Explain the "Friends" function

**Meme Prog Mutation** · 11-05-2012

While I understand it's purpose on Facebook, I'm a bit confused as to the purpose it serves here. Can someone explain?

**3LockBox** · 11-05-2012

Yeah, kinda highschoolish if ya ask me

**100423** · 11-05-2012

Perhaps it makes it easier to follow the posts of those people whose opinions you more likely want to read.
Or perhaps we should dust off our letter jackets.

**Sean** · 11-05-2012

It lets you get a feed of just the people on your friend list's activities- all their posts. Pretty cool if you want to follow certain people.

**trurl** · 11-05-2012

I thought it meant that after clicking it Jennifer Aniston appeared and gave you a b/j * but maybe that was just some weird dream I had.

*Substitute other Friends and acts according to gender and preference.

**Big Ears** · 11-10-2012

I don't have any friends.

**Trane** · 11-10-2012

Originally Posted by Sean

It lets you get a feed of just the people on your friend list's activities- all their posts. Pretty cool if you want to follow certain people.

I generally ignore this thing when available (with the notable RYM exception)... always related this feature with cliques or kids stuff...

I started here when I wasgetting used to the place, but will most likely delete it some day

**Vic2012** · 11-10-2012

I don't particularly care for this feature. If you wanna "friend" me that's okay. But to me this feature really means nothing. I plan on staying above ground and just posting on the open forums.

I think "friending" and "like"-ing are trends that were set by social networking sites like twit-face

. The lines are becoming blurred between the old-school BBS and social networking. I still prefer message boards.

**Big Ears** · 12-04-2012

Has anyone got any friends yet?

**walt** · 12-04-2012

**Duncan Glenday** · 12-04-2012

There's very little hard functionality surrounding the Friends function.

You can create photo albums only viewable by friends (that feature has not yet been made public on PE), you can follow friends' posts, you can view their profiles more easily. Also - some add-on applications (e.g. some chatrooms and IM systems) allow you to only accept chat or IM invitations from friends. But - that's about it.

The feature was originally developed with all sorts of things in mind, and they were trying to mimic Facebook. But the private groups function was developed at the same time and it did a lot of the same things and was more powerful - so they held off on fleshing out the Friends system. But they couldn't take it away, because a few users had were already using it extensively.

I can see the advantage on very large sites - though I belong to 2 of the biggest vB sites in the world, and almost no one uses them there...

I could turn the feature off, but it involves making changes to the system's source code - which I am avoiding wherever possible.

**Big Ears** · 12-05-2012

I have found the use of 'friends' on other sites a bit weird, so I am exercising extreme caution here.

**Ursula** · 12-05-2012

Originally Posted by Duncan Glenday

There's very little hard functionality surrounding the Friends function.

You can create photo albums only viewable by friends (that feature has not yet been made public on PE), you can follow friends' posts, you can view their profiles more easily. Also - some add-on applications (e.g. some chatrooms and IM systems) allow you to only accept chat or IM invitations from friends. But - that's about it.

The feature was originally developed with all sorts of things in mind, and they were trying to mimic Facebook. But the private groups function was developed at the same time and it did a lot of the same things and was more powerful - so they held off on fleshing out the Friends system. But they couldn't take it away, because a few users had were already using it extensively.

I can see the advantage on very large sites - though I belong to 2 of the biggest vB sites in the world, and almost no one uses them there...

I could turn the feature off, but it involves making changes to the system's source code - which I am avoiding wherever possible.

Oh, please don't, I like that high-school vibe around here. It makes me giggle, want to have pyjama parties and sleep-overs.

Uschi

**Yves** · 12-05-2012

I have received 'friends' requests, which I have granted, though never fully understaing the 'why' of it. I have not made any similar requests from anyone though.

**80s were ok** · 12-05-2012

so it's the opposite of the ignore function. Is the Ignore function still around?

**Duncan Glenday** · 12-05-2012

Yes

**NogbadTheBad** · 12-05-2012

Originally Posted by Trane

I generally ignore this thing when available (with the notable RYM exception)... always related this feature with cliques or kids stuff...

I started here when I wasgetting used to the place, but will most likely delete it some day

So I'm no longer your friend?