[Cthulhu_]

If they only say "Hey" with no follow-up, I'll just assume it was nothing and they got distracted. In smaller environments it could work to link them to e.g. https://nohello.net/en/ and / or educate them though.

But turning off notifications works; it keeps your focus, and making them wait for a reply trains and reminds them that it's asynchronous communication. A lot of people have grown accustomed to fast replies though.

[fleddr]

Your assumption may be wrong though. Especially if you work internationally, the greeting ritual may be a form of civil courtesy.

I do hate it though. Just ask the damn question, don't wait for me to say "hey" back.

[chousuke]

I wish we could just get rid of that particular form of "courtesy".

I can't help but be annoyed or distracted by naked hellos, regardless of the intent behind them, so to me, they are rude. I understand that they might be some sort of social ritual, but I can't for the life of me understand how it's in any way courteous to ask for someone's attention with an expectation of a synchronous reply before revealing anything about why they want your attention.

But I suppose the majority feels the opposite for some unfathomable reason.

[fleddr]

It's a misuse of tools indeed. It's something to do on the phone, not in a (supposedly) asynchronous communication tool. But hey, some people even use email synchronously.

I tried to punish the naked hello senders, by simply not responding at all. If you can't be bothered to tell me why you need me, I can't be bothered to respond.

Unfortunately, empathy broke it. I work with a lot of remote workers in India. They make long hours and I know they need something from me, I just don't know what. By intentionally not responding, I feel bad about effectively sabotaging progress.