Crocker's rules are about not burying honesty beneath politeness. Someone can maybe squint real hard and see the word "Hey", in "Hey, the site is down" as poli

Crocker's rules are about not burying honesty beneath politeness. Someone can maybe squint real hard and see the word "Hey", in "Hey, the site is down" as politeness obstructing communication. But at that point, I hope the person seeing it this way operates under Crocker's Rules, because I would say they are a moron. There is a world of difference between basic human pleasantries and niceness that actually obscures communication. Crocker's rules also explicitly state that others are allowed to disregard niceness, not that they are obligated to. Indeed, if you are offended or bothered by someone being polite, then under Crocker's rules, that would be your problem.