Tacky?

Recently I've been getting a lot of invites to parties and events via facebook and e-mail. We're not talking an e-card or pretty e-invites either. I mean, I've been getting at the most a 3 sentence note "X's birthday is this weekend at B's place. See you at 12pm. He likes superheroes and wears 5T clothing."

I understand people don't have a lot of time/money to send out fancy invitations and the mail system is often cumbersome. However, some part of me feels this e-mail/facebook invite to an event thing is just tacky. These events aren't formal, and there aren't 100's of people coming (like i large charity event), so I personally feel a phone call would best replace the mailed invitation, if mailed invites are not possible. I also understand that some events must be last second (like the "going off to fight in the middle east" parties that I've been to).

I've also noted a trend, that these "facebook invites" (I know, they aren't all facebook, but that's what I'm calling them all b/c I can) are always for events that have been arranged well ahead of time, but the invites themselves are a last second effort (much like the phone call invites seem to be, when I get them). The sender takes the time to plan theme, music, food, decorations, the whole shebang and then 3 days before the event, "Oh, right, the guests! My bad!" I understand that many people are douche bags and don't RSVP, so it's hard to guess numbers, and when hosting a party, numbers are impt but if you WANT people to come, the invite is important, and so is giving people time to arrange attendance. If I'm getting a last seconding invite, i feel a phone call is more personal than 3 sentences and really says "I want you to come for more than your present purchasing power."

Technology can be wonderful, but I'm quickly becoming tired of the laziness and often out-right rudeness that technology seems to breed when it comes to planning social activities. I try to plan appointments, meetings, occasions, activities, and events within a reasonable time-frame, but it seems like the people around me wing everything and rely on technology to forge the gap. It quite often backfires though. Instead of making a general plan of events ahead of time ex: "Okay, I am going to my meeting at 9, I will then go to X's cafe and meet you at 1pmish for lunch and after that, I'll go to the market and meet you back at home for supper at 6pmish." People randomly expect others to be free to see them whenever & where ever and arrange it all 5mins beforehand by rude, loud, public cell phone convos ex: "I'm at the store. do we need chips....?" and then proceed to do this all over the store while running their carts into things and being walking infected hemorrhoids.

Also, people bitch about their kid's cell phone bills, but when I comment that they can easily remove said phone, they bulk "NO, what if I NEED to talk to them or they NEED to talk to me?" Well, the problem isn't you calling them or they calling you, is it? What did parents do before cell phones? THEY PARENTED. As in "after school, come home, do HW, and then you can go to Cindy's house" or "After school, you have practice? You need a ride at 4:30? Okay, I'll be there at 4:30. You gotta come home and get HW done right? Okay then we'll get your sister from Ballet before that." Same cell phone convo, but it's just done ahead of time and not in the milk aisle. PLANNING. Of the convos I'm forced to hear of this sort, 99.9% could have been done in person ahead of time. Few I've ever heard are b/c of last second emergencies. People don't plan and they don't care if their lack of simple planning F-ups the schedule for the rest of us.

I'm terribly afraid this will start to overflow into the business world (although it seems to already have somewhat). A year or so ago I went to the Dr and sat for 45mins waiting for my apt. I finally got up and asked the receptionist for my file, as I noticed the Dr next door wasn't making patients wait 45mins AND pointed out that the sign on her desk stated that "late apts will be fined or re-scheduled w/o care to patient convenience." Really? If I'm late I get a fine and then assigned a random time no matter wtf is going on in my life, but it's okay for the Dr to keep me there for 45 mins? Where's my $25 fine and my apt that's inconvenient for him?

Anyway, rant over. I just wanted to know if you'd gotten any e-invites to parties and if you thought any were tacky?