6 ms·

It sounds like you're having a bad day or something. Putting "you're welcome" in the title of your own blog, on a free software release, is fine. It's not pus

It sounds like you're having a bad day or something. Putting "you're welcome" in the title of your own blog, on a free software release, is fine. It's not pushed into anyone's face. It loses some points for being a corporate ad but that would happen regardless of wording.

otterley 2mo ago
I think it makes the author sound like a dick. Test for yourself: next time you take out the garbage, loudly tell your partner or roommate, “I took out the garbage. You’re welcome.”
- Dylan16807 2mo ago
  That's a shared chore. Do you not see the obvious differences in the situation? If they said "you're welcome" about an obligation like paying taxes and also made it very personal, then it would be close in feeling to your scenario. But it's not. If you offer a genuine gift, in a situation where there is no expectation of payback or debt, you can say you're welcome.
  - otterley 2mo ago
    It’s impolite and weird to say “you’re welcome” when offering a gift for which the recipient did not first express gratitude. It follows “thank you;” it does not precede it. Try this instead: give a stranger a piece of pre-chewed gum and say “you’re welcome!” Hell, even if it’s not pre-chewed, it’s just presumptuous and rude. You have no idea if they value it or not. They might not even like it. Even if my barista handed me the coffee I ordered and said “you’re welcome” before I thanked them first, I’d think they’re a little off kilter.
    - igetspam 2mo ago
      Sounds like a you problem. If someone did me a service and told me I was welcome, my take would be entirely based on the delivery of the phrase. I don’t even know what to do with the gum analogy because that’s just nonsense.
      - otterley 2mo ago
        I don't think it's just a "me" "problem"; there are many others who agree with my perspective in this discussion. Take a look around.
    - Dylan16807 2mo ago
      Remember that this is a post on their website. They're not pushing it onto anyone. So it's not like the gum. > Even if my barista handed me the coffee I ordered and said “you’re welcome” before I thanked them first, I’d think they’re a little off kilter. Jeez... But also that's a conversation where you can thank them first. That part isn't applicable to a post like this.
- hinkley 2mo ago
  [flagged]
  - otterley 2mo ago
    We’re talking about basic etiquette here. I don’t have to manufacture it. If the score on my comment (which I know you can’t see but you’ll have to take my word for it) and other comments in this discussion that express similar sentiment are any indication (among them, “arrogant” and “obnoxious”), I’m by no means the only person who feels this way. Try my experiments yourself if you disagree, and come back and let us all know how they went for you.
  - antonvs 2mo ago
    Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the common passive-agressive use of "you're welcome" in exactly the kind of context the OP article uses it. But it's a thing, even if you haven't come across it.
    - hinkley 2mo ago
      I am well familiar with passive aggressive. This isn’t how you fight it, is the point. Getting worked up is exactly the goal. Go outside. All of you.
      - samsari 2mo ago
        Are you as familiar with "condescending" as you are with "passive aggressive"?
        hinkley 2mo ago
        I am not being condescending. I save that for folks who start it. You don’t want to see me being condescending. Well actually you do, as long as it’s not aimed at you and you get popcorn.
      - llm_nerd 2mo ago
        Who is getting worked up? Who is "outraged", or looking to "manufacture" it? I mean, the only person these descriptions apply to in this discussion is you. Google's blog title is weird. Every normal human being that speaks English will find it weird. Maybe the author is on the spectrum, or maybe they thought their humour would carry better in a technical blog. Your agreement with this is not at all our concern. Maybe you should go outside and settle down?
saghm 2mo ago
Saying "you're welcome" without a "thank you" preceding will sound passive aggressive to quite a lot of people; it's the type of thing that a parent does to chide a small child who forgets their manners in the same way they might prompt a child with "What's the magic word?" if they grabbed at something without saying please. If this doesn't make sense to you, I'm not sure there's much anyone can do to convince you, because it's purely social convention. It's certainly possible that the author didn't realize it either, but having to deal with reactions about word choice when putting out writing explicitly for public consumption kinda comes with the territory. This goes for Hacker News comments too of course, but as someone with no horse in this race, your interference about their word choice seems like much more of a stretch than theirs about the author. Not recognizing that a title to a blog post will evoke a negative reactions in a lot of readers does genuinely seem like information about the author socially in a way that having that common negative reaction does not.
- Dylan16807 2mo ago
  How is a thank you supposed to precede it in a blog post? The social convention is for conversations.
  - saghm 2mo ago
    It literally can't precede it, that's the entire point that's being made; it sounds rude in a blog post because the social expectations are being violated. When social convention says a phrase is rude in certain circumstances, and those circumstances are not (or cannot) be met, then social convention say that the phrase is rude. You seem incredulous at the idea that some things that might be socially acceptable in conversational circumstances would not be perceived similarly in published writing, but I don't really understand why. There are all sorts of things that might not cause someone to bat an eye in a spoken conversation that are much more difficult to use in writing.
    - Dylan16807 2mo ago
      You say that expectation is violated here, I say it doesn't apply here. I don't think we're going to resolve this difference in view. But please stop making wild guesses about how I handle broad categories of communication when I'm commenting on one specific case. I don't say it doesn't make sense. I'm not incredulous. That's really obnoxious.

otterley 2mo ago

I think it makes the author sound like a dick. Test for yourself: next time you take out the garbage, loudly tell your partner or roommate, “I took out the garbage. You’re welcome.”

