etiquette i made up in my own brain that i for some reason observe religiously
"OP": equivalent to ma'am/sir. polite form of address for a stranger when referring to their post.
"[platform] user [username]" e.g. tumblr user corviiids: equivalent to Mr/Ms/Mx. polite, full title, used when talking to or about someone i don't know very well (or a friend, for emphasis).
"[name] [username]" e.g. rook corviiids: equivalent to a full name. addressing someone i know but am not really friends with. a polite amount of distance and regard.
"[name]": i know names are there to be used but calling someone i don't know by their name is a horrifically inappropriate intimacy akin to ogling their bare ankle under the hem of their skirt.
"prev": in australian courts lawyers have to call other lawyers "my friend", a sort of compulsory polite regard that completely disregards whatever actual relationship you have with each other in favour of acknowledging the situation you are in. be it the case that you are my dearly beloved mutual, my beloathed foe, or a random stranger i found in the tags to get to an earlier point in the post before a slew of dumb comments got added: you have said something to which i must refer. and to me, today, you are prev.
