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> I hope this message finds you well. As an American, I find this a very odd way to start an email. It always makes me think of Civil War letters or something

> I hope this message finds you well. As an American, I find this a very odd way to start an email. It always makes me think of Civil War letters or something. > I have a big favor to ask, and I truly appreciate your time and consideration. This also seems like too much, and too early in the message. Leave the "thank you" for the end.

JohnFen 3y ago
As an American, none of that sounds off to me at all. It's certainly formal, but that's appropriate.
xtracto 3y ago
Those two read a bit "Indian" to me; that is, like English that someone from India would write. Something similar happens when someone from my country (Mexico) writes an email/letter: You usually have to read it from the middle to the end, because the first half would be just fill-up text.
- dewan23 3y ago
  Curious to hear more on "Those two read a bit "Indian" to me" :) How would you start a conversation with a stranger? ``` I want $something EOM ``` for some folks, filler sentences are a sign of politeness.
  - bluedino 3y ago
    Introduce yourself and ask your question. Dewan, Hi, this is bluedino, we've spoken a few times on Hacker News. I saw that your company has openings for QBasic programmers on their website, do you know anything about this position? I'm interested in applying and would love a referral or introduction to the hiring manager/team leader if that's possible. Appreciate your time, BD
  - dgunay 3y ago
    https://www.dictionary.com/browse/babu https://www.dictionary.com/browse/babu > The term babu English is a disparaging name for a florid, overly polite, or unidiomatic variety of English historically associated with Indians who have limited proficiency in English.
crooked-v 3y ago
The "I hope this message finds you well" is also potentially an indicator of ChatGPT influence, as for whatever weird reason it very often starts "Write a letter to X about Y" responses with that phrase.

JohnFen 3y ago

As an American, none of that sounds off to me at all. It's certainly formal, but that's appropriate.

xtracto 3y ago

Those two read a bit "Indian" to me; that is, like English that someone from India would write. Something similar happens when someone from my country (Mexico) writes an email/letter: You usually have to read it from the middle to the end, because the first half would be just fill-up text.

dewan23 3y ago
Curious to hear more on "Those two read a bit "Indian" to me" :) How would you start a conversation with a stranger? ``` I want $something EOM ``` for some folks, filler sentences are a sign of politeness.
- bluedino 3y ago
  Introduce yourself and ask your question. Dewan, Hi, this is bluedino, we've spoken a few times on Hacker News. I saw that your company has openings for QBasic programmers on their website, do you know anything about this position? I'm interested in applying and would love a referral or introduction to the hiring manager/team leader if that's possible. Appreciate your time, BD
- dgunay 3y ago
  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/babu https://www.dictionary.com/browse/babu > The term babu English is a disparaging name for a florid, overly polite, or unidiomatic variety of English historically associated with Indians who have limited proficiency in English.

crooked-v 3y ago

The "I hope this message finds you well" is also potentially an indicator of ChatGPT influence, as for whatever weird reason it very often starts "Write a letter to X about Y" responses with that phrase.