I can say that, in email communications with European and Japanese colleagues, a salutation and closing is expected, regardless of the level of formality. I have experienced this even with texts and instant messages, although not as often. So it appears to be a common convention there, and largely lost in domestic exchanges. On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 10:23 PM Herb Johnson via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

So today, I was corresponding with a stranger in Ireland. He had the impression I was upset with our correspondence. I wasn't sure what the issue was, maybe my use of capital letters at some point. However, he informed me as an afterthought, as follows:

...

Herb a last point, if you care, which maybe you don’t. To sign off a communique, whether written or electronic, with just your name, is considered an expression of great anger in Europe. :-)

Kind regards [his name]

I had ended my email, as I often do, with my name alone; no closing social honorific or salutation or whatever it's called. (Extra points for identifying this convention.)

This was entirely new to me. But I'm wondering, is this a true social convention, or simply something limited to certain social classes in Ireland, or in between? And so it occurred to me, my friends in this list, may have such experiences, and can comment accordingly on this bit of email etiquette. Meanwhile, it's worth a try.

Warm regards, Herb Johnson

-- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

-- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info