If a good friend invites you to their birthday do and you say very sorry you can't go....

[cerealqueen]

would you email back to say that is a shame/ hope to see you soon and acknowledge their reply?

Or would you just ignore them and not respond at all?

Yes. You should RSVP. Bad manners not to respond.

dunno,probably i would answer along those lines.

do you think they are sulking?

I'd email back. They are a good friend after all.

It would depend what I was doing when I got the message. Sometimes, if I'm in the middle of something when a message arrives, I don't remember to respond. Then a week or so later, I'll remember and send a message back.

I would probably think they were busy and had accepted my answer.

The conversation has to end somewhere.
Can you come to my party?
Sorry no.
It makes sense.

I would normally send a text saying no worries, thanks for letting me know.

Unless it was a certain friend, whom I love dearly, but who ALWAYS has a crappy excuse for not attending any gathering she hasn't organised herself. I can't text her back for fear of letting rip and then regretting it. So if you are being ignored, then they might well be put out, whether reasonably or unreasonbly so.

I would respond with ok, lets catch up soon or something along those lines.

If it was a good friend, then I would expect a reply to my email. Sounds like they've got the hump because you can't make it.

I probably would, but I might not. I don't know, I'm quite laid back about this sort of thing and and thankful that most of my friends aren't demanding about trivial stuff either.

DH's friend would respond: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! What's wrong with you?!?! How could you do this to me?! We are going to drink for 8 hrs then get naked and run around like the old days YOU ARE COMING"

And then hound him relentlessly until he acquiesced. They are in their 40s

Depends.

HTH

I'd text or email back, I think, especially if it was a good friend rather than an acquaintance, bit i think I would either way.

Depends on whether it was a legitimate reason or a cop out tbh.

I might reply "no worries" or whatever, might not. I don't see it as ignoring, as PP said the conversation has to end somewhere.

I would try to respond saying 'No worries, see you another time', but I'm notoriously shit at responding to messages so I would probably forget!

Depends how big the party was.

If the reason for not coming was a bit lame, and I felt a bit miffed, I would probably not bother replying. Childish,I know.

waffly

I know I should reply to these type of things, but honestly?

If I get the message when I'm in the middle of something else that I need to get finished, or get interrupted shortly after getting the message, then I often leave off replying with the intention of sending a text / e-mail acknowledging the message when I get a minute.

And then, I don't always remember that I haven't replied. Sometimes by the time I remember that I haven't replied, so much time has passed that a reply now seems pointless.