The thumbs down suggestion is a good one. I'm going to use it next time I feel the urge to do something else.

Regarding lies, I just watched the first part of the Hemingway documentary by Ken Burns. Hemingway was a big time liar. It started when he lied in letters to his parents about the war. He didn't want to worry them so he made it sound like it was nothing. It wasn't.

From then on, he couldn't ever face the truth about what happened to him, because that would mean admitting to the lies. So he just kept lying. Hemingway was also very fond of an audience so he would lie to impress them. He never found a way out of that habit, apparently.

I believe lies hurt the liar, even small ones. It's okay to say nothing. But when we actively deceive others I think it's problematic. Even small deceptions. Why allow what others might think and feel compromise your values? Why are their responses to you more significant than your response to yourself? Why compromise your own integrity to line up with somebody else's thinking?

And if it's okay to lie, when do you stop?