Should we follow the Stack Exchange convention on removing greetings, thanks, etc?

meta

asked 2015-01-23 05:46:15 -0600

Jamie Bull

flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

5072 ●6 ●28 http://oco-carbon.com/

updated 2015-02-05 10:57:27 -0600

Neal Kruis

4745 ●10 ●17 http://bigladdersoftware.com/

This has been raised a couple of times in comments so I thought it worth giving it's own post.

The principle at Stack Overflow and other Stack Exchange sites is that the site exists as a repository of questions and answers and no "extraneous clutter". See this question for a review of the arguments as applied to StackOverflow.

This isn't a major issue but if anyone has an opinion then here's a place to discuss it rather than cluttering up comments.

Update:

We will make a decision by the end of the day tomorrow (2/6/2015). If you have an opinion, cast your vote soon!

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Comments

agreed...1 more character to post.

MatthewSteen ( 2015-01-23 08:34:07 -0600 )edit

1

Should we decide on a deadline to allow people to vote? We have to make a decision at some point

Julien Marrec ( 2015-02-03 03:43:09 -0600 )edit

We're past the deadline, can you mark one answer as accepted?

Julien Marrec ( 2015-02-09 04:48:23 -0600 )edit

Sure. I wouldn't exactly say a consensus was reached but I agree with the outcome. We can always revisit if it turns out to be unpopular or to be putting new users off. The test will be if the weight of votes moves the other way once we start applying this convention to questions.

Jamie Bull ( 2015-02-09 08:12:12 -0600 )edit

1

Sounds like a good approach to me. I'd say, feel free to start editing posts. It might be good to explain why in a comment and point them to this question.

Neal Kruis ( 2015-02-09 16:39:05 -0600 )edit

see more comments

14

answered 2015-01-24 05:32:56 -0600

Jamie Bull

5072 ●6 ●28 http://oco-carbon.com/

updated 2015-01-29 04:21:57 -0600

For the sake of having a "no, we shouldn't" answer for people to vote on.

Reasons for not following the Stack Exchange model.

A short greeting and thanks in advance doesn't add much clutter
This is a much smaller site than Stack Overflow, so friendliness and politeness should be encouraged to help foster a sense of community
Greeting and thanks make the site look more friendly, and so new members are less likely to be put off from posting

If anyone has other reasons, please feel free to edit them into this post.

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Comments

3

This is definitely the side I favour. I think the programming community is much larger and more established, and it makes sense to have resources where the answers are immediately available with little clutter.

But our community is much smaller, and having an unfriendly, impersonal place may drive people to look elsewhere, if they think everyone here is unfriendly.

Benjamin ( 2015-01-26 07:54:11 -0600 )edit

If this is your preference, feel free to vote for it.

Jamie Bull ( 2015-01-26 13:38:58 -0600 )edit

As long as answers and comments are kept concise, I think that words of acknowledgement or appreciation for good work should always be allowed.

OS-user-AT ( 2015-03-04 13:35:09 -0600 )edit

@osuserAT I think thanks in a comment is fine, and in fact welcome (though less important than voting up good answers and accepting the best answer). To me though, salutations and thanks in advance are different and don't add anything.

Jamie Bull ( 2015-03-04 14:36:30 -0600 )edit

While I actually agree with Neils comments, I vote no because this is forcing the admin staff to be micro-mangers and is just unnecessary. Plus as a poster, it annoys me to get notifications from my questions/answers being edited, especially since there is no reasonable way for users to know of this convention (most people haven't seen this post).

bbrannon4 ( 2018-01-12 16:52:21 -0600 )edit

add a comment

9

answered 2015-01-23 18:25:19 -0600

Neal Kruis

4745 ●10 ●17 http://bigladdersoftware.com/

updated 2015-01-28 17:48:54 -0600

I personally think we should for the following reasons:

Posts are not emails. Though it is always friendly to greet the entire community with a "Hey, all!" before you write something and end with a "Thanks in advance!", it isn't necessary and adds clutter to your post. If you really want to thank someone, upvote their answer!
Your audience is not just the people answering questions, it is also the people who have the same question. Many people don't realize this about the site when they address their first question. When new users see other examples of people posting greetings and thank-yous, this gives a misleading impression that the audience is only the experts providing the answers.
You do not need to sign your posts either. Your username serves as a signature on every post you create.