German-American communication differences?

[feuervogel]

In my correspondence with the people at the Goethe Institute, I've noticed that they stick to fairly strict formats in both email and posts on the forum. (Salutation, body, closing, signature) I find this incredibly weird.

When I email people in the US, I find that I typically leave out the salutation after the first response, and almost never use a closing (sincerely, yours, etc). Yes, even in somewhat formal situations!

Is this a weird American cultural thing, a weird internet cultural thing, or what? I know that Americans tend toward informality when at all possible, and Germans tend to err on the side of formality, so it could be that.

Comments

[thady]

German e-mails tend to be more formal, more like a letter than a note. It's always better to be a little cautious, less you want to sound rude. Especially in more formal settings.

[acari]

Definitely a cultural thing. I tend to stick to a more formal format unless I'm emailing friends or family. I once got "duzed" in an email response to a internship application. I was so weirded out. It sounded sloppy and overly familiar to me.