"No problem" vs "you're welcome"

[Shiver]

Related to your post. You know what else grinds my gears, is "thanks." Like, who are you thanking? It's like you're just expressing gratitude that the situation is now what it is, that some favor has been performed or that you have been helped. As in, probably just by the universe just doing its thing. Passively.

I'd probably be okay with that, ignoring it anyway. A low key, "Hail Satan" might be more entertaining though.

 

[Galena]

What regions are you from/do you all live in, if you don't mind saying so? I am wondering if there are regional differences in how each phrase is perceived, because my experience with the terms is very different from most of those in this thread.

To say more about this, I live on the urban West Coast of the US, which is known as perhaps the least formal area of the country. On top of that, I also work in an industry that is notorious for sometimes going overboard with its informality, and in general where sharp clothes and social skills are deprioritized.

Hence wondering if I could be experiencing a regional bias when I say that I've never in my lifetime observed anyone distinguishing between these two phrases before until this thread - not older or younger people. Nonverbal signals seem to be more important here - how someone says it as opposed to which one they say. A flippant tone of voice is what I would get in trouble for as a kid, but it was rare to be told that my words were rude - which could be more of a consequence of personality for me, but I also observe this in what other people criticize each other about more and the kinds of communication problems they have in their relationships. It fits with a culture that's often criticized by more easterly people as being too non-confrontational and even passive-aggressive.

"No problem" is what you'll hear 95 out of 100 times at my work, regardless of the person's level in the company, and if not "np" over text. So, we'll survive. It also goes to show how regional differences affect even people who may think they don't fit in, since as an individual my friends see me as someone who is falling off the formal edge of the spectrum.

Intriguing read.