What is a courtesy message? [closed]

Solution 1:

I think it means that the message is being sent as a courtesy (i.e. a convenience to the user), not that it's sent in a courteous (i.e. polite) manner.

Solution 2:

The phrase ‘courtesy message’ indeed means a message sent out of courtesy, but the real purpose of using the word ‘courtesy’ in this way is to convey to the recipient that the sender (usually a business) does not have a legally enforceable obligation to send such messages (notices, reminders, etc.), and that its failure to send such a message under similar circumstances in the future will thus not have any legal consequences.

For example, suppose that you have a contract with a certain company that requires you to pay some fee on the 15th of each month, and that on the 10th of each month they send you a ‘courtesy reminder’ that the payment is due in five days. This month, because of some glitch, the reminder is not sent. The labeling of the previous reminders as courtesy reminders implies that your paying on the 15th is not conditional on their sending the reminder; you thus have to pay on the 15th of this month, even though you haven’t received the reminder.

(Of course, this answer is only about what the senders intend to convey by using the word ‘courtesy’ in this way; what the actual legal obligations of the parties in such situations are, is a legal question that is outside the scope of this board.)