Not a westerner but after moving to Australia, took me a while to get used to using please. It’s not common where I’m from lol

I’m fanatical about saying please and thank you, and it drives me batty that others don’t. Someone offers you a snack, say no thank you, don’t say “no I don’t like those” like a goddamned toddler.

We say it out loud a lot. People seem to remember to be polite when not anonymous.

I rarely use ‘seldom’

I only use it in writing when making direct requests. I say it quite often.

People say it in person a lot. Another factor might be that some people view it coming across as either non genuine or passive aggressive in written form.

Online discourse tends not to be the kind of place (in the English-speaking world) where “please” is the appropriate response.

Does it really mean anything? If you’re a respectable person isn’t it implied? Thank you as well. People should be able to see the thankfulness… Too many assholes fucked up use of please and thank you trying to look good when they aren’t being good. Now sometimes I see it as a sign someone’s trying to take advantage or hide their true self.

I say it in newer company but I don’t know if I say it to often to people I know.

I say it often in my day to day life. I don’t use it much on Lemmy because I rarely ask anyone to do anything on here

Because the boomers forced us to say it or we got hit and we are through appeasing them.

And you’re sure your criteria includes Canadians?

it’s not so seldom in my experience.

I just checked, and I used “please” about 30 times in the last year on lemmy.ml. I live in Burgerland.

I write and speak the word please quite a lot. In all of my emails when requesting things for work or pleasure I use it. I was raised in the US South and I think it’s very common practice here to teach kids in such a way. My own kids are being taught the same. I can’t obviously speak for the rest of Western society though.

“Please” is short for “if it pleases you” or “if you please”. It’s used to turn a command into a request. It’s probably not used on Lemmy, etc. because we’re not requesting things of each other a lot.