I tried searching for this here before this post, and really couldn't find anything on it. Please excuse if my questions on this topic sound very elementary.

On a different website that had forums, being "friends" meant that people could see if they are online or not. It also allowed members to send mass hugs (or the like) to members of their "friends list". But here at PC, I can see many people who are online, including those not on my "friends list". Not understanding the use/advantages of "friends" here at PC, I have never made friends requests to others, but I have received and approved some. I looked in the Send a Message and there was no option for sending only to "friends". So, I'm perplexed about this.

What does having a "friend" here at PC offer other than just kind gestures?

[luvyrself]

It’s faster to message someone- public or private -on their profile on your friends list.
Let’s list features we would like to see for our friends on the forums here.
One thing Blanche mentioned that we can do is conference call some friends thru a free conference calling setup online. That is outside of pc and I am not suggesting it for here necessarily.
Sometimes I feel a huge synergy on a particular thread.
PC could somehow, wo revealing our location to everyone for people who don’t want everyone to know where they are, to have a way to match to people living in the same area to offer the people who want this the option of having coffee or somehow meeting in real life. I am fully aware that safety is an issue, but many of us suffer from social isolation.
Your turn BirdDancer and everyone!

[unaluna]

I dont know! It freaked me out when i first started on PC. What did it MEEEEEEAAANNNN?????

[Fuzzybear]

It confused me a lot to begin with...

[Travelinglady]

I just thought it meant we liked each other and wanted to be friends, like in real life.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by Travelinglady

I just thought it meant we liked each other and wanted to be friends, like in real life.

I agree, that’s what I think it means

DocJohn or a moderator, can you confirm if the assumptions above are correct? Basically, that's what I've been thinking.If it is true that "friending" or accepting "friend requests" is just a friendly gesture (and no more), I'd like to say that if I don't send or accept "friend requests" that that doesn't mean I don't regard many members here as friends.

luvyrself, I see the advantage you mentioned about sending PMs a little easier, but I probably wouldn't do so via that screen. I don't send a large number of PMs, so it is not mandatory for me, personally, to utilize such a minor convenience.

[Sometimes psychotic]

I believe it allows instant messages....which I don’t really use so I don’t accept friend requests anymore....nothing personal if anyone tried to friend me.

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

I believe it allows instant messages....which I don’t really use so I don’t accept friend requests anymore....nothing personal if anyone tried to friend me.

Thanks! I've never received an instant message, only PMs. I probably wouldn't want to receive instant messages, anyway. Just me.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by BirdDancer

Thanks! I've never received an instant message, only PMs. I probably wouldn't want to receive instant messages, anyway. Just me.

I'm not sure that there are instant messages any more since something changed re the chat, but I could easily be wrong (I and a friend used to send instant messages here and now neither of us can..) In fact that is a separate question..

[DocJohn]

Your friends list not only lists people who are your online community friends, but also allows you to further limit your interactions in the forums to just these people in two areas: private messaging your Visitor Messages (what's publicly displayed on your Profile page). You can specify to receive only PMs and/or Visitor Messages from any other member, or just those members on your friends & contacts list (and the community support team).

You can change these settings in "Edit Options" in your Profile: https://psychcentralforums.com/profi...do=editoptions

Hope this helps clarify things. If you don't want to use the friends & contacts list, you don't have to. It's completely optional.

Thanks, DocJohn. So you know, I wasn't complaining about it. [I hope that's not what you assume from me.] I just wanted more information on the feature. You've now provided it.

[~Christina]

I have hundreds of friends on here added over the years... but using Tapatalk I just click tab for new PM and type in member name. Takes just a couple moments

[divine1966]

I once wanted to send pm and was told this person only accepts pm from friends. So that’s maybe what’s this about

I sometimes get friends request from people I’ve never spoken to and have no idea who they are. That freaks me out

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by divine1966

I sometimes get friends request from people I’ve never spoken to and have no idea who they are. That freaks me out

You are a straight shooter but you are never mean, and you take the time to answer a LOT of peoples questions from all over the boards. And you have a lot of patience and sympathy and have "been there". And you seem to have a lot of fun and love in your life, regardless of hardships. It all shows in your posts. Of COURSE we want to be your friend!

[seesaw]

There is a setting that many of us use that disallows private messages from anyone not on our friend list or contact list. So if you're on my friends list, the benefit is you can PM me. Whereas if you're not, you can't (unless I added you as a contact on my own). I have found this is useful because I've gotten some pretty triggering messages from members who I don't know wanting to talk about various things that I do not want to talk about. I've also been stalked and trolled on this site, unfortunately (admin was very good about helping with that situation when it occurred - hats off to them for fast response), and so having this setting where only people I acknowledge as friends/contacts can PM me limits unwanted messages.

I don't know if there is any other purpose to the function.

ETA: I didn't see DocJohn's response before I posted mine. I see he explained it, but I'll leave this anyhow.

[Anonymous42019]

If it helps the OP, I only use the Friend request if the member has in some way connected with me, and, in a friendly manner thus building trust. Having a list of friends on your profile is a great way of contacting them in a hurry, should you need, or some time in the future. Some forums' software don't allow for this option, so what we have here is pretty cool.