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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: November 13, 2002 Courtesy Titles - their proper use and website design guidelines -- "Do you need a courtesy title? Do you want one? If so, do you get the title you want? Do you think they should be confined to the dustbin of history? Did you know you could be breaking the law by making them mandatory on your website?" (Comments: I enjoyed this article because it made me think about some design details that I tend to neglect and ignore.)
Reader Comments...
I don't believe in courtesy titles, and refuse to use them except in mockery.
The author says that the term 'Esquire' has now fallen into disuse. Well, my bank refer to me as 'Alan Fisher, Esq' on my cheques and statements. I didn't ask them to, but they did it anyway. This whole area is something of a mine-field in Europe, where the expectations vary widely from country to country. I know this from experience (the Germans, in particular, expect a very precise title to be applied to their name). On one project I worked on, we had to include 'Sir' as an option because one of our client's most prestigious accounts was a leading 'knight of the realm', and refused to answer any correspondence which wasn't addressed with his proper title. The only sensible option is to simply not ask for them, or make them optional and free-text. Posted by: Alan Fisher on November 14, 2002 03:55 AM
Thanks for the feedback so far, I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Craig Posted by: Craig Cockburn on November 14, 2002 04:47 AM
Craig - More than enjoyed it. I found it addressed one of those minor but nagging irritants in life that I had never quite found the time to sort out, let alone write about. Well done. Posted by: Adam Greenfield on November 14, 2002 09:11 AM
Craig, kindly address me as 'Esquire' from now on, young man. Seriously, I'll agree with Adam - a good article on a subject which is important, if not obvious. Posted by: Alan Fisher on November 14, 2002 09:24 AM
offering what customers want rather than what companies think customers must have Amazon offers me what I want? Every time I visit Amazon it pitches me an array of products I already own. It needs a "No thanks, I already got one" button. Half the time, Amazon shows me products I shopped for at Amazon, but bought from a competitor. It needs a second button, "Sorry, your product is too expensive. I'm not interested" button. Posted by: Kent Sievers on November 14, 2002 09:30 AM
I personally prefer more formality. In America (I'm not sure if this happens elsewhere), retail store employees have the extremely annoying habit of calling me by my first name after they see my credit card. I did not give them permission to do this, it is just "accepted" that it's OK to do. I am German, and though I was raised in America I guess the cultural bias for formality did rub off a bit. I was always told that you are to address elders and strangers with a title until told to do otherwise, and this has always worked well for me. I get on quite well with our Japanese clients, too. I do see the point of this article, though - in an attempt not to offend, you exclude preferred titles. I would always wince at being called "Fraulein" when I was married just because I looked young, for example. My company has dispensed with titles altogether, and our correspondence is addressed with the first and last name, or sometimes "Hello Angela Smith" if it is more "intimate." So far, no complaints. I wish we could use the one-box-for-name idea, but they want to separate them for whatever reason. I also really like the idea of asking people how they want to be addressed when titles need to be used. Great article. Posted by: Lydia on November 14, 2002 01:26 PM
I prefer to be addressed by my first name. Not only is that what I'm used to being called, take a look at my last name. Some people think it's something it's not. Posted by: Morris Cox on November 18, 2002 08:12 PM
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