not martha

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

modern etiquette, like regular etiquette, eludes me

Yesterday Kottke linked to this article on the NYTimes which talks about how people sign off emails, with "best" being generally regarded as a brush off. I'm horrified, I use it all the time and certainly not as a brush off. I find "sincerely" too formal, and "warmest regards" seems awkward for me so, maybe I'll use "best wishes" for a while? Or "regards"?

categories: etiquette

8 Comments »

  1. Signing Your Emails...

    Ever read an article in a high-profile publication that implies you've been doing something totally wrong for, like, fifteen years?...

    Trackback by Phil's Blogservations — December 2, 2006 @ 7:00 pm

  2. I'm big on "Cheers" to close work emails, and "Rock" to close personal ones. But that's because I'm hardly formal.

    Comment by Heather — December 2, 2006 @ 11:03 pm

  3. I use "Regards" or "Kind regards" at work.

    Comment by Sarah — December 3, 2006 @ 1:07 am

  4. Aaaaggg! I've been "best"-ing my e-mail sign offs for years!!! I hate "cheers" unless I know the person is British--it just sounds so fake to me coming from an American.

    Comment by Kate — December 4, 2006 @ 5:38 am

  5. I often use "Take care".

    Comment by May — December 4, 2006 @ 10:16 am

  6. Don't sweat it girl. I've been using 'best' for a long time and the last thing I regard it as is a brush off. The others (sincerely, regards...) are too stuffy for my taste. They're being kooky and you know---consider that it was probably some sleep-deprived, slightly hungover intern that wrote that bit of swill in order to "help out" for the day.
    Best,
    ^_^

    Comment by Letty — December 4, 2006 @ 9:36 pm

  7. "Yours very truly" is really popular where I work and I don't know what to make of it. "Yours" alone seems romantic. "Yours truly" seems redundant, since it is often used alone to mean "me." I usually close with "Thanks," because there's usually something to be grateful for, if only, "Thanks for your time."

    Comment by Squisita — December 5, 2006 @ 4:54 pm

  8. yeah, i agree that "best" is ok. i don't think i would use it the first time i ever emailed someone, but i'm usually emailing with coworkers who don't use salutations or closings at all, just like in the NYT article.
    i sometimes use "All best" if i want to be a bit warmer. i use "Thanks much" if i am sticking someone with a task and expect it to be done.

    Comment by mfm — December 8, 2006 @ 10:32 am



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