Horoscopes

Dear Miss Manners: I enter the small waiting room of a professional whom I visit for professional services. As I open the door, its lower edge disturbs mail that is lying on the floor, having been delivered through a slot. I gently shift the mail with my foot to save it from being mangled by the door, and take a seat.

Would it be impolite (an intrusion) to gather the mail and put it on the nearby small shelf? Is it impolite (negligent of an ordinary courtesy) to leave the slightly mussed mail on the floor?

Gentle Reader: Yes, to your second quandary. It is not, as implied in your first, impolite to touch someone else’s mail.

Touching, does not include shaking it and listening for the result, holding it up to a strong light source or sniffing it. Leaving someone else’s possession in a place where it is likely to come to harm is impolite, as is placing it somewhere where it will become lost or not readily visible.

Pick up the letters and give them to the next resident professional with whom you come into contact.

Dear Miss Manners: I work for a company of approximately 400 people and was tasked with collecting a signed policy from all of these people. When I sent the form out via email, I started the title with the word “Mandatory” and gave everyone a deadline over three weeks away.

The deadline arrived, and I had received only about 275 responses. When I sent out a reminder (about one month after the original notice), I titled it “Mandatory Still Means You Have To.” In the text of the message I said, “While hundreds of our employees did this, I haven’t received yours yet.”

Did I cross any etiquette lines with this wording? (For what it’s worth, I got about 75 percent of the late people to respond.)

Gentle Reader: You did cross a line, but not the one you think.

Business etiquette allows a more direct approach than is permissible in the private sphere. But your attempt to cajole lightly was unbusinesslike. It was also unnecessary and likely counterproductive, as emails are notorious at not conveying tone: For every employee who took the subject line of your follow-up email as light humor, there will be another who took it as offensive sarcasm.

Give employees an initial deadline, send them reminders, and, if all else fails, call in higher authority.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; and to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com. Aries (March 21-April 19). The question on your heart is a good one. So good, in fact, that there are more elements affecting the matter than you can imagine. Just keep thinking like you are. You’ll be a part of a change. Taurus (April 20-May 20). At any point in a relationship, someone loves harder. Which one is loving harder? You. You seem to be always loving harder. What is going on with this? Back off. Receive. Gemini (May 21-June 21). Health has many levels. Certainly it’s not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The health you are striving for is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Cancer (June 22-July 22). Your day will center on one idea. This contemplation will guide your action. It will change your conversations. It will change the order in which you do things. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22). The heart of ambition beats loud in you today. You’ll get up to the mountain peak and realize there’s a higher one over yonder. A panoramic view from the top will make all of this climbing worth the effort. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re very careful about what you require of others, asking only things that you’ve personally endeavored. “Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it himself.” — A.H. Weiler Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Some say knowledge is good and ignorance is evil. Others suggest that there’s nothing more dangerous than a little bit of knowledge. Since you can’t unknow things, be careful about what you try to learn. Follow your moral compass. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Much can be accomplished through lists and organized efforts, but even the most extensive list cannot control the uncontrollable. You’ll be dealing with forces that can’t be tamed via writing. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Whatever the problem is, you can make it better. Maybe you can’t solve it today, but you can improve things. Take the big issue and make it smaller. If it’s still too big, make it smaller still, until it’s small enough to solve. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ve done the research, and you’ve put your theories to the test. Now you know how to go about the job. To take it to the next level, teach your way and learn theirs. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It’s pretty clear that the people around you have a different set of rules. If you play by those, you won’t achieve to the heights of your ability. Take charge. Set the bar for yourself, and set it high. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20). You’ll swim between two schools of thought today. One is very logical; the other is intuitive. The numbers won’t lie, but they’ll never tell the whole story, either. Today’s birthday (April 4). You’re serious about your goals, and yet your tone is so joyous and light that you create a happier world with your laughter. Next month brings money to your pocket. June is your chance to seize love. July will bring a small but meaningful change that you’ll be assimilating thereafter. Happiness flows from the August love. Cancer and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 4, 33, 29, 28 and 1.