Don't Just Say Hello

Kaxo

On IRC back in the day this was "Just Ask".

whoamii

Good advice. Anyway, hello everyone.

sam_lowry_

EHLO is a better hello.

karmakurtisaani

A read this advice a while ago, and now it hurts me every time someone goes "Hi (name)" and then you just sit there looking at the 3 dots indicating they're writing something. Or worse, "Hi (name)" "How are you, all good?" "A question" "Do you know anything about (system)?" "I have this problem..." Just have a bitnof respect for my time and attention and write your damn message already.

apparent

> If the other party is away, and you leave before they come back, they can still answer your question, instead of just staring at a "Hello" and wondering what they missed. Well, you can also just send a second message if your first one doesn't get a quick response: Hey quick question Just wondering when project X is due Would this be slightly better as one message? Maybe in some situations. But some people would find it to be self-centered to jump right into "what can you do for me?".

thinkingemote

Past submissions with hundred of comments in total for you all to enjoy: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=nohello.net

john_strinlai

this used to bug me a lot more than it does now, perhaps because it doesn't really happen to me very often anymore. when it does, i just type "hi" back and then move on with my day.

whythismatters

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!

steanne

might wanna make that year reference in the text dynamic

jpease

‘sup y’all?

doug_durham

I would consider the approach in this posting to be rude. I feel like they are shoving a bunch of information at me without context. Part of the purpose of the salutation is to allow the call receiver to orient themselves. “Who is calling?” “How urgent is this?” “Do I have time to talk now?”

pluc

Why stop there, you don't need all words smart guy, ahead of time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-L9uhsBLM let's do letters next? ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Minnow_Pea )

ChrisArchitect

Content origins somewhere as far back as 2007. Various site(s) maybe 2013.

kube-system

The easiest solution is to simply not respond to "hello"s. If they have a question, they'll ask.

m2f2

Hi is a shorthand for "can you talk" or "are you on screensharing" or "is there anyone looking over your shoulder" or such things It's not definitely a sign that I'm actually interested in greeting you, or asking about your migraine. Just something like "how do you do" which is a total nonsense either, so this discussion is moot.

verytrivial

I often think people are wanting to know if you're there or busy and are gauging your response time for an answer. According, if I'm busy I ignore hellos 100%, but if I'm not, it type "hi" and immediately close the tab/window and spend zero effort thinking about who they are or what they might want. Their question normally follows. If the pleasantries persist, I repeat this algorithm, but replace with "never better!" (insta-close! And continue previous train of thought)

hackersnooze1

please dont send this to anyone unless you want your whole office to think youre a dickhead lol

ChrisMarshallNY

I used to live South of the Mason/Dixon line (MD, so just barely South), and have many friends, from even farther South. I live in New York. These cultures have radically different approaches to communication. New Yorkers want you to get right to the point. No dilly-dallying. I think that most of the SV Californians I've dealt with, have been similar. They be like: Hey Chris, Do you have a published API for the Widget library that was recommended? Southerners, on the other hand, like to "break the ice," with some small personal talk, like: Hey Chris, I hope this finds you in good spirits, and good health. Down here, we're experiencing a bit of a heat wave, so our air conditioners are running all day. I was writing to ask you if you have an API spec. for that library that was recommended to me...

rascul

I feel like it's fine for social chat but for technical chat I feel similar to the article.