One line thank-you emails to lecturers/professors - yes or no? I have always wanted to know the answer to this question (sorry if it's silly):

If a professor or lecturer answers a question or gives advice when replying to an email I sent them, in general, do they prefer if I send them a one-line email saying 'thank you!' or no email at all? If I send a one-line email I'm worried I'm just clogging their inbox, but if I don't send any email at all, I'm worried I'll seem cold/selfish.

Thanks in advance!
It doesn’t matter all that much. But in general it’s good practice to thank people when they help you with something. And the extra workload imposed by dealing with such thank you emails is too insignificant to worry about.

When in doubt about these sorts of questions, apply the rule “professors are people”.