The Tim Girling Ranking System

I was talking to a colleague today, and realised I address people in one of four ways, depending on how much I respect / like them. Strange I know, I didn't plan for these rankings to happen, but subconsiously I just sort people into these categories. This is how it plays out:

- Name; if I call you by name, you are either someone I don't know well, my boss or somone in a position of authority. I don't really think respect or like for these people comes into it, but more just appropriateness in addressing them.
-Brother / Sister; if I call you brother or sister, I consider you to be a great asset and contributor to my life. This is reserved for people I know well and respect alot.
-Mate; this is my general, 'everyone' category, I call you mate, you're probably a friend or acquaintence or family member that I may like, I may just put up with, or I may even not know very well. It also acts as my starting point, if I meet you and you don't warrant a sir, or Mr / Mrs, or even first name, I'll hit you with a mate. Its fairly generic.
-Son; I will use son for those that I may not get along with so well, or those I wish to convey a sense of subserviency over, or even those that are just junior to me. I sometimes also use it for my close mates, because they know the man that made me start saying it. I think it implies that the person saying it is older and wiser than those they are saying it to. I do use it affectionately when addressing those that are actually younger than me, but when said to those my age or older, they wouldn't be wrong in taking it as a bit of an insult.

So there it is, The Tim Girling Ranking System. Don't be suprised if there's a Wikipedia article about it soon enough.

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