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So I found this user who's been giving some "OK" answers and I actually found a few of their (no ban please) answers having this phrase:

"Hope this helps!"

Now I don't think this is really necessary for an answer, as such questions in this network doesn't really require some phrase as this.

What do you think of this phrase in answers?

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    Just so you know, moderators aren't in control of bans. They're technically not even bans, they're just an automated stats check that runs every time you try to post.
    – ExpertCoder14 - RETIRED
    Feb 18, 2021 at 19:18
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    If we want to be an emotionless Q&A site, then yeah, those kinds of salutations are frowned upon. However, I've posted answers with similar things, and really, it just shouldn't matter. I can't imagine why it matters so much.
    – nightsurfer
    Feb 19, 2021 at 15:20
  • @MarkGiraffe, could you list a few of my so-called ‘ok’ answers? I’d like to see what they are to improve on them. I would like to know why this kind of question deserves a post. I am new to the community and don’t really know it well yet. Maybe this kind of phrase at the end of an answer is frowned upon, but I really was just trying to be kind.
    – Zyxilef
    Feb 19, 2021 at 15:54
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    @Zyxilef I've looked at a few of your recent answers, and really, there's not much to improve! The only suggestion I could make is to maybe format your answers a bit, sometimes a straight up paragraph is rough to look at. Really, it's splitting hairs about whether "hope this helps" and similar things are allowed in posts. I think you're fine to continue as you are.
    – nightsurfer
    Feb 19, 2021 at 17:55
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    @Zuxilef no this person was just wondering about standards and formats. While we generally dont want that, no one really gives a HECK about you doing it, ur good :)
    – Penguin
    Feb 20, 2021 at 7:47

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The network stance on this is that it's fluff and distracts from the main content of the post: Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from posts? But some sites deviate a bit from this policy; for example, I've been asked not to remove 'Thanks' from posts on MathOverflow.

Suggested edits which only remove sentences like these are frowned upon by many users, especially if 1) it's an old post and/or 2) there's much more room for improvement to the post. I don't think there is consensus about this, but you might want to take a look at What's the right policy on suggested edit pending on removing user sign or cheers on Meta Stack Exchange.

(Disclaimer: while I do have some reputation on this site, I'm not really a regular. Arqade's local policies may deviate a bit from the network standards and I'm happy to be educated.)

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  • There's a person who just filters for posts with "thanks" at the end and edits all them out and never does anything else. I've been accepting them all, but should I be rejecting them?
    – Penguin
    Feb 18, 2021 at 17:19
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    @Penguin I would always Improve Edit those posts. 99% of the time you can find something else to change. That way the edit won't be considered too minor. Even if it's another minor change, two minor changes are better than one!
    – ExpertCoder14 - RETIRED
    Feb 18, 2021 at 19:20
  • @ExpertCoder14: IMHO a user bumping lots of random posts for a minimal improvement is a perfectly valid reason to reject the edits altogether.
    – Kevin
    Feb 23, 2021 at 4:54
  • @Kevin You do make a valid point. Perhaps if I see the same user making these same types of minimal edits in a row, I'll let the first one slide with improve edit, but any more by the same user I'll reject and edit those.
    – ExpertCoder14 - RETIRED
    Feb 23, 2021 at 4:56
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You're right, we don't do signatures here. However, I don't think it's enough of a reason to edit the answer.

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  • Well, you can give your reasons of the phrase of why it isn't required. I'm no meta expert here.
    – Mark Giraffe
    Feb 18, 2021 at 13:20
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    I disagree that "hope this helps" is a signature. If anything, it's just polite. Sure, we're not a social media site, but we're also not emotionless answer bots either.
    – nightsurfer
    Feb 19, 2021 at 17:58

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