A recent answer ended with two social pleasantries: "Hope it is clear. Have a good day!"
I commented that "Answers on this site, like questions, should not contain chit-chat. Just the physics is sufficient."
Another user disagreed, commenting that "There's a clear difference between 'chit-chat' and basic politeness, which is what this answer contains. Your culture may not value politeness, but many cultures do."
In a brief back-and-forth, my arguments against such pleasantries were
The Tour says “This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat.”
There is a post on the mother Meta addressing this issue: Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from posts?
This site aims to be like a physics encyclopedia in Q&A format. Encyclopedia articles do not end with “Have a good day!” or “Hope it is clear”.
I routinely edit questions and answers to remove pleasantries, and such edits have never been rejected by reviewers.
The other user argued that
- "Site policy on politeness is very clear: 'Always be polite and have fun’. Politeness is not 'chit-chat'.”
Since we reached opposite conclusions after reading the available guidance (is there more somewhere?), I conclude that the guidance isn't clear.
So what is our policy on pleasantries in questions and answers, or what should it be?
I've created two black-and-white opposing answers for voting. If something thinks that the issue requires nuance, please add more answers.