What's your favorite swear word/insult?

[abaris]

I never really got the point of the formal vs friendly you in Spanish. I don't understand why you would need it. I mean, you're talking to the person...so...like, they probably already know if they're close to you or if they're a stranger. They don't need you to clarify that for them haha.

You see, that seems to be a cultural difference. We're making that distinction. If someone isn't close to you, you're using the polite "Sie". If they're closer, you're using "Du".

That's also why many Europeans consider the American way as kind of superficial, since when some businessman, not knowing me, offers to call him by his first name, I automatically think, you don't know me, you don't care about me and same to you buddy. Keep the ball low.

On some internet board it's different. You really get into talking with people. You get to know them, kind of and it's also usual in German to call people on the internet "Du".