Conference turris::womannotes-v2

    Greetings:
    
    Gentlepersons:
    
    Dear Sir or Madam is acceptable
    
    

    "Greetings" might not be too good if the recipient is male and of
    Viet Nam era age. Aside from that, it's probably the most generic.

    How about "Yo!"?

    With business letters you might be able to refer to the title of the
    person you are writing to . eg: Dear Customer Service Representitive
    or Dear Marketing Director:  It seems long for a salutation but it
    makes sense when you read it.
    
    Gail

    re .2:
    
    I'm a little young for the Nam era!! Please explain what the Greetings
    pertains to!!  Thanks.

    RE .3
    
    I think that is the answer. Good job.
    
    RE .4

    Back in the old days (the 60's)
        
    You were notified to report for you predraft physical with a letter
    that started "Greetings..."
    
    If you passed your physical, You might expect another letter "Greetings"
    except this letter was the real thing. "You will report..." (you are
    drafted)

    
    Steve   Am I really that old?

    Whenever in doubt and I'm corresponding about my own business (i.e.,
    not Digital's), I gleefully turn the tables of all those years of
    "Dear Sir"-ing and simply put "Dear Madam."
    
    Karen

    Sometimes I use the "Dear Madam" approach, giggling to myself. 
    But if it's something important, I try to find out the name of a
    responsible person -- it generates a better response.
    
    Usually a receptionist will tell you the name and mailing address
    of the officially responsible person in various areas.  I once
    called the receptionist at the tourist office for General Mills
    and got the name and address of the person in charge of personnel
    relations, who answered my questions politely and promptly.  I
    suspect that if I'd just sent it "to whom it may concern" in an
    office, it would have gone unanswered.
    
    --bonnie

In a serious business letter I wouldn't be willing to greet an anonymous per-
son with "Yo!", even though it might be satisfying.  Often, I will just omit
a salutation entirely (after including my address and their name and address
as part of the header).

One possibile salutation that I saw used by my University student newspaper
and which I have used myself from time to time is "People".  I'm unsure how
such a salutation would affect an older reader, though.  How would any of
you react to such a greeting in a letter?

					--Q (Dick Wagman)

    In such cases, I usually begin a letter with either:
    
    	Hello!
    
    	Hi!
    
    or either of the above with a colon if I'm not all that excited
    about stuff! :-)  

Hello!

Hi!

I like those.  Thanks for the idea, 'Ren.

						--Q

RE: .5 

    The selective   service   letters   started   "Greeting...",   not
    "Greetings...".  The  only  place I know of that uses the singular
    is the U.S. Draft boards.  I don't know why they do it.

--David

    I read a suggestion in one of the advice columns to do away with
    the greeting altogether.  Since in the form for a business letter you
    have the addressee above the text of the letter, the salutation is
    redundant (and silly when you don't know whom you're addressing).
    
    				Steve

    I generally, when addressing people I don't know whose attention
    I'd like to get, begin the letter,
    
    Good Day:
    
    which helps start off on the right foot.  And I try to phrase
    everything as positively as possible.  Even when I'm complaining.
    
    -Jody
    

    
    If something comes to me addressed to "Resident" or "To Whom...",
    I trash it.

    I understand that Maynard T. Resident of Sioux Falls MN has instituted
    a reverse class action suit against all citizens of the United States
    for tampering with his mail...

    Sioux Falls is in South Dakota, Paul.

    re:.19 re:.18
    
    Right. It's *Frostbite* Falls that's in Minnesota.
    
    --- jerry