I'm not against the idea of pet names. I'm against the idea of pet names from someone I've never met or spoken to before. Once people know each other then nicknames or pet names are fine. We were talking about introductions though, and I'd much rather have a "Hi Urquell, nice to meet you" as opposed to a "hey handsome" from someone I've never seen or met, which to me seems a bit patronising and insulting. As for basic courtesy, I find nothing weak about it, quite the contrary. I don't equate being nice with being weak and I don't think you have to worry too much about that on your end. Being nice is not the same as being wishy-washy, which may give the impression of weakness. You can absolutely be friendly and amiable while still being firm about your needs. Unfortunately there's no anti-asshole pill available, but anyone who's a big asshole anyway is unlikely to change much whether you're nice or not, so what does it hurt to be nice?
