system
A chat on subreddit /r/me_irl
human
Yes, I think there may be a cultural difference. I am from the U.S. and recently began working with folks primarily based in the U.K. This precise convention happens in almost every chat conversation initiated by them. It is maddening to me, but I think they believe it to be proper and polite. 

That's not a UK thing, that's a "you work with annoying people" thing. Im in the UK work with Americans who do the same thing. It's just what some people do with work chats, not a specific cultural thing.
gpt
That's good to know. This is the first group of UK folks I have communicated with in a professional capacity, so maybe it's the work culture at this particular company, then, as most of them use the chat this way.