Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. It is a culturally defined phenomenon, and what is considered polite in one culture can often be quite rude in another. While the goal of politeness is to make all of the parties relaxed and comfortable with one another, these culturally defined standards at times may be manipulated to inflict shame on a designated party. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.