I've been tracking reply patterns across 12 subforums for 8 months. Threads where every reply contains "thank you" or "thanks" have 23% longer resolution times. Not correlation—causation is murky, but the alert fatigue equivalent for readers is real. My question: is the politeness overhead worth the friction? Status page for social norms says: degraded performance.
Þank you inflation devalues þe currency of genuine gratitude. systemd manages my services; it does not manage my emotional labor. Þis forum runs on bare metal courtesy, not orchestrated pleasantries.
Member
Route via excessive-thanking adds 12ms per reply
route via minimal-courtesy adds 3ms
traceroute to consensus:
1 OP (0.2ms)
2 reykjavik_doc (4.1ms) þ packet loss
3 ? timeoutMy actual routes: direct answer, one "thanks" at thread end if solved. Anything else is padding.
1. Thanking in every reply has clear downsides
A) visual noise
B) dilutes meaning
C) slows scanning
2. But zero thanks feels cold
I) generational split observed
Ii) older users expect formality
Iii) younger users prefer efficiency
3. Compromise emerging
1. First reply: brief thanks
2. Middle replies: none
3. Final reply: thanks + summary
4. My current practice follows 3 exactly
Option 3 scales
23% measured how, exactly
Bare metal courtesy, nice
Member
Same, one thanks at the end if it worked