I have never counted my friends -- to me, it's a wonderful way to connect with so many people and read many journals on the recent activity and when something catches my eye that I can respond to or help with or learn from I stop by. To me, it's a way to connect and keep in touch with many people from recent activity and, likewise, for them to keep in touch with me and my recent activity.
Also, friends build community - many CL's have many friends because they welcome new members to their communities & at the same time send a "friend" invite and likewise being visible, many members request becoming a friend.
C~
Well, that's the part that is so peculiar. It's not like they really have one thousand friends, just that many people who clicked "yes." Are people really thinking this is some kind of status symbol?
Someone on my MH friends list has over 1000 friends.
Is it like a Facebook thing....the more friends you have the more popular you are?
I don't exactly understand the value of "friending" someone you don't talk to a lot. There is marginal utility in having someone on your friends list -- can send them a pm without writing out the secret code, and they can read your journals if you mark them "friends only" -- but what is the point if this is not someone you would want to pm or have read your more personal journals? Just to have a big number after the word? (i.e., "Friends: 400"). It's not like they are really friends or anything.
ChitChatNine seems to get friends requests when I'm actively posting -- especially in journals!
In the last 3 yrs I've only felt compelled to block one "friend". Not too bad a track record, considering unless they really have bizzare profile info, I accept them.
C!
Yes that's weird, but it happened to me a few occasions. I accepted, but then never heard another squeak out of them, so it made me wonder what that was all about. I deleted them after a few weeks when I realized they were total zombies
I have occassionally accepted them also but if I haven't had any contact with them after a few months I delete them.
Its another way of participating -- they participate by friending everyone, as opposed to posting or journaling.
Swampy sometimes, but not always, accepts friendship invitations from those folks.
I ignore all of those, too.
I get the ones that have either no posts or just one post and I'm like "ignore".
I always look at a few of their other posts, and if they don't seem like a total whack job, I usually accept.
I do as well, I just don't understand it.
I have wondered this for myself...I usually ignore those invitations.