3 ms·

I agree that using someone's first name can be overly personal and insincere. OTOH last name comes across as formal and stuffy. How about using their internet

• laumars 14y ago
  That depends on whether it's a personal handle or a public alias. eg an IRC nick on a private channel would be no different to their first name or a real life nickname amongst their friends. However a public handle like dmr (in the case of Dennis Richie) is -in my opinion at least- little different to how recording artists and actors often choose a pseudonym (eg David Robert Jones uses the stage name David Bowie)