It’s too much to expect that you never argue with your lover, spouse, or partner in romantic crime. Here’s how you can make that argument more of a productive discussion than a constant stream of bickering.

Nathan W. Pyle, the guy behind the famous NYC etiquette cartoons, has a tip for all of you, if you’ll shut up for just one goddamn second. That’s the tip, actually: when someone says something, and now it’s your turn to talk, and you’re ready to respond emotionally and escalate the conversation, maybe hold your big mouth shut for just one little moment. Can you do that? Here’s Nathan’s multi-part Instagram post, if you can be bothered to click through and pay attention to someone else for once.

Baby books are great. All those little handwritten notes about their first words and first tooth and first daycare pals. And of course you include pictures taken during your baby's first haircut or while eating mashed up banana for the first time.

Teenagers don't enjoy talking to their parents. Actually, scratch that. Many don't talk that much to their friends either, at least not with their voices. Teenagers like to text. Walk into any establishment where teens hang out and you will see them clumped together in small groups hovering over their cell phones. Sometimes they even text the people sitting right next to them.

It's a strange way of life.

Most communities, online or offline, come with some hard boundaries: No hate speech, no threats, no harassment. But a good community recognises some more borderline behaviour — stuff that isn’t as obviously terrible but can still slowly eat away at discussion, scaring away (or annoying away) good members until only jerks are left. And it can ruin any social group, from a book club or group text to, say, Reddit.

They don't really want to debate you, those randoms who crawl into the comments of your Facebook posts and your tweets and your blog posts (hi!) asking to "debate" you over crap we should all agree on by now. You can't debate them in any meaningful way, because they are mouths without ears. You can block them or take your account private, but maybe that leaves you feeling frustrated and powerless. How do you leave this situation feeling any type of satisfaction?

If Gmail’s spam and newsletter filters are letting too much slip through, or if you use a private email service with a bad spam filter, then try this solution: quarantine all email until the sender has confirmed that they’re not spam. This is your homemade spam filter.

I used to hate unsolicited email, until I got unsolicited texts, calls, Twitter DMs, Facebook messages and LinkedIn invitations. Now I think email is the most polite way to reach a stranger directly. In that vein, I recommend this thorough guide to finding anyone’s email address.

Have you ever seen a parent in deep discussion with a toddler over an LCM bar? They’re patiently explaining the risk of tooth decay, the importance of a balanced diet, and the timing of dinner. Right there in the middle of the grocery aisle.

Video: Jamia Wilson, writer, activist, and executive director of the Feminist Press, has made a career out of compelling speech. In this video, she explains the fundamentals of public speaking.

It's easy to be there for friends and family members during the Big Life Events, like weddings, milestone birthdays, or a new job. These are big-ticket happenings that don't take too much effort on our part, that allow us to show our appreciation for our friends simply by showing up.

While those moments can certainly be meaningful, it's all of the small, seemingly insignificant moments - the maintenance - that build your rock solid, true friendships to begin with, and add depth, comfort, support and beauty to our lives.

Not all comedy podcasts are just people doing bits with Scott Aukerman or helping Marc Maron process his failed SNL audition. Some of them study comedy and how it works, intentionally enough that you can learn from them. Here are four great podcasts that can make you funnier.

One of the things I constantly heard when I worked in the business world was that some people are good writers and others simply don't have that gift. When I was at school, there was a similar statement, often supported by teachers, with maths and science students "forgiven" for weaker writing skills. But it doesn't have to be that way. And while not everyone can be a Hemingway, it is possible to become a good writer.

Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations, Lifehacker's regular dip into the pool of stoic wisdom and a guide to using its waters to reflect on and improve your life.

So, you need some help. It's okay, we all need a hand sometimes. Problem is, a lot of us don't know how to go about asking - so we don't. Well, according to a social psychologist, here's the simplest, most effective way to ask for a favour.

With this year marking the 50th anniversary of Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood, along with the US release of the new documentary Won't You Be My Neighbour? this past weekend, we're hearing facts about children's television icon Fred Rogers that reveal just how much care he put into everything he did.

Open offices are a panopticon hellhole. They might make it easier to collaborate, and they might help your boss pack more workers into a smaller space, but they leave you in earshot of every little sound your co-workers make. (You get to see and smell them, too!)

This week we have a college boy who's desperately clinging onto a long-distance relationship with a girl he's known since high school. Is she being unreasonable and ignoring him? Or is this dude expecting way too much?

When you're debating a topic with someone, it's in your best interest to avoid flat-out telling someone they're wrong. All it does is make the other person defensive, causing them to entrench themselves further in their beliefs. Instead, tell them all the ways they're right, then guide them to realising they're wrong on their own.