[QUOTE]Originally posted by essxjay:
BTW, I'm American, 41, raised on the West Coast (and with plenty of manners, I might add.)


I don't think that being formal or familiar has as much to do with manners as it does with the customs around which one is raised. IME, Americans tend to be less formal than Europeans, younger people tend to be less formal than older people, and West Coasters tend to be less formal than East Coasters.

Where manners do come into play are scenarios where a person has asked to be addressed in a certain way and someone refuses to comply.

Maybe I'm just too egalitarian.