Don't you hate it when people put it upon themselves to give you a nickname? The gall of it all. I happen to have a long name that everyone wants to shorten. They will even call me the shortened name after I have said not to. I just don't get it.
Being sensitive to this I find I will ask what someone pref errs to be called. If it happens to be a nickname, I don't mind, and I do not decide I would rather call them by their full name.
I also have issues with pet names. I need boundaries. I need lines drawn. I need to be able to not be so personal with everybody. I like living in my 3x3 foot bubble of personal space and I feel violated when people hurl themselves against my bubble trying to find a weak spot.
I guess I could start renaming people who rename me. When they tell me their name is Matti I will reply, "No. You just don't look like a Matti. I'm going to call you Ruth." Or if they shorten my name I could say I prefer a completely different name that has nothing to do with the prefix name. For example, "Even though my name is Kimberly, I actually don't go by Kim, I go by Tallulah Bell. Please call me Tallulah Bell." (I might as well screw with them, if they are so aptly ready to screw with me). I guess the moral of this particular rant, and one I want to shout from the roof tops or at least to whom ever is reading this particular blog, is this," Stop trying to change people, even if it is only their name!"