I have this one major pet peeve - getting interrupted on any messenger by "hey".

Q: Hey
A: Hey, what's up?

-minutes pass, I try to resume work-

Q: Do you have a second?
A: Sure, what's up?

-minutes pass, I try to resume work... Again-

Q: Do you know anything about #feature#?
A: Yeah, I wrote most of it, what do you need?

-minutes pass, I try to resume work... AGAIN-

(goes on same pattern, takes half an hour for a 10 second question/answer)

Like... Come on!!! Don't do this to me

I get it, I like to be cordial and friendly - but there is absolutely nothing stopping you from getting your message across without making me have to go back and forth (interrupting my work).

And to top it off, I've had people PM's (mind you, not good ones) argue that this is polite and people like this. No, this is not polite and most people I know get very annoyed by this.

Just ask me "Hey Neotelos, I'm having trouble with #feature#, do you have a second?" I usually say "Sure, come over" we talk (and socialize) a bit and the issue is resolved immediately. Then I resume work and we're all happy.

That happens way too often. And not just related to work/programming.

Someone writes me and a 20 sentences conversation lasts 2 hours. I go back reading and I tell myself "Did I just basically wasted 2 hours of my life?" Usually the answers is "Well, not 2 hours. Very close though".

People who do this are the absolute worst.

It is extraordinarily easy to stand up and walk the 12ft to your coworkers desk and have a 5 minute discussion with them. It's even easier to call them if it's not possible to walk over to them.

Text/messengers/emails are fantastic for exchanging information ("Here's the report you wanted", "The meeting is at 12pm") but it's absolutely the most inefficient way to communicate emotionally or collaboratively ("How was your weekend?", "Can you help me understand this." These sorts of conversations shouldn't be handled over text.

It's been my personal experience that if I proactively approach people I work with, our conversations are a lot quicker, we understand each other much easier and there is a stronger sense of collaboration and team work. I.E. we trust each other more.

"Don't ask to ask, just ask"

Happened way too often with me. I stopped replying to the blank "hi" messages. I won't reply till they've stated what they want to discuss.
If asked why I didn't reply or if was too busy to even reply to a hi - answer is yes, I was busy. If it was important enough, you'd get to the point straight away.

@Bastion Talking in person has one major flaw, though. Unsearchable, inaccurate chat history that differs from person to person.

@wizzzard if it's really a conversation that requires written record it is definitely not hard at all to send a "follow-up" email confirming the details of the physical conversation. That's how we do it in our company and it doesn't feel like double handling at all.

Is this just a beg for votes?