“Normal” in Gmail

A new development in e-mail: Gmail lets you know when you don’t sound “normal” in an e-mail:

As soon as you make a misstep like starting an email to your coworker with “Dear” like you’re a lunatic who’s writing them a love letter instead of just writing “Hello” like a normal person, a popup will appear, stating, “Are you sure about that? That sounds pretty weird.”

I like the premise that “Dear” is not an appropriate way to begin. In my post How to e-mail a professor, I caution against it:

“Hi/Hello Professor [Blank]” is always appropriate. Substitute “Dear” and you've ended up writing a letter; leave out “Hi” and your tone is too brusque.

Says the ClickHole report on this (okay, imaginary) new Gmail feature: “Awesome! This is definitely going to come in handy.”