5 ms·

Me, when I started my career: Dear Bobby, Thank you for your email and response. I appreciate your prompt reply as always. Following the meeting with Jane at

Me, when I started my career: Dear Bobby, Thank you for your email and response. I appreciate your prompt reply as always. Following the meeting with Jane at 2:00 P.M. PST, it is of my professional opinion that we… … Let me know when you get a chance for your thoughts and again appreciate your time. Thanks, Me — Me, today: Bob - Yes! Let’s rock and roll. Talk soon.

pottertheotter 5y ago
I always laugh a little when I get emails from someone still in college. They are so formal, even after I reply in a less formal manner. I don’t blame them as I did the same thing.
- nmfisher 5y ago
  I think I'd cringe if someone showed me the first e-mails I sent when I was fresh out of university.
- noduerme 5y ago
  I'm still pretty formal with new clients. It takes me years to leave out a valediction with some. But on the other hand, my favorite valediction is usually "Cheers," since it seems the most casual and least demanding. Still, I always worry this gives away the fact that I'm an alcoholic. My runner up is "Yours," which I see didn't make the list.
  - Jach 5y ago
    "Cheers" is my favorite too, even though I don't drink alcohol. Some people probably take it the wrong way, but whatever.
    - justusthane 5y ago
      It never occurred to me that "cheers" as a closing has anything to do with alcohol.
    - tpxl 5y ago
      "Cheers" is sometimes used instead of thank you in Great Britain I think.
      - sealjam 5y ago
        Can confirm, I’m British and often use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.
        ck425 5y ago
        Was going to add the same thing but wasn't sure if it was a Scottish specific or generic British thing.
    - denton-scratch 5y ago
      I think "cheers" would be a variant of "Cheerio", which just means goodbye - nothing to do with booze. I never had a sig - not for email, not for Usenet. At one time I just signed off with my name; nowadays I make do with a bare carriage-return. I figure people will be able to work out when they've got to the end.
  - exclusiv 5y ago
    Maybe it's an effective filter. I use cheers too. If someone is too formal to enjoy cheers, then I probably don't want them as a client. I put out casual, easy-going and hard working. Cheers aligns. Candidly, I think "Yours" is just weird. Maybe even kind of creepy? Just roll with cheers and forget about it!
    - noduerme 5y ago
      Used to be "Yours Truly," which is maybe less weird. I mean first time contacts - new clients. After the first few emails, "Cheers" seemed friendly and okay.
  - laurent92 5y ago
    I still feel very much on the hook when a customer raises a support request. That means we have a bug. If we talk often, that means they are a very good customer but we have a lot of bugs… Therefore I stick to “Best regards” mechanically. Note that I’m French, not native in English, so I’m not mastering colloquialities. Would it be appropriate to be more relaxed?
    - noduerme 5y ago
      I think "Best regards" is always acceptable. Inevitably though it comes from either a Brit or a non-native speaker. I really love the French and Spanish sign-offs... Cordialement or the very warm Un abrazo which I get from business associates in Spain. English "regards" seem very cold by comparison.
      - denton-scratch 5y ago
        French sign-off for formal letters: "Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments les plus agréeables" (Please be so good as to accept, Sir, the expression of my warmest feelings) Well, that's what they told me at school - they were trying to teach me how to write business letters. It has always cracked me up. /me not French.
        laurent92 5y ago
        As a French person, two lines of valediction on paper letters is always funny, and yet required. Especially since the form should be adapted depending on whether you show respect for the person or not. I once wrote both an employee’s resignation and my acceptance for the conditions of it (on his request for both, he’s non-native), and it was awkward to try to find a valediction that doesn’t put him as inferior. Language is a treasure.
        denton-scratch 5y ago
        I had no idea that the form was supposed to be adapted, based on the nature of the relationship. You can have a fairly good command of a foreign language, but still fail at communicating. You also need to understand cultural conventions and customs, and for that there's no substitute for living there. I've never written a formal letter in French. I don't know why they sent me to school at all, really. /me went to a French school, in France, for two years. When I was 4. I know French nursery rhymes.
- FranksTV 5y ago
  Yeah I advise early stage startups and they are either way too formal, or completely lacking in the basic understanding of how to communicate professionally. Like it's either "Dear Sir, I am writing to acknowledge that you RSVP'ed yes to our calendar invitation" or "sorry about missing the meeting. we didn't end up making a power point, so we'll just send you a couple drawings our friend did of a different thing that's pretty close to what we were thinking of doing."
jimbojet 5y ago
Me replying to my boss in chat when I first started working: “Yes I agree, thank you for the feedback”. Me replying to my boss literally today: “lmao true”
- throwaway984393 5y ago
  Same. New boss gets "I see, thank you for the feedback". Boss I admire and trust gets "oh sweet buttfucking jesus".

