I am a person. When you run out of pronouns or titles to refer to me as, I prefer “person”.
I am not a guru, master, ninja, wizard (in real life) or god. I don’t respond to those things well. So don’t call me those.
To be the most accurate, especially if referring to what I do, you could say I am a web developer. That is a fair assessment of what I do, and it puts other people in the correct frame of mind to communicate with me about whatever it is we are discussing.
This is important, because when you tell someone that I am a guru, suddenly the other people see me as a spiritual counselor who can help them with technical issues. Obviously, this is not the case.
I know that you may think it is flattery, but what it actually means is that you don’t know what it is that I do. That is fine, I am an information worker; chances are I don’t know what you do either. The difference is, unless you are a cleric of some faith or cult that has specific titles, I won’t describe you as such.
Oh, and watch out for people who refer to themselves as something like guru or ninja. They are most assuredly not. Mock them.
Edit: And of course, as Justin points out, I could do my part in dispelling these titles as well…
