What, if anything, do we owe service providers when we decide to no longer use their services? The question seems a simple one. Many of us have left cable service or cell phone providers bec… Read More

Is it ever OK to exaggerate your accomplishments?Several years ago a colleague pointed out to me that another former colleague of ours had listed himself as the founding editor of a publicat… Read More

When, if ever, should you correct someone who spreads factually incorrect information to you and others on email?Last month, The Right Thing marked its 25th anniversary of running as a colum… Read More

A reader we’re calling Cliff wrote that every time his regular U.S. mail carrier goes on vacation, he ends up getting mail meant for his neighbors that is misdelivered to his house… Read More

Shortly after 11 p.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 8, an earthquake struck Morocco, southwest of Marrakesh, devastating villages at the base of the High Atlas mountains. More than 2,900 peo… Read More

If you’ve spent any time on social media, you’ve likely come across user reviews of one thing or another. A store. A dish. A book. A garden. A vacation spot. Most anything. Pr… Read More

Where do you draw the line at offering a favor to a friend? A reader we’re calling Linda had been taking prescription medication for her high blood pressure for almost a year. At f… Read More

What’s the right thing to do when a resident new to your neighborhood mentions gossip she heard about a neighbor? A reader we’re calling Rita was out walking when she saw a woma… Read More

Often, how to respond ethically to some of the more mundane things in life that puzzle us the most. A reader we’re calling Pamela recently wrote to comment about how much she loves… Read More

Two related questions from different readers arrived this week, each related to food labeling. From a reader we’re called Howard, we received the question of what can be called &ldq… Read More

Each week after “The Right Thing” column has run its course in the publications that subscribe to it, it gets posted on a blog as www.jeffreyseglin.com. The blog doesn’t… Read More

When I was in graduate school, I lived in an dormitory residence on campus. In addition to our bedrooms, there were shared bathrooms on each floor, a common room with couches and a televis… Read More

My first fall in Boston after I’d moved there in 1978, from Bethany, West Virginia, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were locked in a playoff to see who would top the Americ… Read More

How responsible are you for letting someone know you are receiving information you really shouldn’t be receiving?That’s what a reader we’re calling Norman wrote to ask. For… Read More

Two related questions arose this week about how much, if anything, we should disclose about a personal situation we might be going through. Question 1: Is it wrong to share detailed perso… Read More

On July 1, I shifted to emeritus status at the university where I’ve been teaching for the past 12 years. We’ve come to use “emeritus” as an honorary term where those… Read More

A reader we’re calling B.D. from the Southwest is a relatively new manager at his business. B.D.’s unit of several hundred people is responsible for completing specific tasks e… Read More

A good friend and I took a walk the other day. The morning chill had given way to the warmth of the early June sun, so there were many people out walking or running. As we headed up the cres… Read More

I was 34 when my mother died the year the Soviet Union was unraveling. I was 63 when my father died as the world entered a pre-vaccine pandemic. My parents met in Yonkers, New York, in 194… Read More

In February, I received an email from M.F., a reader who lives in Mission Viejo, California. The subject line of the email was simply: “How are you?” M.F. reminded me that he… Read More

Should we excuse bad behavior from someone simply because that is “the way they are”? That question arrived from a longtime reader from the Midwest we’re calling Maggie… Read More

A reader in Boston we’re calling H.L. is among those who still get a daily newspaper delivered to her house. She wrote that while she knows she could read the newspaper online, she enj… Read More

Do people apply for jobs even if they don’t meet all of the qualifications listed on a job advertisement? There’s been sizable reporting over the past decade — some base… Read More

Should those who become advocates for a cause be criticized if they only embraced the cause because of a child or loved one? A reader wants to know whether a friend’s newfound dedic… Read More

“How much help is OK for a parent to give for a child's project?” a reader we’re calling Flo asked. After I received Flo’s question, I was reminded of a paper I wr… Read More

In late January, a reader we’re calling Liam called his television cable provider to cancel his television service because it was far more expensive than the streaming service many fr… Read More

“We all got raises,” a former colleague recently told a reader we’re calling Maddie. The two of them had worked together at a business that had frozen salaries for many ye… Read More

If I don’t like my boss, is it wrong not to quit? In the wake of a record number of people quitting their jobs in 2022, it seems a reasonable questionable to ask. Could the roughly 50… Read More

How responsible are we for giving off an incorrect impression about who we are and what we’ve accomplished?A reader we’re calling Prudence regularly watches the live feed of a ra… Read More

There has been quite a bit of buzz about ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that was launched in November 2022 by OpenAI LP, a for-profit offshoot of the not-for-profit OpenAI Inc… Read More

Should we wait to start a meeting or an event until everyone has arrived? That’s kind of the question a reader we’re calling Petra asked after she recently found the ballet she… Read More

Is it OK to claim ownership of something even though it’s unclear the thing was ever really owned by you? And would it make any difference if you planned to give that thing away to a… Read More

“Check yourself,” an older woman who was seated on the subway car in Boston yelled quite loudly and clearly agitatedly at the young man who was standing next to her. “Your… Read More

Are we ethically obligated to forgive someone? That question arrived from a reader a few weeks ago and, lest he hold a grudge for me not attempting to answer, I am going to give answering i… Read More

“Dad, which one’s your favorite?” a daughter asks her father as they and her brother are eating chicken in a Golden Corral commercial. “I’m going to go with Jo… Read More

There are times when determining who the winner of an event is doesn’t always match up to the final score of the game. Consider the recent Southwest Little League Baseball playoff gam… Read More