# Email Greetings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025 "2007-12-06T14:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/1 "2007-12-06T14:36:49Z")
Folks, I suspect I may be somewhat old fashioned, but I always like to start my emails with some sort of greeting. “Dear Mr. Smith:” for business correspondence; “John,” or “Folks,” like above for more informal contacts. Going headlong into the body of the email without some sort of opening seems terribly abrupt. I’m placed in a quandry, however, when I send an email to an essentially unknown recepient. Most frequently, this arises in the context of a customer service-type email address. This morning I had to send an email to “salesnewyork@\.com,” which is what brought this question to mind. What is the proper greeting to use, if any? I never much cared for “To whom it may concern,” or “Dear Sir or Madam,” even in traditional paper correspondence; the former sounds distressingly anonymous and the latter downright Victorian, which is only amplified by the less formal medium. Very sincerely yours, L. Monkey ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/2 "2007-12-06T14:39:47Z")
At work I just use “Hello,” ---
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/3 "2007-12-06T18:47:28Z")
Another vote here for “Hello” or even just “Hi”, depending on how formal you want to be. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/4 "2007-12-06T18:52:46Z")
Good morning/afternoon, Works for me! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/5 "2007-12-06T18:54:43Z")
Yo! Howdy! I hope this email finds you well. Greetings. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/6 "2007-12-06T18:57:46Z")
If you are addressing a truly impersonal name like [sales@megacorporation.com](mailto:sales@megacorporation.com), I don’t see why you need any salutation. The person reading your email is unlikely to care, and probably just wants you to get to the point quickly so he/she can solve your problem. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/7 "2007-12-06T19:06:53Z")
I’ve always looked at e-mail as sort of a hybrid of the written letter and the telephone call, so I always start my e-mails with a simple “Hello” or “Hi”. If I know the recipient’s name, then I’ll include it: "Hi Mom - ", "Hello Bob - ". If I don’t know the recipient’s name, then it’s just "Hello - ". Frankly, I’ve always disliked the greeting “Dear Whoever,” for letters to people who aren’t relatives or close friends. Some unknown Sir or Madam at a company is not especially “dear” to me, even after I’ve learned his or her name. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/8 "2007-12-06T19:09:37Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] If you are addressing a truly impersonal name like [sales@megacorporation.com](mailto:sales@megacorporation.com), I don’t see why you need any salutation. The person reading your email is unlikely to care, and probably just wants you to get to the point quickly so he/she can solve your problem. [/QUOTE] For the record, I used to work in sales at Megacorporation, and we would ship orders a week late for anyone who e-mailed us with any greeting other than “I do hereby beseech your eminences to give careful attention to the following:”. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/9 "2007-12-06T19:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=KidScruffy] For the record, I used to work in sales at Megacorporation, and we would ship orders a week late for anyone who e-mailed us with any greeting other than “I do hereby beseech your eminences to give careful attention to the following:”. [/QUOTE] Well, it might help if the [website](http://www.megacorporation.com/contact.htm) warned the customers about this. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/10 "2007-12-06T19:38:34Z")
If the recipient is male, I sometimes use: Dude, If the recipient is female, I will use: Dudette, ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/11 "2007-12-06T19:48:26Z")
I vote for no salutation. It’s entirely unnecessary. People will ignore it at best. At worst all it can do is draw negative attention to itself. It’s an email. People want to start reading immediately. You don’t need a salutation there any more than you need one on a message board. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/12 "2007-12-06T19:54:04Z")
Dear Mr. Mapcase, I agree entirely. Sincerely, \<\<\< ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/13 "2007-12-06T21:06:15Z")
Because email is formatted like a memorandum, not a letter, no salutation is necessary. The to: line takes care of it. I can think of at least two valid reasons to use one: 1. Your boss expects you to use one. 2. It is a group email and you want to make it clear who was on the distribution without showing all of the email addresses. Then it is helpful to address it to “Regional Managers” or “Customer Service Staff.” Meaningful email group names would also serve this purpose, but sometimes people use other methods (like bcc) to send group emails. 3. Irresistible urge to say “Hi, Opal!” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/14 "2007-12-06T22:53:22Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] If the recipient is female, I will use: Dudette, [/QUOTE] “Dudette” seems sexist to me. I prefer “Sweet Cheeks.” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/15 "2007-12-09T06:03:45Z")
I’ve found “My dearest Bitsy Pookums” also works wonders. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2007, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/16 "2007-12-09T06:33:30Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] If the recipient is male, I sometimes use: Dude, If the recipient is female, I will use: Dudette, [/QUOTE] _Dude_! 🆒 I use _"Greetings_". ---
**Author:** ![Shecky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shecky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shecky)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-greetings/429025/17 "2007-12-09T14:32:16Z")
Hey, name. or just a simple Hi. If this is the 3rd, 4th, or moreth time I’ve written to get an answer to a question, there’s no more pleasantries. It just starts out with name.