Signs of the Times?

It's really fairly easy to be polite.  Many of us grew up with the admonition to say "please" and "thank you."  But, unfortunately, civility often flies out the window when we communicate with our fellow human beings in our signs.

I was reminded of this when I saw a sign at a food court.  The sign was obviously commercially made and
carried the stark message DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS!  Some kind soul scrawled the polite additive "PLEASE" above the sign.  It probably wouldn't have cost more to print the word "please" on the sign, and it probably wouldn't have affected the efficacy of the message.  But the stark DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS says something about the character of the food court that posted it.  Bossy.  Unfriendly.  Shouting. 

I am especially aghast at impolite signs in places that are supposed to be temples of hospitality.  When I worked for Hawaii Tourism Authority I had a crusade against impolite signs at our airports.  For the record, I didn't win that battle.  Every time a sign was changed to say please or "mahalo" ("thank you" in Hawaiian) another would pop up that included sentiments like "strictly prohibited" and "absolutely no ...".  I've often wondered if people really think that saying something is "strictly prohibited" is more effective than saying that it is "prohibited."  Or, even if "prohibited" is more effective than a friendlier "please don't." 

Another annoyance:  hand made signs.  In a world where computers are everywhere, why can't people make signs that at least look nice?  My computer has hundreds of fonts and a library of photos and clip art. 

So, why make a sign that looks like this one ... ?

How about signs that are overly officious?  Don't do this "by order of the management."  Who else would make a directive??

It really isn't hard to be polite and customer friendly ... even in signage.