Ask HN: How to handle Asian-style “Family name first” when designing interfaces

Re:Ask HN: How to handle Asian-style “Family name first” whe... by masklinn on Thursday August 31, 2023 @01:28AM (#37332820)

> The only downside is you can't do something like "Hi ${FIRST_NAME}" in your emails

Which might be an upside, because there are cultures and contexts where it’s incredibly rude. You’re a glorified ledger, not a family member or life-long friend.

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Re:Ask HN: How to handle Asian-style “Family name first” whe... by nicbou on Thursday August 31, 2023 @03:14AM (#37333562)

And in others the formality feels off and a tell-tale sign that the sender is not from here.

I get a lot of mail from foreign readers. Indians and Pakistanis are pretty formal, and most Africans even more so. On the other hand, some people from those same countries will write stream of consciousness emails that look like a text message to their dad.

The Western countries are a lot less formal, but and frequently drop the polite form which I was raised to use with all strangers.

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