Absolutely do not stand on the seat. Beyond getting dirty shoes all over the toilet, the asymmetic force during initiation is a great way to break the toilet seat or overcompress the wax seal beneath the toilet (I had an ex-roommate damage my toilet this way). Putting your feet on the rim is a good way to slip and fall. If you want to simulate a squat toilet with a Western fixture, raise up your feet on a step stool. Sit down first then raise your feet. </rant>
awesome suggestion about raising your feet! I'll keep that in mind :D
And before anyone thinks about disrupting the step stool market, it's been done:
Sometimes you are in a public place with nothing to use as a platform. Never use the seat, of course, since other people put their butts there, and as you say they can be fragile. I use the rim. I have never slipped or fallen. It is quite secure.
At home I have platforms.
I always joke with my friends when I tell them the girls in Asian countries always have more shapely asses than their Asian-American counterparts. That's because they work out their asses when they need to do their business.
How do you do that without getting "residue" on your feet or shoes?
Wipe off the rim before and after if there is anything there. It will also prevent you from slipping.