Completely disagree as a native English speaker. "Please do foo" is polite. "Please pickup milk after work", "Please forgive me", "Please create a SSL cert for your website".
Tangentially: Same thing happens in code reviews. People become extra soft at objective reasoning!!! The onus is on the offendee, not the offender. Stop being offended so much all the time, you'll live a healthier, happier life. Special treatment, feeling of being entitled for politeness is a slipper slope where everyone is being nice to each other and no one can criticize. Nothing gets done. We don't make progress together like this.
Advice to the sender: Be polite, but assertive. Don't make personal attacks.
Advice to the receiver: Assume good intentions, focus on problem at the hand, accept harsh criticism, don't be offended at little things.
Why would the onus be on the offendee? The person making the request or giving the feedback is the person that has the most opportunity to choose their method of affect their communication. The receiver has very little choice, except sucking it up stoically.
If you really want to communicate an idea, it's in your own best interest to adapt your approach to the listener.
I think the amount of energy you've spent on this thread convincing others of what you find offensive is worrying, but you've also taken my comment out of context.
Yeah I agree, if you end the sentence abruptly it sounds blunt. Just replace it with "Please pick up milk on the way home" and it sounds normal. But that's not what I said.
I can't believe we all have spent so much energy, downvotes, and bikeshedding including myself. This is surely not efficient. Instigator is the offendee. What a disgrace!
Tangentially: Same thing happens in code reviews. People become extra soft at objective reasoning!!! The onus is on the offendee, not the offender. Stop being offended so much all the time, you'll live a healthier, happier life. Special treatment, feeling of being entitled for politeness is a slipper slope where everyone is being nice to each other and no one can criticize. Nothing gets done. We don't make progress together like this.
Advice to the sender: Be polite, but assertive. Don't make personal attacks.
Advice to the receiver: Assume good intentions, focus on problem at the hand, accept harsh criticism, don't be offended at little things.
The world would be a better place.