DEAR MISS MANNERS: When I send an email to a co-worker or a friend requesting a bit of information they can easily supply, should I append an ambiguous “Thanks” to the end? (“Thanks for considering this request”?)
When I receive the information, should I send another email saying “Thanks,” possibly adding to inbox clutter? Or should I do both?
GENTLE READER: Anticipatory thanks are strange, and even due thanks are not always welcome: Grouches will complain that you are filling their inboxes, presumably crowding out notices of cake in the break room.
But they are polite. Miss Manners would not worry about their being ambiguous, as it simply means they are doing double duty.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)