"I hope this finds you well" - really??

[Nataly 38]

Wondered how everyone felt about this opener and whether others found it as obnoxious as I do?!

I live in the real world and I'm aware one needs a modicum of diplomacy/politeness in a business context.  But this line is sooooooo overused it has become meaningless.  Worse: in an effort to inject some warmth into their emails, some people have taken the insincerity to a new level and decided to veer away from this generic phrase in favour of a personal message...  "How was your weekend?  Did Leo get stuck in the rain again?"

YUK!!!  Are you my friend???  Do you actually give a fuck about my cat/knitting/plants (I hope not!)??!  You want something from me, otherwise you wouldn't be writing...  So fucking ask! 

Please and thank you are sufficient - don't add a bunch of frills to it...

Right?

[gowlerk 2,218]

7 hours ago, Nataly said:

Please and thank you are sufficient - don't add a bunch of frills to it...

Right?

Without context I can not say if you are right or wrong.But I would only use that opener with a someone I had a relationship with outside of email or just business.

[Coreece 190]

7 hours ago, Nataly said:

some people have taken the insincerity to a new level and decided to veer away from this generic phrase in favour of a personal message...  "How was your weekend?  Did Leo get stuck in the rain again?"

YUK!!!  Are you my friend???  Do you actually give a fuck about my cat/knitting/plants (I hope not!)??!  You want something from me, otherwise you wouldn't be writing...  So fucking ask! 

Maybe they're afraid of you.

 

7 hours ago, Nataly said:

Please and thank you are sufficient - don't add a bunch of frills to it...

Right?

Yep, pretty much.  But some people just aren't used to getting their way, I guess.

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by Coreece

[Erroll 80]

7 hours ago, Nataly said:

Wondered how everyone felt about this opener and whether others found it as obnoxious as I do?!

I would venture to suggest that most people who use that phrase are just being polite - no more, no less.

The fact that you find it obnoxious suggests that the problem does not lie with your correspondents.

[Nataly 38]

1 hour ago, Erroll said:

I would venture to suggest that most people who use that phrase are just being polite - no more, no less.

The fact that you find it obnoxious suggests that the problem does not lie with your correspondents.

Maybe it's also to do with the volume of correspondence I'm dealing with...  I'll hold my hand up - it started becoming annoying to me when I realised even I was using it ALL THE TIME.  In the same way that it annoys me to see everyone's eyes glued to their phone ALL THE TIME and yet am guilty of the same crime - lol!

Bah...  It's a pet peeve of mine...  And as with most pet peeves, it's not so very important - just annoying.  In my opinion.  Lol

[Nataly 38]

1 hour ago, Coreece said:

Maybe they're afraid of you.

 

Oh, for sure they are!!!  Hahaha

[Erroll 80]

20 minutes ago, Nataly said:

Bah...  It's a pet peeve of mine...  And as with most pet peeves, it's not so very important - just annoying.  In my opinion.  Lol

Indeed - we all have them. One of my current ones (which I am really struggling with) is how many people are starting sentences (including replies) with the word "So" these days.

"How did your malfunction happen?"

"So, I pitched at 3k and then....."

It is just wrong and right up there with "pluralising" (sic) everybody.

"The AFF instructor told the student to check their  goggles. They did and confirmed that their goggles were fine. As the student exited, they went unstable and the instructor pulled their ripcord."

How many pairs of goggles were checked?

How many people were unstable?

Whose ripcord was pulled?

 

 

Bah...  It's a pet peeve of mine...  And as with most pet peeves, it's not so very important - just annoying.  In my opinion. 

[riggerrob 643]

Pluralizing is a way to avoid gender-specific pronouns: he, she, LGBTQ++, etc.

[ryoder 1,590]

Nat:

What types of greetings do you prefer in PMs from your stalkers?

[billvon 3,031]

11 hours ago, Nataly said:

Please and thank you are sufficient - don't add a bunch of frills to it...

Right?

Well, you could make the same argument over someone you don't like (and you think is not thankful) saying "thank you."

For many people, phrases like "I hope this finds you well" (and "to whom it may concern" and "I am writing to inform you that" and "enclosed please find") are just standard things you say on letters.  They don't really mean "I hope the letter finds you correctly" or "I hope you are not ill while you read this" - it's just a courteous (to them) thing to say.

[Nataly 38]

2 hours ago, ryoder said:

Nat:

What types of greetings do you prefer in PMs from your stalkers?

Leading with a cat-related video is usually appreciated - hahahaha!

[Nataly 38]

1 hour ago, billvon said:

Well, you could make the same argument over someone you don't like (and you think is not thankful) saying "thank you."

For many people, phrases like "I hope this finds you well" (and "to whom it may concern" and "I am writing to inform you that" and "enclosed please find") are just standard things you say on letters.  They don't really mean "I hope the letter finds you correctly" or "I hope you are not ill while you read this" - it's just a courteous (to them) thing to say.

