Titles and Respect

Social rank and social title is something that, I'm pretty happy to say, our Freelander characters seem to be especially mindful of, with no lack of "Your Grace" and the proper use of titles when and as needed. Obviously there are private scenes where such forms of address go out of the window, but usually, in public, such decorum is upheld.

However, I've noticed a growing trend where some Nobles totally ignore forms of address for other Nobles, even when the other Noble in question politically and socially outranks them by a vast margin. Most of you are good about it, but sometimes it seems to slip - especially if you're being petty.

Now, "pulling rank" is generally unheard of (That is: do this because I'm a Viscount and you're a Baron!), but respect of social standing should be maintained, and forms of address - at least initially in private, and concurrently in public - established regardless of what you or your character might think of the other Noble in question.

To put it in a nutshell: We salute the rank, not the person.

If you're on Otherspace and you're playing a Demarian, people will expect you to do things that make it apparent that you're a Demarian, such as making reference to the swishing tail, or the flicking ears, or the purring tone. If you're playing a Syladris, people will expect to see references to the half-snake part, or the horns, or the silibant tone.

If you're playing a Noble, social decorum and forms of address are part of the package. It is expected, and it is part of being a Noble. If you're not going to do that, then you might as well play a Freelander, because you're not playing a Noble.

Now, obviously, the time and place for the use of forms of address depends on how close your Noble is to another Noble, and what relationship you have, and what setting you're currently in. But I'll stress again that it is generally NOT KOSHER to be calling a Noble by their first name in a public setting without putting their title in front of it, or without using the title itself, unless you're of a higher social rank, or unless an informal setting has been established.

Ergo: Baroness Dianna Lomasa should refer to Duke Norran Lomasa as "Duke Lomasa" or "Lord Norran" until such time as an informal level of relationship has been established.

Duke Norran Lomasa, however, may opt for "Baroness Dianna", "Baroness", "Lady Dianna" or - if he's upset at her and wishes to make it known - "Dianna". He may eventually call her "Dianna" without it being a social slight of character, but you'll generally know when that is.

The lack of title in a formal situation would suggest to other Nobles that Duke Lomasa is regarding her as no better than a Freelander, which is a major slight indeed!

To reiterate: We salute the rank, not the person.

Now that I've given you the guidelines, I'm going to trust that people will know what to do with them without having to check back at every step. Just keep it in mind - especially if you're a Noble witnessing such lack of decorum.