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I just think it erases all trace of graciousness. Instead of being polite and acknowledging the person's thank you, you are belittling the effort, saying that you didn't go out of your way, so don't worry about it.
That's never how I take it. I take it as meaning they had done the good deed willingly and with good cheer (rather than reluctantly and sullenly), and thus was just as good as 'you're welcome'. I've never found it ungracious. It is less formal, but sometimes less formality is a compliment in that it presumes familiarity and friendly feeling.
You might be interested to consider that in some other languages, the formulaic response to 'thank you' is something on the order of 'it was nothing'. Russian, nichyevo; Spanish, de nada; French, de rien. The basic sentiment is 'no need to praise me highly; it was no trouble at all; I enjoyed helping you.' Same for 'no problem' in English.
"It's a business decision; don't take it personally." Translation: "bend over, scumbag--you don't matter." I admit that I enjoy turning this around when I take a firm stand on some matter with a business, and when they ask more or less politely why I'm being such an obstinate donkey about this, I say: "It's a business decision, don't take it personally."
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