What does a collar mean to you?

To go on, i know that a collar means different things to different people, i know that there are different types of collars. i'm just wanting different opinions on the matter of what it means to different people.

my own personal thing is that a collar isn't something to be taken lightly, you don't get collared every other week online/real life to a different person. But at the same time nothing lasts forever. i don't want to insult anyone in the lifestyle, but i've had these problems lately with people thinking this that and the other, some people thinking they can touch me, some people thinking they can put me down (cause somehow they're a better submissive/slave then me). So after talking with my friend He has bought me a collar for when we go out in public that i can wear it and others will more or less get the idea not to touch what isn't theirs (somehow i find it amusing alot of Dom men can think they can talk to a girl any way they please with out knowing them).

Now my problem is that between me and Him we know what it means, (i'm not going to share all the details of that conversation). But our close friends have been in the lifestyle for years years years... and i don't want to offend them. So that's my really long ass reason to why i'm asking this.

~j~