Texting and Etiquette. Really?

I was a bit surprised to read there is etiquette regarding texting. Hmmm. Well I believe in courtesy and being polite. I usually apply that to conversation. But when it comes to texting, I think things are different. Well, that is my take on it. If I get a text I don’t always respond immediately. That’s because my BlackBerry is often in a jacket pocket or on a desk under a pile of papers. I even forgot the phone at work one night and I didn’t miss it. I rarely have the ringer on. I go to so many places where I think it would be rude to have a ringer sounding from my coat or camera bag. Court, council meetings, restaurants.  I figure if somebody needs a response right away to something urgent, they can telephone me. I don’t always answer quickly, so that can be a problem too. So, I find the articles on texting etiquette to be moot. In fact, I find it can be argued that the whole idea of texting is intrusive. But I put up with it. I was in a bar chatting with a friend last week when I mentioned I intended to find something online, once I got home. He asked why not check it on the phone. I told him I have the internet on my phone turned off. He was wide-eyed at the thought that I wasn’t “connected”. As afar as etiquette goes, I am often put off by people who will stop a conversation with a live person to answer their phone. You’d think they were getting a call from the Prime Minister the way they fumble and fight to get their phone out. It’s funny how the etiquette articles don’t seem to mention that. If you’re talking with a real person and the phone rings, it can keep ringing. You can check it a few minutes later and the person you were speaking with will feel much better for knowing you.