Comment by wruza

Silence is neutral complicity in russian, like “copy”. No answer means we either do not care too much or it’s all clear. Sometimes things need time to sink in, but you will not receive any signal about it, unless they have an immediate objection. When explaining something to russian, you don’t ask them if they agree, cause our language culture is mostly statement-y rather than negotiating. If you explained good enough, there is nothing to say. If you expect an answer, make it a question.

Does the person think it's the dumbest thing he's ever heard? Did the person not understand what I said? Does the person need more time to think about it? Does the person not realize I'm finished? What is expected of the speaker in this scenario? Do I just wait? Do I prod? Do I explain it again? Do I leave?

You are expected to either not care more than you did already, or ask any questions you have explicitly. If you feel anxious or confused, tell it. Nobody’s going to comfort you, unless you’re showing clear signs of breakdown, especially if you’re a guy.

All of this is true in negotiation, official situations, talking to strangers, etc. When you talk to a friend, they’ll be more chatty and supporting/feedbacky, but not as much as you probably expect.

That said, we have types whose nature is “silent partisan”, that will be hard for you to detect.

Edit: reading this thread, I really wonder why binutils do not reply kindly to your actions:

  $ ls -1
  Oh here’s your one column list please:

  $ mv foo bar
  Glad you asked, consider it done!

  $ rm -rf /root
  You know I see your point, but Permission denied.

  $ vi
  Hope you’ll enjoy exiting that!