[Neil]

Originally Posted by jaysay

My mate can I define mate Less, a mate is somebody who you call a friend, some one who will help in times of need and vise versa, some one you can rely on and be proud to be associated with, the person I think you are trying to refer, certainly does not fit that criteria, in fact there are far more people I have become acquainted with on this website fit that bill more readily

I think you described a friend not a mate. You can probably count true friends on one hand.

A mate is somewhere in between an acquaintance and a friend.