Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 15:09:39 -0600 From: Natalie Maynor Subject: Re: Hope this helps > this electronic equivalent of "Have a nice day." "Hope this helps" seems to > refer more to the sender than the receiver or the topic; "Hope this helps" > seems to translate as "I'm eager to be agreeable." When I've used it, anyhow, > that has been the closest translation. I've always interpreted it as more like "I'm not sure this is exactly the information you were looking for, but I hope it's close enough to be useful." > Where--and when--did "Hope this helps" appear? And WHY? Do the members of > this list see this in their discussion groups, or is it specific to the > electonic discourse of my discipline, composition studies? I see it more in information-exchange/question-answer type groups than in other kinds of discussions. --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)