Salty response (shio taiou)
Overview
Shio taiou (literally "salt response") is slang for a curt, cold, unfriendly way of responding. "Salt" is used in the sense of "salty," meaning standoffish and cold. As the opposite of a god-tier response (kami taiou), it describes a response that falls short of expectations.
It's used in a wide range of situations, such as exchanges on social media, customer service, and friendships.
Salty responses in a question box
In a question box, answers like these can feel salty: "Yeah," "Dunno," "Not really," "It's normal." A sender who worked up the courage to send a question and had it brushed off in one word may feel, "So that's all my question was worth."
That said, salty responses have their reasons too. Maybe the person answering is tired, has so many questions that they can't spend time on each one, or got a question that was hard to answer. Behind a salty response, the person answering may have reasons of their own. Even if a sender gets a salty response, it's better not to jump to the conclusion that "they don't like me."
Tips for avoiding salty responses
If you want to avoid salty responses as the person answering, there are some basic rules. Don't end with a single word. Repeat the sender's question ("You asked me about X"). Add one reason ("I think Y, because..."). Keeping these 3 things in mind helps you give fewer salty responses.
When you really want to answer briefly, find ways to make up for the shortness. Add an emoji, give a one-line compliment like "Good question!", or lead into the next exchange with "Ask me again!" Even an answer with few words has ways to convey warmth. A salty response and a short answer are different things. Short but warm answers do exist.