While wanting to properly close a question and thank its participants on one of Stack Exchange's other sites-the question had resolved itself–I started wondering if "Thanks regardless" is a proper way to end such a note.
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1Not sure what closing a question on SE means. I would say that a question on SE is just that — a question standing alone. After posting it belongs to SE and can be modified to improve it. Thanking people may seem polite, but it is not the place of the poster to address the authors of answers in the question — that can be done in comments. Thanking people in anticipation is just another way of saying that you will be grateful if someone answers your question, which is unnecessary as I imagine it is the sentiment of everyone who posts a question.– DavidCommented Nov 17, 2022 at 18:04
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2 Answers
I'm not sure what "thanks regardless" is supposed to mean.
Thank you, regardless of whether you can help me [in the future]: the better way to say this is "Thank you in advance" or "Thanks in advance"; but given that that's what you wrote at the end of your question, it seems you believe "thanks regardless" means something else.
Thanks anyway: this would definitely not be an appropriate close to a message. You would use it if someone had just said "no" to a request, and you wanted to be polite (or wanted to appear to be polite).
Edit: thanks for the link. I've looked at the query which prompted this question, and given that context (asking a question and then finding out something which makes it moot) I actually think "thanks regardless" is an OK phrase - as in, it's grammatical and it makes sense. However, I think Remou's suggestion of "Thanks for all the replies" is more polite.
[Note that Stack Exchange etiquette doesn't require, and possibly even frowns upon, conversational noise such as "Thanks in advance".]
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5I think oKtosiTe may be aiming for "thanks anyway", but I always find it mildly annoying when someone devalues their thanks, so I would suggest "thanks for all the replies" or similar.– RemouCommented Dec 4, 2010 at 18:56
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@Remou: Indeed. My hope was to find a shorter way to say, "Thanks, regardless of the fact that it turned out to be unnecessary."– oKtosiTeCommented Dec 5, 2010 at 0:23
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I might as well reference the... question in question: superuser.com/questions/216288/…– oKtosiTeCommented Dec 5, 2010 at 0:25
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I would suggest none of them, instead showing gratitude by contributing back to the community. Commented Mar 6, 2012 at 10:25
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@LightnessRacesinOrbit, What is "lightness races in orbit" supposed to mean anyway?– PacerierCommented Mar 10, 2015 at 20:48
There are three pieces in that context that make "Thanks regardless" appropriate:
- The poster was asking for assistance.
- Those who posted answers were offering assistance.
- The resolution to the problem came without the assistance of those who posted answers.
Thus, the poster was expressing gratitude for the answers being offered regardless of the fact that they did not lead to a solution to the problem.
