Thread

Don't Just Say Hello

77 points · 55 comments · ninju

whythismatters · 1789676676 · focus · HN ↗
Funny! Not sure if it's a cultural thing, but I experienced this phenomenon with Indian and Portuguese guys, and while I'm sure they're just trying to be polite, it's annoying as hell. Just ask the damn question!
1. 98codes · 1789677799 · focus · HN ↗
  I've gotten "Hi" with zero other context from people of all backgrounds.
  1. ChrisMarshallNY · 1789681233 · focus · HN ↗
    I just assume they are pig-butcherers, and never respond.
2. shibaprasadb · 1789705340 · focus · HN ↗
  It is quite prevalent in India, sadly. I had this nohello.net as my Teams status - and it was construed as being rude.
3. xtiansimon · 1789731751 · focus · HN ↗
  There’s a term for this kind of message: phatic expression. Ie. ‘Hello, is this thing on?’
  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phatic_expression
4. owebmaster · 1789750564 · focus · HN ↗
  I'd say it's the opposite of politeness in many cases. Some people do it to transfer to you the responsibility of that interaction and/or to bait into stopping what you doing to engage with them.

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