Don't Just Say "Hello" in Chat
Advocates of “nohello” etiquette argue that in workplace chat tools, opening with a lone “hi” or “can I ask a question?” wastes attention and undermines the asynchronous nature of messaging. They recommend including the full question and brief context in the first message so recipients can triage urgency, respond when convenient, and avoid unnecessary interruption rounds. Critics counter that greetings feel more polite or help test availability, but most agree that clearer, upfront communication generally reduces friction and improves productivity in remote and hybrid work.
Nature of Chat vs. Phone/In‑Person
- Many argue chat should be treated as asynchronous like email, not as a synchronous phone call.
- A lone “hi” in async media is likened to sending an email with just “Hi!”—context-free and ambiguous.
- Others note some people still mentally map chat to phone/in‑person norms where greetings precede content.
Why “Just Hello” Bothers People
- Introduces extra round-trips and latency; if people are not online simultaneously, the delay can be hours or days.
- Prevents recipients from triaging urgency or effort; they can’t tell if it’s trivial or a major derailment.
- Causes context-switching and distraction, especially for focus-heavy work; notifications and “typing…” indicators amplify this.
- Some describe anxiety when a manager opens with “Good morning…” and then types for minutes.
Recommended Etiquette
- Put the question and minimal context in the first message: “Hi — I need help with X about Y.”
- Don’t “ask to ask” (“Can I ask you a question?”); just ask it.
- When requesting synchronous discussion, say what and how long: “Do you have 5 minutes to talk about Fizz?”
- Don’t spam partial messages or huge inline logs; make it easy to respond.
- Acknowledge helpful answers with a brief “ok/thanks” so helpers can mentally close the loop.
Counterarguments and Pushback
- Some view “no hello” advocates as overreacting or entitled; suggest turning off notifications instead.
- Others like to confirm availability first or think it’s polite to avoid dumping a question unannounced.
- A few say they simply ignore bare “hi” until content arrives, or reply minimally and move on.
Culture, Tools, and Work Context
- Generational, regional, and corporate cultures shape expectations; many older or non-IRC users default to pleasantries.
- Tools like Teams vs. Slack change how people use chat (more ad‑hoc DMs, more calls).
- Managers often tolerate frequent interruptions; individual contributors needing deep focus are more affected.
Variants, Workarounds, and Meta
- Recurrent related peeves: “Can I ask you a quick question?”, only pasting a ticket number, or not confirming resolution.
- Some use status messages, macros, or fantasize about bots to auto-handle greetings.
- One commenter notes the original “nohello” text came from an internal wiki, later copied to the public web without authorization.