I take your point, and I wouldn't want to read through reams of frivolity either - but there really wasn't anything like that in my example; it's 1 or 2 like saying "thanks", and then my example included all of the stuff you asked for.
Yeah, there's a difference between sharing your life story and a quick thank you, and if I have to take into account people who get offended by being thanked, then I wouldn't be able to communicate at all anymore.
You can't please everyone, and erring on the side of being too polite on average has worked pretty well so far for me.
