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In online writing, such as on StackExchange sites, using the word "dude" is most likely unnecessary (it's obvious to whom a comment is addressed, and there are @mentions). What connotation does "dude" carry when included in a sentence?
Also, how does the meaning tend to vary if the writer is a native American English speaker, vs. non-American (e.g. Indian English, British etc.)
Dude has really crept like moss in the past decade or so. As with most slang, it doesn't ask your opinion before it comes knocking, and it doesn't care what you think of it.
What I'm trying to say is, males in America will hear themselves called dude, whether by friends, acquaintances, or strangers (it's common even in business transactions, if you are both, say, 12-40). However, it will always have an intimate, jocular, and (I can't back down on this) strutting air. "I think I'm pretty cool, and I just might let you in my club"-- this must form some part of the dude-sayer's mantra. Sometimes it comes across as innocent and harmless. Sometimes it's terribly obnoxious, really because it's so artificial. Mostly, the effect of dude is to quietly point to one's hidden army: thousands of other dudes, just like him, ready to back him up and affirm how perfectly cool and acceptable he is.
I would say that that is the irking menace of dude in the online setting. If you are pretending to be at all serious, the only reason to call someone dude in a forum is to appeal for help to the Perfectly Stupid Code for Dudes, Nerd Edition, which will say, plain as day, that you are right and that he is--: but of course. Not cool.
It carries almost unlimited connotations. Here is just a small sampling (short clip of stand-up comedy).
When someone uses it in a context like this, it is almost certainly meant to convey an ironic or tongue-in-cheek mood. Used here to introduce a sentence, most likely in a comment since those are less formal than answers, it is probably meant to warn the user (again, ironically) that something quite remarkable is about to be said, so prepare yourself.
I would say that if the writer is not American, that only guarantees even more that the meaning is ironical, since I believe America is generally the only place where the term is heard in earnest.
I don't think it's ever considered rude. It's just highly informal.
Go here for comedian Rob Schneider's explanation of the various meanings of the word "dude." It's all in the intonation, which makes it tricky for writing.
