Draft for public comment. Comments are accepted through 30 September 2026 at inquiries@normalcy.institute and should cite clause numbers. Comments that do not cite clause numbers will be found interesting (see IAN-2026-017).
1. Scope
This document applies to utterances directed by a shopper at a self-service checkout terminal in a retail setting. It does not apply to utterances directed at other shoppers, at staff, at the store as an institution, or at no one. Exchanges with terminals in non-retail settings (airports, libraries, parking facilities) are reserved for future work, some of it already regrettably necessary (see IAN-2026-041).
2. Terms and definitions
2.1 terminal. A self-service checkout device capable of speech, tones, or on-screen text that a reasonable shopper experiences as speech.
2.2 machine-mediated disappointment. The emotional state arising when a terminal interrupts, contradicts, or declines a shopper in a voice selected for its inability to mean it.
2.3 unexpected item event. A terminal's assertion that the bagging area contains something it should not. The assertion may be false. The event is real.
2.4 acknowledgment latency. The interval following a terminal utterance beyond which a shopper's silence stops being an absence and becomes a statement.
2.5 the farewell problem. The unresolved question of whether thanks expressed to a machine is owed, wasted, or practice.
3. General principles
Reciprocity toward terminals is not required, but consistency is. A shopper who thanks the terminal on some visits and not others introduces an ambiguity that serves no party. The committee takes no position on whether terminals notice. The committee notes that shoppers behave as though they do.
4. Requirements
4.1 Silence. Silence SHALL constitute a conforming response to any terminal utterance. No terminal utterance creates an obligation to reply. Shoppers who report guilt under this clause are directed to Clause 3, and then to their own arrangements.
4.2 Acknowledgment. Where a shopper elects to acknowledge an unexpected item event, the acknowledgment SHOULD be a statement of fact (for example, "The item is expected"). Sarcasm is PERMITTED but SHALL be delivered at conversational volume. Performance for the benefit of the queue is nonconforming.
4.3 Apology. A shopper SHALL NOT apologize to a terminal more than once per transaction. The first apology is a reflex. The second is a relationship.
4.4 Escalation. Upon the arrival of an attendant, the shopper SHALL redirect all conversation to the attendant. Continuing to address the terminal in the attendant's presence is nonconforming and, per attendants interviewed by the committee, noticed.
4.5 Farewell. "Thank you," uttered once upon receipt issuance, is conforming, whether or not the terminal has earned it. Extended farewells are outside the scope of this document and, the committee suspects, of any document.
5. Conformance
Conformance with this standard is self-assessed. No certification scheme exists or is planned; the Institute does not currently certify individuals, pets, beverages, parking structures, or emotional states. Any claim of certified conformance with this standard SHALL be treated as machine-mediated disappointment within the meaning of 2.2.
Annex A (informative) — Sample utterances
| Utterance | Conformance | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| (silence) | Conforming | 4.1 |
| "The item is expected." | Conforming | 4.2 |
| "We have been over this." | Conforming, permitted sarcasm | 4.2 |
| "Sorry. Sorry—" | Nonconforming, second apology | 4.3 |
| "It's fine. You're doing your best." | Nonconforming, unfounded | 4.3 |
| "Thank you." | Conforming | 4.5 |
| "Bye." | Outside scope | 4.5 |