R.S.V.P. stands for répondez s'il vous plaît or "respond please." Somehow it's come to mean an affirmative answer to the invitation when in reality it's basically a, "This isn't an open house event. I need for you to tell me whether you're coming or not so I can plan food and whatnot." At this time of year I get lots of messages that say, "This is my R.S.V.P." That's fine, I get that you're saying you're attending, but I worry people interpret the negative response means to remain silent. No! As I said I need for you to tell me whether you're coming or not. As in, I sent out forty invitations this year, even though I knew damned well ten of those were a no and I was simply including the recipients out of politeness, so I'm expecting forty responses.