Polite Notice....

[Collaborate]

Is it just me?

I get why people who don't want people parking in front of garage doors start their sign/notice with POLITE NOTICE. Presumably it's in the hope that some people will mistakenly think it says POLICE NOTICE. Personally I don't think it works, and that it makes the person putting up the notice a bit of a dork, but I can live with it.

I have just received 4 text messages from my daughter's primary school, which start "polite reminder". What's that all about? Am I to assume that unless they tell us the message is intended to be polite then we should take offence? Or that all messages not so headed are intended to be impolite?

Or do they intend that we think that the police have become interested in the current amount of unpaid dinner money, or the summer uniform arrangements?

In a nutshell, yes, some people will say that the school/garage owner/whatever are throwing their weight around. It also makes it clear that whilst they are asking nicely now, they might not at a later date. It is like warnings at work - verbal warning, written warning etc. They aren't making it official in the first instance but they will later.

I have never thought that Polite might look like police - it just never occurred to me. I have always assumed that they have had inconsiderate idiots getting arsey with them before so they are trying to make their notice as non-confrontational as possible.

So yes I would, politely, conclude that yes, YABU.

There's a lot of unreasonable people out there who take offence easily. I've always assumed the use of "polite" is to try and avoid the overreactions of these types of people.

Sometimes the inference that they want people to think it says police is unavoidable.

In my experience almost all "polite notices" are either extremely rude or patronising in the extreme.

"Polite Notice" implies "you're not going to like this, but it has to be said".

There's a blue Polite Notice round the corner from me that's obviously calculated to look like a police notice to the casual would-be parker. It's against the wall of an ordinary house along a street that has no parking restrictions, but happens to be close to a school. That one gives me the rage, even though I have no need or desire to park there myself.
A Polite Notice by somebody else's actual driveway along the road from that would be fine, but they have gone for a more confrontational No Parking/Dogs/Fuck Off-type request.

Yes reni1. Absolutely. Although the school texts are quite alright. I just thought they would have been better saying "please". Then they wouldn't have needed to metaphorically wave their arms about shouting "look - this is polite, it really is".

Thinking about it, the verbal equivalent would be putting your hands up to show it isn't meant to be confrontational and saying 'look I don't want any trouble but please don't park in front of my garage because you block me in.' Nothing rude about it at all.

A bit like this one, Brecon?

That kind of thing, yes. Easy to misread from a moving car when your attention is focused on not mowing down schoolchildren.

Bertha I'm not saying it's rude for people to put it in a notice or a text. I just don't get why they do it. Surely it's better to draw the "notice" so that it's polite in and of itself?

You can make the most polite notice or letter in the world and those who want to be offended by it still will be. Adding "polite" is to preempt that.

The use of "polite" is deliciously passive aggressive, isn't it?

How about "Gentle Reminder"? It's so twee and not Gentle at all, patronising.

The undertone is "Get Yer Arse into Gear Reminder".

yes Squeezy it is very PA and so obviously so

I'd never thought of this decoy polite : police thing and was reading OP thinking "that's rubbish"

From the replies, you're obviously right, especially that cycle vest!

One convert at least, MNpostingbot!

Those cycle vests do work though so my friend tells me.

I'm sure they do. Just like people slow down on a motorway when they see a Highways Agency patrol.

I am pretty sure it is to be clear that they have no legal right to say "No Parking"

If they said "No Parking" without having the legal right to do so they could find themselves in trouble so I believe it has to be clear that it is a request only.

There is a 'polite notice' sign by someone's drive that I occasionally go past, and it was in a weird font that made the t all curly so if you glanced quickly, it looked like 'police'. The next time I passed, it had been replaced with one in normal capitals. I did wonder whether the police had told them to change it.

The one I don't like is "kindly". For example, "kindly fill in the form and send it back" or "kindly note Friday is an INSET day" or "kindly stop parking near resident's driveways".

What's wrong with "please". And do you actually need "please" at all in some of those cases - eg "note Friday is an INSET day".

Kindly in this context comes across (to me) as the opposite of what is intended!

Like "with the greatest respect", muminhants?

I thought it was to contrast "Polite Notice: no parking" with "No fucking parking", which would be an impolite notice.

"Gentle reminder", "polite notice", "kindly do..." and "With the greatest respect" are all passive aggressive. Topped only by "I am no racist/sexist/whatever, but..." which is invariably followed by something eye wateringly racist/sexist/whatever.