Thanks In Advance for Reading My Blog

Several times a day I get requests that end with some variation of "Thanks in advance". I understand that the correspondent is trying to be polite, but I can't help feeling a bit uncomfortable with this expression. I remember reading a Miss Manners column on this topic years ago - sadly I can't find it now - but the idea has stuck with me that it is bad form to thank someone "in advance".

In search of some justification for this position, I turned to Google and discovered that there is some debate.

Western Michigan University says:

... avoid thanking the reader in advance ... Thanking in advance is discourteous because it presumes that the reader has no choice other than to respond.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune says:

Don't ... Use the phrase “thank you in advance” in your complimentary close. It’s standard practice to encourage readers to take a desired action by thanking them before they’ve actually done it, but “in advance” can sound presumptuous.

WriteExpress says:

Avoid thanking the person beforehand ... To do so is presumptuous and suggests you do not feel the need to write a follow-up letter.

Apparently in Austrailia it is acceptable in some situations
Is it polite or presumptuous when you thank people in advance?

... but not in New Zealand:
Is the phrase "Thanks in advance" offensive?

The 1913 book Composition Planning by John Baker Opdycke says:

"Thanking in advance" smacks something too much of the spirit of forcing ... the reader ... into granting our request

But not everyone agrees, as you can see from the following:

• Thanks for What?
• Thank you in advance
  
• Cheers
• Does the phrase "thank you in advance" drive anyone else crazy?
• IBM Internal Use Only (!) - near the bottom; search for "Changing the Subject"
  

Finally, for a light-hearted view, there is this from The Cynic:
Thank You in Advance

After reviewing these references, my opinion hasn't changed. One should avoid using the phrase "thanks in advance", if only because it could offend some of your audience. On the other hand, one should try not to be offended if someone says it to you, because they probably only intend it as a courtesy.

And finally it seems like "thanks in advance" has turned into one of those ubiquitous expressions that it won't be possible to avoid. At least it's not outright wrong, like using "loose" when you mean "lose", or "tact" instead of "tack"!