Yeah, this is the way to do it. I have trans friends who consider dude to be so gender neutral that it doesn’t bother them, but I also have friends who prefer not to be addressed with “dude”. There’s no hard rules that one can follow that will be universally applicable — even if we find a good rule of thumb, then there will always be exceptions, because that’s just how interpersonal communication works.
When in doubt, asking people’s preferences and trying to adhere to that is always way to go.
Yeah, this is the way to do it. I have trans friends who consider dude to be so gender neutral that it doesn’t bother them, but I also have friends who prefer not to be addressed with “dude”. There’s no hard rules that one can follow that will be universally applicable — even if we find a good rule of thumb, then there will always be exceptions, because that’s just how interpersonal communication works.
When in doubt, asking people’s preferences and trying to adhere to that is always way to go.