DEAR MISS MANNERS: What is the proper way to “invite” people to a formal event that has been converted to a virtual one in light of the pandemic?

I find myself stuck with two simultaneous feelings: the first being that a digital invite is not appropriate for some events (such as a wedding), and the other being that sending a gilded cardstock invitation with RSVP instructions is ostentatious when one is only offering a livestream, not actual hospitality.

I would not be miffed by receiving such an invite, as I would never begrudge a couple wanting to stick to tradition despite unusual circumstances, but I find myself unsure of sending one. Should the cards themselves just be in a simpler style than one might have used otherwise?

Additionally, what does one put in a wedding invitation now? “This list of parents request the honor of your presence on the internet” does not feel quite right. Would it be acceptable to print invitations with viewing instructions and URLs? Should this be a separate card in the invitation, and if so, then what information goes on the main one?

Should these be followed later by wedding announcements, or is everyone invited to view online considered to have been invited to the event?

GENTLE READER: What you have done is to convert a formal wedding into an informal one, which also has its traditions, and the invitations should reflect that.

Miss Manners hopes you are not disappointed. To her mind, these altered weddings achieve what couples always claim they want: Couples say a great deal about wanting their wedding to be personalized and memorable, and then produce the same bloated routine as nearly every other wedding. These recent backyard ceremonies, attended by only the closest intimates, surely seem more personalized and memorable to those who are able to watch from afar -- even if they weren’t given party favors.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My sister-in-law is having her first child. She has emailed family and friends a link to her registry for items she feels she needs for her coming baby boy.

On the list are items like new dish sets for the family, a car rooftop storage box and a very expensive baby/toddler cart that is pulled by a bicycle ($379), and things are specifically for toddlers, not babies.

Is this the new normal for baby registries? With the current economic issues happening due to COVID-19, many people cannot afford expensive purchases, especially for a baby who will not be making use of the items in the near future.

I was going to purchase some of the smaller, more affordable items, but I overheard my sister-in-law complain to my mother-in-law that only the cheap items are being purchased, and they would rather have the very expensive ones.

I was really put off by the comment, and feel that she is being very ungrateful for what has already been purchased by family and friends. I would love to be able to spend that kind of money on my own child! Should I just spend the money on an expensive item from the registry?

GENTLE READER: Only if you want to encourage greed and wreck your budget. And if you do, Miss Manners warns you to save up for when you are expected to pay this child’s college tuition.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’ve made many friends throughout the world on social media, and as we approach the upcoming national election, they have overloaded me with information criticizing the political administration of this country -- strenuously advising me on how to vote to change it.

They send me articles detailing one political situation after another, as if I were totally unaware of what is happening here. And it is always with a distinct point of view.

Mostly, I agree with what they’re saying, except they tend to stereotype Americans as people who need to be educated against making bad choices -- implying that I am in that group, as well.

How do I thank my international friends for their opinions, yet politely discourage any further advice? By the way, I offer no recommendations on how they should fix their own political systems, many of which are similarly problematic.

GENTLE READER: That is because it is so much easier to fix other people’s problems than one’s own. Here is the response Miss Manners recommends:

“I am pleased at your interest in the American political situation. And while you seem to be on the right track, I’m sure you appreciate the complications with which even we, who follow this minutely, must struggle.” And then suggest two or three serious books on the subject.

Thereafter, asking what they thought of the books will get them off the subject, because they will not have read them. Or if they have, you might be able to have more intelligent exchanges.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is it necessary to cover your mouth with your hand while yawning if you’re wearing a face mask?

GENTLE READER: Not if you yawn quietly.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Several years ago, I became friends with a lovely person who knocked on my door as part of her ministry. I, myself, subscribe to a different religion, and my husband of 33 years is agnostic. I respect all denominations, but here’s the rub:

My friend called me yesterday, claiming that her good friend lost a pet, and was inconsolable. She knows I do talk therapy for people who don’t have resources for grieving a pet, so I called the third party.

Imagine my surprise when I was given a lecture about having to give up my beliefs in order to avoid hellfire. By the way, I’m not a Satanist. I’m a Catholic.

Is there a reasonable way to nip this issue in the bud? I have no problem with what others believe; more power to them. But I don’t enjoy strangers showing up at my door, unannounced, with pamphlets.

I’m probably overreacting, but it was therapeutic to write this out, at least.

GENTLE READER: Please assure Miss Manners that your friend is not promoting religion by lying to trap you with another proselytizer. Surely there was a miscommunication involved.

After all, your friendship apparently began by just such an approach. So you will have to explain to your friend that despite the good fortune of having met her through her unsolicited mission, you are not willing to admit others on such a basis. And then you may ask how the bereaved owner of a deceased pet managed to think otherwise.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I hold different political beliefs than many of my friends and family, although I don’t generally advertise them. This election cycle is causing me a considerable amount of anxiety. I stopped following social media once I realized it no longer brought me joy.

Now family members have started sending me political messages directly via email or texts. When this happens, I politely state that I am not interested in hearing more on the subject and ask them to refrain from sending me further messages of this kind.

Usually, the sender complies, but sometimes I am treated as if my request is unreasonable and rude. Is it?

GENTLE READER: No; their persistence is. But if your current method continues to fail, Miss Manners would also endorse your deleting these messages without comment.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am of an unorthodox religious persuasion which holds the belief that the dead may be contacted, and that there are various aids to this process.

Anything tied to the dead person may be used, although the more intimately tied, the easier it is to establish the connection. The most intimate items, of course, would be segments of the deceased’s own body. So, to the question.

Is there any polite way to make it clear to a loved one that you hope, when they pass on, to inherit some part of them? I have racked my brain on this one and even done some research, and I am failing to come up with anything.

I suspect that if any rules apply, they would be the same that concern making it clear to a loved one that you hope to inherit any specific item -- which is to say, it’s very rude to ask at all.

But I think in this case it’s something not likely to enter most people’s minds. I would also like to make it clear that I wouldn’t be making this request to, say, anyone who may believe that it is necessary to their resurrection that their corpse remain intact. Rather, I would be asking friends and family who are (for instance) Buddhist or atheist, and therefore not likely to be overly concerned with what becomes of their physical remains, or co-religionists, who may be sympathetic to my inquiry, but still distressed at conversations involving their own mortality.

GENTLE READER: What did you have in mind? “Mind if I borrow your eyeballs when you croak?”

Miss Manners is afraid that she is unable to help find a polite way to say this -- as there is a reason it never entered anyone’s minds. If you truly think that certain family members or friends might be amenable to it, she supposes that you could ease into the conversation by telling them of your beliefs and asking their general thoughts on organ donation. If they’re squeamish about that, then you can be reasonably certain that they will not want their body parts used to get a call from you in the afterlife.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)