Dylan16807 2mo ago
That's a shared chore. Do you not see the obvious differences in the situation? If they said "you're welcome" about an obligation like paying taxes and also made it very personal, then it would be close in feeling to your scenario. But it's not. If you offer a genuine gift, in a situation where there is no expectation of payback or debt, you can say you're welcome.
- otterley 2mo ago
  It’s impolite and weird to say “you’re welcome” when offering a gift for which the recipient did not first express gratitude. It follows “thank you;” it does not precede it. Try this instead: give a stranger a piece of pre-chewed gum and say “you’re welcome!” Hell, even if it’s not pre-chewed, it’s just presumptuous and rude. You have no idea if they value it or not. They might not even like it. Even if my barista handed me the coffee I ordered and said “you’re welcome” before I thanked them first, I’d think they’re a little off kilter.
  - igetspam 2mo ago
    Sounds like a you problem. If someone did me a service and told me I was welcome, my take would be entirely based on the delivery of the phrase. I don’t even know what to do with the gum analogy because that’s just nonsense.
    - otterley 2mo ago
      I don't think it's just a "me" "problem"; there are many others who agree with my perspective in this discussion. Take a look around.
  - Dylan16807 2mo ago
    Remember that this is a post on their website. They're not pushing it onto anyone. So it's not like the gum. > Even if my barista handed me the coffee I ordered and said “you’re welcome” before I thanked them first, I’d think they’re a little off kilter. Jeez... But also that's a conversation where you can thank them first. That part isn't applicable to a post like this.
hinkley 2mo ago
[flagged]
- otterley 2mo ago
  We’re talking about basic etiquette here. I don’t have to manufacture it. If the score on my comment (which I know you can’t see but you’ll have to take my word for it) and other comments in this discussion that express similar sentiment are any indication (among them, “arrogant” and “obnoxious”), I’m by no means the only person who feels this way. Try my experiments yourself if you disagree, and come back and let us all know how they went for you.
- antonvs 2mo ago
  Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the common passive-agressive use of "you're welcome" in exactly the kind of context the OP article uses it. But it's a thing, even if you haven't come across it.
  - hinkley 2mo ago
    I am well familiar with passive aggressive. This isn’t how you fight it, is the point. Getting worked up is exactly the goal. Go outside. All of you.
    - samsari 2mo ago
      Are you as familiar with "condescending" as you are with "passive aggressive"?
      - hinkley 2mo ago
        I am not being condescending. I save that for folks who start it. You don’t want to see me being condescending. Well actually you do, as long as it’s not aimed at you and you get popcorn.
    - llm_nerd 2mo ago
      Who is getting worked up? Who is "outraged", or looking to "manufacture" it? I mean, the only person these descriptions apply to in this discussion is you. Google's blog title is weird. Every normal human being that speaks English will find it weird. Maybe the author is on the spectrum, or maybe they thought their humour would carry better in a technical blog. Your agreement with this is not at all our concern. Maybe you should go outside and settle down?

saghm 2mo ago

Saying "you're welcome" without a "thank you" preceding will sound passive aggressive to quite a lot of people; it's the type of thing that a parent does to chide a small child who forgets their manners in the same way they might prompt a child with "What's the magic word?" if they grabbed at something without saying please. If this doesn't make sense to you, I'm not sure there's much anyone can do to convince you, because it's purely social convention. It's certainly possible that the author didn't realize it either, but having to deal with reactions about word choice when putting out writing explicitly for public consumption kinda comes with the territory. This goes for Hacker News comments too of course, but as someone with no horse in this race, your interference about their word choice seems like much more of a stretch than theirs about the author. Not recognizing that a title to a blog post will evoke a negative reactions in a lot of readers does genuinely seem like information about the author socially in a way that having that common negative reaction does not.

Dylan16807 2mo ago
How is a thank you supposed to precede it in a blog post? The social convention is for conversations.
- saghm 2mo ago
  It literally can't precede it, that's the entire point that's being made; it sounds rude in a blog post because the social expectations are being violated. When social convention says a phrase is rude in certain circumstances, and those circumstances are not (or cannot) be met, then social convention say that the phrase is rude. You seem incredulous at the idea that some things that might be socially acceptable in conversational circumstances would not be perceived similarly in published writing, but I don't really understand why. There are all sorts of things that might not cause someone to bat an eye in a spoken conversation that are much more difficult to use in writing.
  - Dylan16807 2mo ago
    You say that expectation is violated here, I say it doesn't apply here. I don't think we're going to resolve this difference in view. But please stop making wild guesses about how I handle broad categories of communication when I'm commenting on one specific case. I don't say it doesn't make sense. I'm not incredulous. That's really obnoxious.