Typing “Hi!” in Forums is Bad?

Since when!? Recently a site visitor wrote that they had been rebuked because they used introductory salutations in their Forum postings (e.g. Hi, John! or Hi, Everybody!). This person was confused because they believed they were being nice and wondered if there are rules about Forum usage that forbid the use of introductory salutations? What about signing off?

My reaction was that of surprise that one would be rebuked for offering the courtesy of a greeting. What type of forum is that!? And to be rebuked for including a little pleasantry in your post? I’d have to move on to a forum run by nicer folks!

Forums generally have their own rules or charters that they want folks to abide by. I’ve never heard of one that considered the courtesy of a greeting a negative issue — enough to formally rebuke a participant. I really cannot imagine why that would be a problem.

In addition, signing off is always a nice thing to do. Most forum software has a Signature File feature built in so you don’t have to type your sign-off with every post. Both greetings and salutations set the tone of the post and allow you to reflect your personality – neither of which I find issue with. A little extra courtesy and personality never hurt a discussion, whereas lack of either can set a tone for misunderstandings and unclear communications.

Personally, I would rather participate in discussions where folks take the time to offer such formalities/courtesies than not.