It is a pleasure to see you here at DC Style Is Real. It’s a difficult time for our fair city, so we really must stick together. Cable channel talking heads scream at us that the days of civility in Washington are over. Angry partisanship is the new normal and the old days—which, by virtue of their vintage and scarcity, are considered superior to the present—are gone.

But you and I know that in the world of two Washingtons, it is not our share of the city that is lacking in civility. We do not have the right to vote in that Washington, and we should not be saddled with its impertinence.

Instead, the stylish Washingtonians will carry on with grace and a few kind words. The art of living in style includes staying abreast of evolving etiquette and customs. This isn’t Downton Abbey, friends. It’s 2012, and we tweet, text and email. The rules of civility must reflect our times, but it is a mark of true bravura to be one step ahead.

To help you stay at the front of the pack as we all try to navigate our technologically engorged world, DC Style Is Real is introducing a new feature called Modern Manners.  In it, we will answer your burning etiquette questions, such as: “Is a Facebook invitation a ‘real’ invitation?” “If someone follows me on Twitter, do I have to follow them in return?” And, “How long can I wait to reply to an e-mail?”

But even with a computer screen in front of our faces for 10+ hours a day, we still have to interact with real, live human beings from time to time. And that can get much trickier. We’ll talk about that, too.

So send us your questions, large or small, digital or three-dimensional. Leave them in the comments or give us a tweet, whichever you prefer, at your convenience, et cetera, et cetera.

Yours Most Sincerely,

M