Members, what do you think? (needed editing)
My dear friends, I know I'm old and stodgy, but I must say I find it just a little too familiar when someone starts a post with the words "Hey guys" or "Hi guys". Maybe to most of you it is an non-issue so I would like to know that. I notice it mostly in first time posts by obvious English speakers. I think it has the meaning like "Hola, gueyes" - which I think is a little rude to say to people you don't know. But maybe to you all it's just like saying "Hola, amigos". My preferred general address is the one with which I started this paragraph.
For those learning English: the word stodgy means dull, boring, or old-fashioned (aburrido, anticuado). I'm not trying to put myself down. I'm just acknowledging that certain traits seem to be present (like joint pain) when we get in the advanced years.
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To all who have answered this post I am most grateful. For the most part all participants are familiar members and have helped in so many posts by newbies and "oldbies" alike. I truly respect all of you and so many others who have participated on this site whether I agree with your opinions or not. We are all learners and teachers.
12 Answers
I'm old and stodgy too, but "Hey guys" and "Hi guys" don't bother me much. Neither does "My dear friends," addressed to people who aren't dear friends! In all of those cases, the poster assumes a familiarity that is, in fact, lacking. But casual is casual and, to my mind, not the same as rude.
I am much more bothered by first-class boorishness along the lines of "Translate this for me right away," failure to thank people for their polite and helpful replies, and of course posts that make little, if any, sense.
I think of 'hey guys' or 'hi guys' as American or someone under 25. I don't particularly like 'hey' which I associate with 'hey you' which can be a bit aggressive. I don't think we can roll back the tide of informality.
I am happy if someone asks a question with some thought and doesn't just bark an order or ask something with no thought.
I give benefit of doubt generally on first occasion and some of them join in. clearly some people will only ever ask one question.
By its nature a large number of media savvy teenagers are learning Spanish. I want some respect but only as to understanding why language level and punctuation though a chore are important.
We can always learn something from others.
I'm an old stodgy 32 year old Feisty Yank Sheila (as Ray like to call me.) But I think that the English language as well as the Spanish language both deserve preservation. I don't give a #$@% that the mobile phone has introduced a whole new shorthand way of communication. These young people need to be taught that there IS a standard to which everyone should adhere--and that includes all the proper spelling and capitalization.
In my Spanish classes I am constantly dealing with the poor spelling, the really bad angilcismos and the attitude of "Well that's the way we do it at home!" What they do in their own home is their business. What they do in class and later on in the adult world is another matter. These young people MUST learn what constitutes proper usage and adhere to it! And as this is a language learning site we MUST enforce it.
As hard as we try, we all make mistakes even in our native languages. Americans have a great tolerance for this. Latin Americans a little less. French speakers tolerate nothing that violates proper French--at least in written language. Some of their spoken language is less than desirable.
I see two different issues here.
1) Using a very informal greeting with someone you don't know yet. I would never approach anyone and immediately call them with "Hi, guys" unless the nature of the event or circumstances is very informal. For example, at our anual Jazz Fest, it is outside, usually crowed, usually very hot (though it's a great party), if I needed to ask something and approached a group of young people, I would probably say, "Hi, guys. Can I ask you something? etc, etc" That would not be considered rude.
If I approached an elderly couple at the Fest, I would say, "Hi. Sorry to bother you, or excuse me, but may I ask you something?" If I were not at such an informal event, I would not use "hi" with that couple.
"Hi" in general, however, is not considered rude.
On the other hand, "hey" as in "hey there" when said in a friendly way as a greeting is generally not considered rude, but one wouldn't use it with strangers or older people until you gain some familiarity with them. Just "hey" as a means to get someone's attention is extremely rude, like "Hey, you!"
2) This second issue is, I think, a consequence of technology. Everything done on the internet is done less formally than in person. I'm not saying it's good or bad, that's just how it is. Even among close friends, I tend to address them a bit less formally in an email than I would in person, or even by letter.
I fear that we're just going to have to put up with #2.
As for posting on this site, when I start a post with "Hi, guys" it is because I feel I've made friends with you all, so it feels alright. I am sorry if that offends any of you, and I'll try to be more aware in the future.
I guess one thing that sort of affects it all is, with what attitude is it being used? Is it a friendly "Hey, guys. can I ask you something?" or is it "Hey guys, I need an answer right away." Big difference.
So with that, I'll close: Hey guys!! Have a great weekend!! 
I don't think we should give up on setting an example just because a lot of teenagers don't want to be bothered to learn to write their own language correctly. I have little tolerance for deliberate disregard for grammar and the mechanics of written English (and Spanish, I guess, but then I wouldn't notice bad Spanish--would assume the problem was a deficit in my comprehension) on a site whose purpose is to assist with language learning. On the other hand, some of the errors we see in posts are probably the result of a lack of knowledge or skills. I'm in favor of gentle corrections and reminders until such time as a new member shows actual rudeness or stubbornly refuses to engage in the learning process. I think that responding to a request to use correct capitalization and punctuation on a language learning site with "pathetic" or something equally rude ought to be grounds for immediate banishment.
On the other hand, "Hey, guys" and "Hi, guys" as greetings in a post don't bother me at all. I believe the intent in almost every case is friendly. I realize that "hey" is sometimes meant rudely, but in the American South it has also long been used as a friendly greeting. I'm dating myself now, but my parents' generation thought my friends and I were being hoity-toity when we greeted each other with "hi" instead of "hey."
