, FAA, IRS, U.S. Department of State, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), nonpartisan research organizations (Pew Research Center, Gallup), peer-reviewed research, and survey publishers that disclose their sample and dates (such as Bankrate's YouGov-fielded surveys).
- We state the year and, where useful, the sample of each survey, because tipping and technology habits change quickly.
- When a figure appears only in press coverage and we cannot confirm it at the source, we do not use it.
Customs and recommendations
- For conventions, we compare established etiquette authorities and, for international customs, official tourism boards and government travel advice.
- Where authorities disagree, we say so and give a sensible default rather than pretending there is one right answer.
- Recommended tip ranges and similar guidelines are customary norms, not rules. Local practice varies.
Updates
Each guide shows a "last updated" date. All guides were reviewed in October 2026. Links are checked automatically each time the site is built, and we replace sources that move or disappear.
What we don't do
We do not accept payment for placement, publish sponsored etiquette advice, or fabricate quotes, studies, or "expert" sources. Links to sister sites in the allthingsN network are editorial and appear only where genuinely relevant.
All cited sources (65)
arxiv.org
- Kooti et al., "Evolution of Conversations in the Age of Email Overload" (WWW 2015, arXiv)Cited in: Email etiquette
bankrate.com
- Bankrate — Holiday tipping survey 2025 (YouGov, 2,445 U.S. adults, Oct. 2025)Cited in: Holiday tipping guide
- Bankrate — Press release: 63% of Americans have a negative view about tipping (June 2025)Cited in: How much to tip (US guide)
- Bankrate — Tipping survey 2025 (YouGov, 2,277 U.S. adults, April 2025)Cited in: How much to tip (US guide)
bps.org.uk
- British Psychological Society Research Digest — Underestimating the power of gratitudeCited in: Thank-you notes & templates
celiac.org
chicagobooth.edu
- Chicago Booth — Expressing your gratitude is more powerful than you think (Kumar & Epley, 2018)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Email etiquette, Thank-you notes & templates, Kids & manners
convergencepolicy.org
- Weber Shandwick, Powell Tate & KRC Research — Civility in America 2019 (PDF)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Social media etiquette
deutschland.de
ecfr.gov
emilypost.com
- Emily Post Institute — Basic Table SettingCited in: Table manners
- Emily Post Institute — General Tipping GuideCited in: How much to tip (US guide)
- Emily Post Institute — Holiday Tipping Guide (USPS gift limits)Cited in: Gift etiquette, Holiday tipping guide
- Emily Post Institute — How Do I RSVP?Cited in: RSVP etiquette, Wedding guest etiquette
- Emily Post Institute — Invitation EtiquetteCited in: Dinner party etiquette, RSVP etiquette, Wedding guest etiquette
- Emily Post Institute — Table Setting GuidesCited in: Table manners
- Emily Post Institute — Wedding Thank-YousCited in: Thank-you notes & templates, Wedding guest etiquette
english.visitbeijing.com.cn
- Visit Beijing — Etiquette for visitorsCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- Visit Beijing — Taboos and customsCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
faa.gov
fda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — FASTER Act: Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food AllergenCited in: Allergies & dietary restrictions
foodallergy.org
foxnews.com
- Fox News — Expedia Airplane Etiquette Study, conducted by GfK, 1,005 U.S. travelers (Jan. 2017)Cited in: Airplane etiquette
france.fr
gov.uk
- GOV.UK — China travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- GOV.UK — France travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- GOV.UK — India travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- GOV.UK — Japan travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- GOV.UK — Mexico travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- GOV.UK — United Arab Emirates travel advice: safety and securityCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
hbr.org
- Harvard Business Review — Porath & Pearson, The Price of Incivility (2013)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Customer-service phrases, Workplace etiquette
incredibleindia.gov.in
irs.gov
- IRS — One Big Beautiful Bill Act: tax deductions for working Americans and seniorsCited in: How much to tip (US guide)
japan.travel
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Customs & mannersCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Japanese customs and etiquetteCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Table manners in JapanCited in: Cultural etiquette by country
- Japan National Tourism Organization — Tipping in JapanCited in: Cultural etiquette by country, Tipping abroad
kvia.com
- CNN via KVIA — 2021 was the year of the unruly airline passenger (Jan. 2022)Cited in: Airplane etiquette
law.cornell.edu
- Cornell LII — 29 U.S. Code § 203 (definition of tipped employee)Cited in: How much to tip (US guide)
microsoft.com
- Microsoft WorkLab — Breaking down the infinite workday (Work Trend Index, June 2025)Cited in: Email etiquette, Video call etiquette, Workplace etiquette
- Microsoft WorkLab — The next great disruption is hybrid work (Work Trend Index 2021)Cited in: Video call etiquette, Workplace etiquette
news.gallup.com
- Gallup — In U.S., 4% Identify as Vegetarian, 1% as Vegan (2023)Cited in: Dinner party etiquette, Allergies & dietary restrictions
news.harvard.edu
- Harvard Gazette — The power of thanks (Grant & Gino research)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Customer-service phrases, Thank-you notes & templates, Workplace etiquette
news.uchicago.edu
- UChicago News — People underestimate the value of sending letters of appreciationCited in: Thank-you notes & templates, Kids & manners
news.usps.com
- USPS News — Facts on paper: greeting card statistics (citing the Greeting Card Association)Cited in: Condolence etiquette, Gift etiquette
niddk.nih.gov
- NIDDK (National Institutes of Health) — Definition & Facts for Celiac DiseaseCited in: Allergies & dietary restrictions
pewresearch.org
- Pew Research Center — Almost half of Americans say people have gotten ruder since the COVID-19 pandemic (Mar. 2025)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Customer-service phrases, Texting & phone etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Americans and Text Messaging (2011)Cited in: Texting & phone etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Americans’ Views on Mobile Etiquette (Aug. 2015)Cited in: Table manners, Texting & phone etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Families may differ, but they share common values on parenting (Sept. 2014)Cited in: Kids & manners
- Pew Research Center — How connected do Americans feel to their neighbors? (May 2025; survey of 9,482 adults, March 2025)Cited in: Neighbor etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Mobile Fact Sheet (2026)Cited in: Texting & phone etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Parenting in America Today (Jan. 2023 report, PDF)Cited in: Kids & manners
- Pew Research Center — Social Media Fact Sheet (2026)Cited in: Social media etiquette
- Pew Research Center — The State of Online Harassment (Jan. 2021)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Social media etiquette
- Pew Research Center — Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape (Nov. 2023)Cited in: How much to tip (US guide), Tipping abroad
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Gupta et al., Prevalence and Severity of Food Allergies Among US Adults, JAMA Network Open (2019), via PubMed CentralCited in: Allergies & dietary restrictions
restaurantdive.com
- Restaurant Dive — OpenTable launches initiative to combat diner no-shows (June 2021)Cited in: RSVP etiquette, Table manners
shrm.org
- SHRM — Incivility reaches record high (Civility Index, Q4 2024)Cited in: Are people getting ruder?, Customer-service phrases, Workplace etiquette
vhil.stanford.edu
- Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab — Bailenson, Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue (2021)Cited in: Video call etiquette
visitberlin.de
visitbritain.com
- VisitBritain — The British pubCited in: Cultural etiquette by country, Tipping abroad
- VisitBritain — Useful informationCited in: Cultural etiquette by country, Tipping abroad