Colleague, regards

[kindofcoping]

A colleague has signed off their email to me with the sign-off regards. Do they hate me?

Probably in a mood, I would just reply using regards to!

Everyone in my office uses regards when emailing each other

Yes.
What did you do to them?
🙂

Not as much as if it was 'Best'

Is this a particular MN obsession, there was a thread about this yesterday, no I know in RL pays any attention to email sign offs and I'd never even notice

If you want to send me some kind of message that you're annoyed with me you're going to have to spell it out, I'm never going to know from a PA coded email sign off

If they normally use 'regards' you're fine. If that's not their usual sign off, then yes, you've pissed them off and may have to move house!

I think that's fine as a sign off. Unless they usually put lots of love or something!

Everyone uses these things differently. Some people mean things, others don't.

I never put kisses in texts. My sister sees this as 'I hate you and hope you die'. It doesn't occur to her that I'm just someone who never puts kisses in texts, because its never occurred to me to do so and it seems a bit weird and if I did get into the habit, I'm worried I'd accidentally do it when texting my boss and that would be weird.

Yes they do. Better than KR tho

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

@AyyMacarena

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

Where on earth do you get that meaning from?

How on earth are you supposed to sign off a work email then?

Looking through my emails today from colleagues and clients is a mixture of Regards and Kind Regards with one All the Best thrown in for good measure. I’m pretty sure these people don’t hate me, I don’t hate them. It’s a normal phrase in a professional environment

Kind regards is fine in my opinion.
Regards is for when someone has really pissed you off!

What about the people who don't use any 'extras'

Eg if someone emailed me with

Barbara

Please can you send a copy of the Smith report.

Fred

What is the unwritten meaning in what Fred is trying to tell me?

Because beyond Fred asking me to send the Smith report and not wasting time adding words that different people use for meaning that nobody can use consistently anyway, I wouldn't read anything further into that than Fred wants me to send him a copy of the Smith report.

As with so many things context is everything, but I think there are plenty of people and workplace cultures where Regards is standard and means nothing more than ‘I am a professional person sending an email to my colleague/client’. I would also never end a text with a kiss, apart from very occasionally to my husband. It absolutely doesn’t mean I don’t like that person. If you don’t know someone well and they use ‘Regards’ it almost certainly means absolutely nothing.

@BarbaraofSeville

What about the people who don't use any 'extras'

Eg if someone emailed me with

Barbara

Please can you send a copy of the Smith report.

Fred

What is the unwritten meaning in what Fred is trying to tell me?

Because beyond Fred asking me to send the Smith report and not wasting time adding words that different people use for meaning that nobody can use consistently anyway, I wouldn't read anything further into that than Fred wants me to send him a copy of the Smith report.

I would think that was fine and normal if Fred was a colleague. I would guess Fred is Barbara’s senior, as it does show a level of self-assurance, if it was the other way round I might expect a:

Thanks for your help

Fred

But either is still fine

@AyyMacarena

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

Um, they didn't "know" it because it's bollocks.

KR
HeyDemons

oh shit. my clients must all think i hate them.

I use 'kind regards' or 'many thanks' - depending on the email content.

replies i have had today
Best regards /kind regards/cheers/

What do you think is an acceptable reply? honesty curious

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

Guess I've just told 30 people to go fuck themselves then. Not that I care, they are only people I work with.

@AyyMacarena

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

My entire company is constantly telling each other to go fuck themselves if that’s the case...

I always cut "kind regards" to "regards" when annoyed

To be fair, nothing is worse than someone who signed off an email to me with:

KR,
John

KR?? Just spit in my face next time, John

So if you are not supposed to sign off with Kind Regards, what are you meant to use?

I don't think anyone is saying don't use kind regards, although I think it is a bit twee, some people say if you use KR or regards you're telling the recipient to go fuck themselves.

Although seeing as many people don't see it that way, the recipient could well be oblivious to the insult, even if it makes the sender feel better.

@AyyMacarena

I don't know anymore. I recently changed workplaces and not a single person in my team knew that regards/kind regards was basically telling that person to go fuck themselves. They all used it and now they don't.

That's nonsense, just about every email I get from internal colleagues and external contacts of all types is signed off Kind Regards, who told you that was rude?

I've actually just been copied in on an email that a client has sent to a big boss and he's used Rgds - I know for a fact that client is not telling the big boss to fuck off

I always sign off as Kind regards,