Wellllll...  Insincere apologies/thank-yous also annoy me!!!!

Guess I'm becoming old and grumpy.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Nataly

[Erroll 80]

On 7/31/2019 at 5:53 PM, riggerrob said:

Pluralizing is a way to avoid gender-specific pronouns: he, she, LGBTQ++, etc.

That may apply when the gender is uncertain.

I read this just the other day:

"The ladies' number one seed said they are confident of making the last four in the Champions Tournament in China".

 

It is not worth arguing about, but like Nataly said, "....just another pet peeve of mine......"

[Orthoclase 6]

On 7/31/2019 at 10:04 AM, billvon said:

Well, you could make the same argument over someone you don't like (and you think is not thankful) saying "thank you."

For many people, phrases like "I hope this finds you well" (and "to whom it may concern" and "I am writing to inform you that" and "enclosed please find") are just standard things you say on letters.  They don't really mean "I hope the letter finds you correctly" or "I hope you are not ill while you read this" - it's just a courteous (to them) thing to say.

“I am writing to inform you that...” is unnecessarily redundant. Obviously you’re writing to inform me of something — I’m reading a letter from you. That said, it doesn’t really annoy me — but it *is* something I consciously avoid when writing letters to others.

Then again, being the kid of a journalist/editor, making things as concise and precise as possible has been ingrained in me for most of my life.

[billvon 3,031]

2 hours ago, Orthoclase said:

“I am writing to inform you that...” is unnecessarily redundant.

Right.  So are periods and capitalization to start/end sentences.  (Obviously you don't need both.)   So is "Sincerely,"  So are most titles.  But it's a tradition so we use em.

[DJL 235]

On 7/31/2019 at 1:25 AM, Nataly said:

Right?

Today I got a message from my college class reunion association and it struck me to be about the only type of correspondence for which that phrase seems appropriate.

[skycatcher68 7]

I thought this thread was going to be about The Shawshank Redemption.

 

[ryoder 1,590]

I think Tom Scott made this new video just for Nat: 

 

[skyjames 2]

On 8/2/2019 at 10:52 AM, billvon said:

Right.  So are periods and capitalization to start/end sentences.  (Obviously you don't need both.)   So is "Sincerely,"  So are most titles.  But it's a tradition so we use em.

So, what are you saying?

[Erroll 80]

On 8/5/2019 at 5:41 PM, skyjames said:

So, what are you saying?

Sounds like both of you are trying to show that is sometimes OK to start a sentence with "So", and the examples you use are correct. However, the use of "So" in my example above is not grammatically correct.

So, what do you think about that?

 

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Erroll

[pchapman 279]

49 minutes ago, Erroll said:

So, what do you think about that?

 

So, well, um, you know, what I want to say is, maybe you should know, sometimes we write things in a way that's more like casual conversation. Even if some of what is written isn't strictly necessary.  Things that are a lead-in to what the real content it, somehow trying to be polite by softening the message, not straight out saying the thing one wants to say. Yes it is curious. And not considered useful in more formal writing.

[nigel99 530]

On 8/2/2019 at 10:52 PM, billvon said:

Right.  So are periods and capitalization to start/end sentences.  (Obviously you don't need both.)   So is "Sincerely,"  So are most titles.  But it's a tradition so we use em.

 

[adagen 0]

On 8/2/2019 at 3:52 PM, billvon said:

Right.  So are periods and capitalization to start/end sentences.  (Obviously you don't need both.)   So is "Sincerely,"  So are most titles.  But it's a tradition so we use em.

It's more than tradition, it's for ease of visualisation. The period has the unique function of separation sentences but it's small and, in handwriting, easily smudged out. The capital has multiple functions, but it's a lot more visible than the period. The combination gives a much more visible signal that a new sentence is starting.

[oldwomanc6 58]

On 7/31/2019 at 1:25 AM, Nataly said:

Wondered how everyone felt about this opener and whether others found it as obnoxious as I do?!

I live in the real world and I'm aware one needs a modicum of diplomacy/politeness in a business context.  But this line is sooooooo overused it has become meaningless.  Worse: in an effort to inject some warmth into their emails, some people have taken the insincerity to a new level and decided to veer away from this generic phrase in favour of a personal message...  "How was your weekend?  Did Leo get stuck in the rain again?"

YUK!!!  Are you my friend???  Do you actually give a fuck about my cat/knitting/plants (I hope not!)??!  You want something from me, otherwise you wouldn't be writing...  So fucking ask! 

Please and thank you are sufficient - don't add a bunch of frills to it...

Right?

Just curious, but, just how did Leo and your needles get out there to begin with?

You shared?  They stalked?   Can't share and then complain when they actually remember something about your life, IMO.

[dpreguy 14]

Agree.  It is the new substitute for "Have a nice day".  Which was never sincere anyway.  Neither is "Hope this finds you well."  Both are a waste of electrons.