We've probably all been there. A colleague/manager/rando sends you a Slack or Teams message that just says "Hi".

No context.

There are two schools of thought about this...

1. It's rude to send 'hi'

Yes? Hello? Should I be worried?

This is where I'm at. 'Hi' sends ice through my veins. Something is happening and it could range from the inconsequential to the very bad, and I'm at your mercy until you decide it's time to tell me more!

In fact, we are such a passionate slice of the population, there's even a domain for it... https://www.nohello.com/

Saying 'hi' and waiting for a response is like phoning someone up then putting them on hold.

2. It's polite to send 'hi'

Ah, I see you want my attention, thank you for the note; I'll let you know when I can attend to this conversation...

Others will say that the reason they send 'hi' (or they don't mind receiving it) is that it gives them a chance to acknowledge the conversation in their own time.

Now, I've found that this is rarely the case, because generally, 'hi' is followed by the actual message in a time ranging from 20 seconds to several minutes.

But nevertheless, I accept that some people might actually have this habit because they think it's more polite.

What's your view?

Are you for or against 'hi' messages? Do they scare you or chill you, or somewhere in between?

Lmk in the comments, dear devs...