🦊this kind of thing can depend heavily on the system and how they operate. some systems have many alters that change in frequently enough that they just build up a collective "identity" that they're referred to as, and that's ok. others have distinct alters but only one of them acts as the "host" most of the time, so they generally don't distinguish. however, in the case of a system like ours, we are distinct and also often front solo/with no other alter around. in this kind of system, we really prefer to be addressed by whoever is fronting - this is why we try to do everything possible for people to know in advance who they're talking to. I think the best thing to do is to see how a system likes to be addressed, either by their collective name or by individual alter, and if unsure it's fine to ask I think!