Use of Please and Thank you

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gnfb

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Topic # 147059 7-Jun-2014 13:56

Serious question do you think that the use of Please and thank you in social media, emails, online interaction is unnecessary?

Do they give you more of an understanding of the request being made or the "debt" being paid?

I am guilty online of saying, the likes of "send me the hard Drive"
rather than "would you please send me the Hard drive"

Off line use of please and thank you are built into my DNA being English. Online as i say I regularly miss the usage of them.

I know that for some cultures the use is not required, but I am talking generally.

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

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Reply # 1060854 7-Jun-2014 14:09

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I still try to use them whenever possible. I'll definitely use them in longform text such as email, but I may not on Twitter or in IMs due to their short length. I try to always say thanks though :)

andrewNZ

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Reply # 1060932 7-Jun-2014 15:44

It entirely depends on who you're dealing with.

I think thank you, or one of it's many variants, is much more important than please.

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geekiegeek

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Reply # 1060933 7-Jun-2014 15:47

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Personally I always use both on and offline. I think not using them on-line can come across as a little arrogant or unfriendly.

When you live your life on Twitter and Facebook, and are only friends with like minded people on Twitter and Facebook, you are not living in the real world. You are living in a narcissistic echo chamber.

My thoughts are my own and are in no way representative of my employer.

gehenna

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Reply # 1060941 7-Jun-2014 16:09

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Good manners are good manners, wherever you are or to whomever you're speaking.

rhy7s

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Reply # 1060951 7-Jun-2014 16:36

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gehenna: Good manners are good manners, wherever you are to whomever you're speaking.

Do you bow?

farcus

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Reply # 1060952 7-Jun-2014 16:41

rhy7s:
Do you bow?

Yes

Inphinity

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Reply # 1060960 7-Jun-2014 17:09

Absolutely needed, just because it's not face to face doesn't mean it's not two people conversing.

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rhy7s

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Reply # 1060961 7-Jun-2014 17:09

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farcus:
rhy7s:
Do you bow?

Yes

Would you say it's a universal requirement? And how low do you go?

farcus

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Reply # 1060964 7-Jun-2014 17:14

rhy7s:
farcus:
rhy7s:
Do you bow?

Yes

Would you say it's a universal requirement? And how low do you go?

In the country I live it is a requirement and how low you go depends on the situation.
Regular greeting is almost just a head nod while thanking someone for something exceptional they have done for you would be 90 degrees.

gehenna

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Reply # 1060992 7-Jun-2014 18:09

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There's a difference between manners and etiquette... I'd put bowing and curtsying, etc, into the etiquette category rather than manners as it depends on the situation you're in and who you're in it with....whereas manners are universal.

mattwnz

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Reply # 1060994 7-Jun-2014 18:12

If I am emailing a request, I always put please and thanks in the email. It comes down to how you were brought up I think. Certainly a lot of people don't, and can be rude in emails.

gehenna

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Reply # 1060998 7-Jun-2014 18:19

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In my opinion it's all too easy to be misconstrued in an email as it is, so doing everything possible to avoid that happening can only be a good thing.

rhy7s

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Reply # 1061007 7-Jun-2014 18:38

mattwnz: If I am emailing a request, I always put please and thanks in the email. It comes down to how you were brought up I think. Certainly a lot of people don't, and can be rude in emails.

Just checking, do you think someone is being rude when acting according to their custom - or how they were brought up?

rhy7s

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Reply # 1061009 7-Jun-2014 18:45

gehenna: ...whereas manners are universal.

Do you mean specific behaviours? Or the more general tendency to a degree of awareness of hygiene, co-operation/compromise and group traditions?

mattwnz

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Reply # 1061015 7-Jun-2014 18:56

rhy7s:
mattwnz: If I am emailing a request, I always put please and thanks in the email. It comes down to how you were brought up I think. Certainly a lot of people don't, and can be rude in emails.

Just checking, do you think someone is being rude when acting according to their custom - or how they were brought up?

I was referring to different things. Not saying please and thank you isn't necessarily rude in the email, it depends on the tone and formality and context of who you are speaking to. But sometime you also find that they are rude and abrupt too.

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