exactly! pakistanis in pakistan i think practice writing letters where they start with 'dear..so nd so..' and they take this referral to the person and apply it to daily conversation..but they dont realize its wrong/doesnt sound right because they dont have much practice in everyday language and how we refer 2 each other when speaking. i think the guppan who corrected you did not understand this concept..mayb they found it complicated. ;)
average mind will present the same complex notions, and great mind solve those complexities ;)
she second me for the thing i seriously dislike..i talked about the practices adapted in the formal letters....normal people follow the conventions without thinking the reasoning behind them....i take wordZ seriously...and Dear is not my cup of tea, period.