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Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

nohello.net

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Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#71

Post by BrandoElFollito »

11235813213455 wrote: post #58
BrandoElFollito wrote: post #53

I ALWAYS say hello as the first thing in any chats that have some kind of importance. Why? because the person may be presenting to 200 people and my message will be displayed. They may be with someone and they cannot communicate. If this is a message of the kind "lunch at 12?" then fine, but anything remotely sensitive starts with hello, and I wait for that person to respond.

It's fine to say Hello, as long as it's immediately followed by something consistent, preferably in the same message

No, the point is to say "hello" and nothing else.

And wait for the other person to reply, I then assume it is safe to chat.

This is obviously for more sensitive/professional settings but directly saying "we have had a 100M loss because of that M&A", even on a safe IM, is irresponsible because this is likely to pop up on their screen.

Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#73

Post by michaelcampbell »

I tend to agree with this, but a friend of mine and I have had a number of conversations that could be potentially embarrassing if anyone else saw them, like during a presentation or meeting.

If this is going to be a potentially "eyes only" convo, we'll start with "cyt" for "can you talk". Any answer but an affirmative is taken to be "no", including no answer.

Works great.

Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#75

Post by lancebeet »

dfboyd wrote: post #39

I am the original author of the document this document was based on. It was an internal Wiki page at Google written when I was an SRE. After I wrote the original page, someone put up an internal shortlink at "go/nohello". After I left Google, someone took the Wiki page content and [illegally, since it was Google confidential, simply from being on the internal Wiki], and put it up on the net at "nohello.com". The link…

How do you know it was unauthorized if they copied it from the internal wiki after you left Google?

Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#76

Post by corty »

eecks wrote: post #46

The only good reasons I can think of are: * To ensure the other person isn't in a meeting. The sender might not want the text to be broadcast unintentionally. * To force a synchronous conversation. I think this is pretty rude though. What would be better would be some context and an aim to get a time that suits both people. Something like: "Hi Mark, do you have any time today to get together to discuss the ongoing da…

Both are good reasons for "Hi, I need to discuss something confidential", "Hi, may I have your immediate undivided attention" or maybe a phone call.

Just "Hi" doesn't convey enough of the intent.

Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#77

Post by adrianmonk »

jasode wrote: post #33

>People who do this are generally trying to be polite by not jumping right into the request, like one would in person or on the phone - and that's great! Different people have different reasons but I notice that many people that do a naked "hi" / "hey" are trying to see if the receiver is present for an immediate reply. In other words, the sender deliberately wants a synchronous instead of asynchronous convo. They do…

That motivation is logical, but I think it's more considerate to type out just a few words so the recipient has some idea what's up.

For example, "hi, i have a question about web config files" or "hi, i need help with a SQL query" or "hi, we may have a production issue" or "hi, i want to propose a change to how we do builds".

This allows the recipient to prioritize. Just because they are present doesn't mean that now is a good time for every conversation.

Re: Please don't say just hello in chat (2013)

#80

Post by ballenf »

signal11 wrote: post #63
jasode wrote: post #33

>People who do this are generally trying to be polite by not jumping right into the request, like one would in person or on the phone - and that's great! Different people have different reasons but I notice that many people that do a naked "hi" / "hey" are trying to see if the receiver is present for an immediate reply. In other words, the sender deliberately wants a synchronous instead of asynchronous convo. They do…

For immediate replies I’d usually use “you there?” or “free for a quick chat?”. The naked greeting is just begging to get ignored.

Or just ask the question and when your internal timer goes off, follow up with some polite version of “nvm”.
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