I play in a band. All of the bandmates are on a group text chat. One of our members—a guy who has been in the band for a long time—has stopped responding to texts about practices, gigs, etc. When pressed about his behavior, he retreats even further. How do we handle this ghosting situation? We don’t want to just give him the boot. —James

Sometimes when people have personal difficulties, broadcasting them over group chat is uncomfortable. If you haven’t yet, call or talk with your bandmate directly and ask how he’s doing. He may have a private explanation for his unresponsiveness, or he may simply have cooled on the band. It will be easier to figure out which it is one-on-one.

—Adapted from “Social Q’s” in The New York Times Magazine