@uastronomer@mastodon.monoceros.co.za
Post #1108240
2026-04-12 19:27 UTC
When did the word "Kind" become a sort of politeness band-aid for formal communication?
Back in my day, we used to say "Please do the thing" but you can't say that anymore! No! Now you have to say "Please ..--KINDLY--... do the thing". I can't decide if this is because "Please" and "Thank you" are not considered polite enough, or if they're simply not passive aggressive enough.
(Knowing full well that there is precisely zero visible difference between genuine passive aggressive behaviour and simple fear of causing offense by accidentally crossing some unspoken rule or authority boundary or otherwise violating an unfamiliar social house rule)
Replies (1)
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@kimvanwyk@fosstodon.org 2026-04-12 20:51
@uastronomer the "kind" in "kind regards" does of course have a useful meaning in the understated British way of corresponding, particularly in work type emails. If your British or culturally-British South African correspondent starts writing "regards" during a mail thread instead of the "kind regards" they started with, you can rest assured they are *seething*.