pottertheotter 5y ago

I always laugh a little when I get emails from someone still in college. They are so formal, even after I reply in a less formal manner. I don’t blame them as I did the same thing.

nmfisher 5y ago
I think I'd cringe if someone showed me the first e-mails I sent when I was fresh out of university.
noduerme 5y ago
I'm still pretty formal with new clients. It takes me years to leave out a valediction with some. But on the other hand, my favorite valediction is usually "Cheers," since it seems the most casual and least demanding. Still, I always worry this gives away the fact that I'm an alcoholic. My runner up is "Yours," which I see didn't make the list.
- Jach 5y ago
  "Cheers" is my favorite too, even though I don't drink alcohol. Some people probably take it the wrong way, but whatever.
  - justusthane 5y ago
    It never occurred to me that "cheers" as a closing has anything to do with alcohol.
  - tpxl 5y ago
    "Cheers" is sometimes used instead of thank you in Great Britain I think.
    - sealjam 5y ago
      Can confirm, I’m British and often use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.
      - ck425 5y ago
        Was going to add the same thing but wasn't sure if it was a Scottish specific or generic British thing.
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    I think "cheers" would be a variant of "Cheerio", which just means goodbye - nothing to do with booze. I never had a sig - not for email, not for Usenet. At one time I just signed off with my name; nowadays I make do with a bare carriage-return. I figure people will be able to work out when they've got to the end.
- exclusiv 5y ago
  Maybe it's an effective filter. I use cheers too. If someone is too formal to enjoy cheers, then I probably don't want them as a client. I put out casual, easy-going and hard working. Cheers aligns. Candidly, I think "Yours" is just weird. Maybe even kind of creepy? Just roll with cheers and forget about it!
  - noduerme 5y ago
    Used to be "Yours Truly," which is maybe less weird. I mean first time contacts - new clients. After the first few emails, "Cheers" seemed friendly and okay.
- laurent92 5y ago
  I still feel very much on the hook when a customer raises a support request. That means we have a bug. If we talk often, that means they are a very good customer but we have a lot of bugs… Therefore I stick to “Best regards” mechanically. Note that I’m French, not native in English, so I’m not mastering colloquialities. Would it be appropriate to be more relaxed?
  - noduerme 5y ago
    I think "Best regards" is always acceptable. Inevitably though it comes from either a Brit or a non-native speaker. I really love the French and Spanish sign-offs... Cordialement or the very warm Un abrazo which I get from business associates in Spain. English "regards" seem very cold by comparison.
    - denton-scratch 5y ago
      French sign-off for formal letters: "Veuillez agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments les plus agréeables" (Please be so good as to accept, Sir, the expression of my warmest feelings) Well, that's what they told me at school - they were trying to teach me how to write business letters. It has always cracked me up. /me not French.
      - laurent92 5y ago
        As a French person, two lines of valediction on paper letters is always funny, and yet required. Especially since the form should be adapted depending on whether you show respect for the person or not. I once wrote both an employee’s resignation and my acceptance for the conditions of it (on his request for both, he’s non-native), and it was awkward to try to find a valediction that doesn’t put him as inferior. Language is a treasure.
        denton-scratch 5y ago
        I had no idea that the form was supposed to be adapted, based on the nature of the relationship. You can have a fairly good command of a foreign language, but still fail at communicating. You also need to understand cultural conventions and customs, and for that there's no substitute for living there. I've never written a formal letter in French. I don't know why they sent me to school at all, really. /me went to a French school, in France, for two years. When I was 4. I know French nursery rhymes.
FranksTV 5y ago
Yeah I advise early stage startups and they are either way too formal, or completely lacking in the basic understanding of how to communicate professionally. Like it's either "Dear Sir, I am writing to acknowledge that you RSVP'ed yes to our calendar invitation" or "sorry about missing the meeting. we didn't end up making a power point, so we'll just send you a couple drawings our friend did of a different thing that's pretty close to what we were thinking of doing."

jimbojet 5y ago

Me replying to my boss in chat when I first started working: “Yes I agree, thank you for the feedback”. Me replying to my boss literally today: “lmao true”

throwaway984393 5y ago
Same. New boss gets "I see, thank you for the feedback". Boss I admire and trust gets "oh sweet buttfucking jesus".