Chris Pirillo has it right: If you “uncircle” someone and tell people about it, it’s rude.

Google+ may feel like a fun playhouse, but we need to be aware that there are real people playing. Social media shouldn’t mean we lose our sense of etiquette or tact just because we’re hiding behind a screen.

The trouble is, these rules of engagement can mean different things to different people, with one side deriding the other for caring too much, another side wondering how people can seem so deliberately hurtful, and so forth and so on.

A Few Ways NOT to Be Rude:

• Don’t share who you’ve stuck in your <Insert Uncomplimentary Title Here> Circle. It may seem doggone hi-larious to you and your crowd of sycophants, but you may find that’s all you have left.
• Add the person who invited you in to one of your Circles. Why take their invite if you want nothing to do with them?
• Give strangers who added you to a Circle a chance. Leaving them “uncircled” unless or until you know you should steer clear could mean you’ll miss out on a great connection.
• As Guy Kawasaki says, “Generally, if you’re wondering if you’re about to do something clueless, just don’t do it. “ (He was talking about Twitter, but the point remains the same across platforms.)

Agree, disagree? What else?

Stymied by all this Circle talk? Here’s a post on How to Set Up Circles in Google Plus, recommending adding your Gmail contacts even before they join.