# Alternatives to "To Whom It May Concern" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060 "2005-10-06T16:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/21 "2005-10-07T04:37:39Z")
I always use ‘Dear Folks,’ I like its informality and its whimsical nature. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/22 "2005-10-07T15:24:57Z")
I’ll sometimes use “Ladies and Gentlemen:,” especially if it’s likely to be routed to more than one person. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/23 "2005-10-07T22:42:27Z")
I’m in the ‘it depends’ camp myself. My salutations (when I use them at all) range from Dear Brothers and Sisters (when addressing my fellow firefighters) to Dear Power Monkeys (when addressing the power company) I find that adding “monkeys” to just about anything makes the whole situation that much more amusing, if only to me. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/24 "2005-10-07T23:30:22Z")
If it’s _truly_ unknown who the receiver will be (as in a reference), I’ll use _To Whom It May Concern_ (I think there’s nothing wrong with it for that). If I have a particular position in mind (CEO, Acme Corp, etc), I’ll use _Dear Sir or Madam_. I will make a reasonable effort to find out the person’s name if I can. [Slight Hijack]Americans seem to sign off with “Yours Truly”. In Australia, we were taught to use “Yours Faithfully” where we didn’t know the name (Dear Sir), and “Yours Sincerely” where we did (Dear Mr Bloggs). Is “Yours Truly” universal, or does it have specific rules?[/Slight Hijack] ---
**Author:** ![OnceUponATime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c89c15/32.png) [@OnceUponATime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OnceUponATime)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/25 "2014-01-31T00:27:02Z")
I use “To Whomever Does All the Work Around There” for any retail type correspondence ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/26 "2014-01-31T01:01:23Z")
zombie or no youse guys ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/27 "2014-01-31T01:12:31Z")
I sometimes start a letter as: Re: (whatever I am writing the letter for) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060/28 "2014-01-31T02:27:17Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > . . . Lorinada and Askia, for some reason “Greetings” doesn’t seem professional enough, although I did neglect to mention that requirement in my OP. I suppose “Greetings, Meat Puppets,” is right out. Perhaps go pseudo-medieval: “Be it Know to All Who May Read These Words:”. The closing for that one would be “So say I, Name, and so I do swear and maintain until death take me or the world ends.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-to-whom-it-may-concern/325060.md?page=1)