Wha' ya' amigos - 'ow's tha'?
Otherwise I'm not too bothered - I must be getting younger.
G'day amigos, you do not have a monopoly on old and stodgy , neither do I
But I agree whole heartedly with what you have all said.
Except 'annierats' who is forgetting one salient point and that is that SD
is a learning site for both Spanish and English , therefore we must uphold
the highest standards for the grammar of both languages , once we drop them
on any one issue then both languages will fail
I do agree with 'annierats' in that the use of textspeak and colloquial greetings
are here to stay and have their usage.
When we are familiar with each other in comments etc I see no reason not to
resort to common greetings and sayings .But the heading of posts and the
opening remarks "must be"correct in every way ,how we begin is how we
shall proceed . The format is as important as the question , and so is knowing
who it is that is addressing us, I am more than happy to have a newbie or any
member correcting both my English and Spanish , but I would first like to know
their level of expertise before I act upon the correction
This is a long winded way of saying "yes I will always uphold high standards on SD
We may well be "Spanishdictahollicks"but we are well mannered ones.
I don't like ' Hey!' which I find aggressively American, apart from that I have no problems with this. If people say ' Hej!' in Swedish, that's fine, it's exactly like ' Hola' and we say it to everybody. Overall, if somebody asks a question that is interesting, I don't really care much about the format. I think this site fails to understand the colossal change that the mobile phone has brought, it is changing capitals, greetings, well everything. It's better to accept lack of capitals and general mistakes, I think, rather than be left behind like some old grand-mother..
So it looks like I get to be the contrarian here haha, since it seems like most of you will probably disagree with me.
So I don't think this is due to laziness, or due to "text-speech" (which I think non-teens tend to exaggerate). As a young adult who speaks American English, I feel like this is actually due to two things:
(1) The leveling of the internet: Teenagers usually regard the web as an informal place. This isn't an American-only phenomenon too. The norm (at least from what I see) among young Spanish speakers online is to default to "tú", not "usted".
(2) Language change: "Hey guys" is the standard way of addressing groups of peers among young adults in America. If you are at a college or high school, pay attention to how the leaders of organizations address their members. The president of a club (a student) will begin announcements with "Hey guys", and that's the standard. "Members" would sound too stuffy.
Normally, it's expected that young adults "curb" their speech around elders, which is why you won't hear too much of (2) in everyday speech. That's generally how language evolves. Young people never actually change their speech, they just hide it in front of their elders. Then when they become older, they expect the next generation to hide the way they speak. It's a natural process (not criticizing it). I'll probably do the same when I get older haha.
However, because of (1), most young adults (myself included) tend to assume everyone on the internet is their equal, which results in what you're seeing.
This actually leaves me with a question: When you meet someone new on the web, how to you initially address them? My gut reaction is informally, but I'm curious to know what you guys would say.
It is good to know this. I use to say "hi" when I meet someone who doesn´t speak Spanish. I have always thought it is as common as "hola". Of course I wouldn't address to someone with a "hi, guys", unless they were kids or teenagers in an informal place.
By the way, it made me laugh the suggestion of Jubilado. I hadn't thought it, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a thread in Spanish with "hola, güeyes". Just kidding!
Have a look at the link below , if we allow this we will end up using text speak
all the time , this has to be stopped
I personally don't have a problem with somebody starting a post with, "Hi guys/hello guys" but it really also depends on what follows this somwhat casual form of address!
If the general tenor (tone) of the rest of the person's comments is friendly and respectful, that's fine by me ..but if the person then continues by verbally attacking others, complaining or being damnright rude or disrespectful, then I would consider that 'out of order'! The person has crossed the line of common courtesy and decency!
I am a very informal person, anyway ..Jubilado, so I may not be typical of English people lol
It depends on social context, too! (Formal vs informal) When I contact an organisation like McAfee to renew my Antivirus or speak with my telephone company or any similar organisation, I do expect to be treated with respect and asked if I mind being addressed/spoken to by my first name, and if they are friendly and respectful I seldom say 'no'! However, I was recently contacted by a young guy, who was probably in his 20's, and who was a telephone salesman and insisted on addressing me as 'matey' Well, I was not well pleased or impressed! He was taking liberties, as far as I was concerned! I soon put the phone down on him, but not before telling him that I thought he was being very rude!! He just laughed! I asked him at least once, probably twice,not to call me matey but he carried on and I was not interested in what he was selling me anyway! Had I been interested, he would have lost a potentially valuable customer!
I reiterate, it all depends on context! Inconsider that we are a fairly close-knit, and friendly community here at Spanishdict amongst those of us who are regulars, and some like Ray, Rac, Ian, Sanlee, Dewclaw, and others of us have been here for years. I started over 5 years ago at the end of March 2010 when Heidita was here so many of us know each other quite well but we still show respect to each other nonetheless!
Finally, I accept and agree that we do need to maintain very good (high) standards on this website since we are offering a language learning site, where people will be learning how to write and speak Spanish and English to a very good standard! We have a good reputation to maintain!
The use of 'text-speak', with it's short-hand (ie: abbreviated) spelling and sometimes appalling grammar, which would be probably be considered acceptable and appropriate on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and others, is not at all appropriate here as we are trying to provide good examples of these languages for people to learn! I put my hand up and admit to using an occasional lol in my sentences and captions for Picture and Word of the Day.
I hope this answers your question, Jubilado! 
