ты и вы: when to use one and not the other
I am curious about common etiquette when using ты and вы. If I am talking directly to someone on this forum is it appropriate to address them in the second person singular, or would it be considered disrespectful?
Also, in Russia should a visitor always use the 2nd person plural until the Russian speaker says something like "двай на ты" or "ты хорошо"? What are common phrases people in Russia use to let a new acquaintance know that ты is okay to use? Are there exceptions, for example, would an adult use ты to talk to an adolescent? I am curious how common using ты is? Another example, if I was at the metro and started to visit with a person around my age would I use ты? At universities do peers always initially use ты accept with the staff of the school?
In English we have formal ways of talking - like Hello is more formal than hi, but even with people you know just a little bit the two greetings can be used interchangeably.
From my perspective I would feel like a dork talking to somebody in the 2nd person plural if they were around my age when it wasn't culturally necessary. I've been told that you do this in other languages too, like in Spanish. Similarly, in Russian you talk to people as if they are more than one person. Does it have something to do with appearing stand-offish if you don't like somebody?
