Happy talk must die

Happy talk is fluff and often self-congratulatory promotional talk, usually intended to be friendly but generally just getting in the way of people trying to get a job done.

On the web, and to be honest, in most places, happy talk must die.

Brenda Ueland, in her book If you Want to Write, put it perhaps the best I have seen:

'Oh, this over-explaining! It is the secret of all boredom. It is like this: You, the writer, go slowly and laboriously with many words, while the reader gropes through it, saying impatiently: “Yes, yes, hurry, hurry up! I see it—I get it! Go on to the next."'

Happy Talk Must Die is a gem from Steve Krug's legendary book on usability, Don't Make Me Think. Here's an excerpt on Happy Talk.

Also from Don't make me think: Omit needless words