'Hey' as a greeting
really boils my piss. It's only used by people who watch far too much mawkish and sentimental American romcoms and/or shit sitcoms like Friends.

When did what is essentially a shout for attention become an acceptable way to greet someone with sensitivity? Fucking outrage. 'Hey'. Say hello, you bastards. That's what you mean. Don't hey me.
(Land of Green Ginger It's dreamy weather, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 11:57, 5 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

I suppose the language change argument doesn't cut much mustard then.

( jim_bob can herd cats., Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:00, Reply)

I don't agree with that
as it would mean I should also be against saying 'cheers' to mean goodbye

also, and I might be wildly off the mark, but I'm pretty sure hello or a variation thereof was used to hail someone or get there attention in much the same way as hey
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:09, Reply)

Wikipedia to the rescue
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, hello is an alteration of hallo, hollo, which came from Old High German "halâ, holâ, emphatic imper[ative] of halôn, holôn to fetch, used esp[ecially] in hailing a ferryman." It also connects the development of hello to the influence of an earlier form, holla, whose origin is in the French holà (roughly, 'whoa there!', from French là 'there').
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:15, Reply)

I'm certain that's right
But I don't like this change. This language change in particular gets my goat.

There's still an element of rudeness to hey. Would you use it to meet potential in-laws for the first time? At a job interview?

So why use it to otehrs? It's not like there aren't any other options - Alright? Wotcha? How-do? Hi?
(Land of Green Ginger It's dreamy weather, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:26, Reply)

there's nothing wrong with informal greetings used in the correct context
I like to be rude to my friends, so a greeting that is rude is perfectly acceptable to me.

frequently I will answer the phone with the word "cunt" if I know who is calling.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 13:19, Reply)

Search this page
for "hey".

And get it right up yez a greeting from watching gratuitous Scottish sitcoms
( djtrialprice, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:11, Reply)

I use hey a lot.
I don't care what you think.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:14, Reply)

I do
Honest to God, it grates me so. Every time I hear it I wonder where people have picked it up from, and why. And that makes me think that too many people watch Friends and romcoms.
(Land of Green Ginger It's dreamy weather, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:24, Reply)

By the way
the 'you' I'm referring to is not b3tans, just a you plural sense to mean the entire world. Nowt personal.
(Land of Green Ginger It's dreamy weather, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:27, Reply)

I agree entirely with you
'Hey' is 'gay'.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 13:06, Reply)