How much relationship do you gain by greeting a stranger?

[Lion]

Is 23 normal or even possible? Or it's tight pants.

[Faizah]

Depends. Did the greeting sim (or the greeted, if playable) have the business reward perks? (The first two in connections, I believe.) Was the Sim greeted with one of the new AL methods? Did either Sim have the fourth popularity sim benefit?

Also, it's quite normal to gain about 20-30 in both short term and long term relationships by bringing a 'friend' home from work or school, even if you've never met them before.

There are so many ways in the game to boost relationships...

EDIT: And, of course, there's the season bonuses. I think it's summer that boosts friendly relations, spring that boosts romantic relations, and winter that boosts relations towards family.

[Marhis]

Since AL I have quite often that kind of boosts, no business perks whatsoever. I've not extensively tracked the occurences, but it seems to me that it happens mostly with social groups sims. Also, the seasonal boost applies, but they're very high anyway.

[J. M. Pescado]

Factors which boost relationship:
Business Perks (boosts initial contact relationship)
Seasonal (boost is per interaction)
Vacation and Collection Perks (boost is per interaction)
Performing Correct Social Group Greeting (bonus to interaction boost)
Reputation (affects initial contact relationship depending on good/bad)
Maybe LTA Perks?

[Lion]

None of the above.

They are Veronaville Maxis families in first round play, and it's (nuclear) winter. So they don't have any business, vacation, social group or reputational perks. They are not friends from work, and supposedly never met before (seen from relationship panel). In fact, they are from the other feuding family as the welcome wagon. I was hoping to see some "action" there.

Happened again. I re-ran the saved game right before greeting, 20 and 23! The greeter's reputation is average cabbage.

[Marhis]

Funny; I checked, and I had an instant 20/5 between two playables, never met before. No business, no vacation, no social group, no LTA boost (it should be for Popularity or Romance, IIRC, and they were Family/Fortune and Family/Grilled Cheese), no Grilled Cheese vs Grilled Cheese boost, season is Spring.
They have both a good reputation, though. Maybe that's why?

[Lion]

They are fortune vs. popularity for one that got 23/8, there is a little boltage going on between the adult/teen pair. The other is fortune vs. romance that got 20/6. None of them have any reputation.