So what happens when I become a friend with someone here?

[skylee]

如題。

[muyongshi]

I think it just makes me look cool that I get to be the friend of Skylee!

And just in case you respond with: 我的天！

Hey, it's all we can do sometimes.

[skylee]

Oh I thought there was a button somewhere to make friends become closer friends ...

[muyongshi]

Ahhh! [at least I think that was compliment]

Well, next time I'm in HK drinks are on me, and if you ever make it up to this part of the world, drinks are on me

[Meng Lelan]

I don't understand the subject line at all. Aren't we all friends here? Or were we all not supposed to be friends here? I guess maybe we have to read the forums policy and see if friendships are banned here. I think maybe. I don't know.

[imron]

It's referring to the 'befriend' functionality of the forums software. On your profile page it shows a list of people you have 'befriended' and by visiting the profiles of other members, you can 'befriend' them if you so wish.

As far as I know, it doesn't really do anything except indicate on your profile page the members you have befriended. Roddy will probably be able to provide more info.

[Lu]

Then you have one more friend. Generally a good idea. Although in a hundred years it probably doesn't make any difference :-p

Or did you mean virtual? That probably has slightly less effect than making facebook friends, which means almost none at all.

[muyongshi]

No! We are not all friends here! Enemies are welcome as well

Actually, when the forums were upgraded one of the new features was the ability to add people as friends. I think the groups function got more attention. Do you know about those? Ha ha. Anyway. Kind of pointless but fun too! Status symbol if you're Skylee's friend though. Try getting Roddy to do it would be interesting.

[skylee]

Although in a hundred years it probably doesn't make any difference

Tha'ts right.

Ah I was so happy having a fierce-looking friend. Now you've reminded me that it won't matter a hundred years later.

[Meng Lelan]

Even the befriend functionality button won't matter in a hundred years from now, it'll be cyber-ashes in some long forgotten corner of the virtual memory.

[zhwj]

Does friending here incorporate the full XFN spectrum of relationships? I'm looking for a muse, a sweetheart, and a couple of acquaintances.

[roddy]

They're listed on your profile, so the 'friendship' is visible (although only to members, guests can't see profiles), and there's a 'contacts popup' accessible via the quick links menu in the header which will give you some potentially useful links.

Basically this function, like the social groups, are rudimentary social networking tools that the software developers are working in. I'm somewhat undecided about their value - but it's hard to tell as they're still kind of tacked on rather than integrated into the software.

[abcdefg]

What's the purpose of accepting forum "friend requests" or issuing similar invitations? Does it accomplish or facilitate anything?

I don't do much on-line "foruming," approximately none. So this may just be a standard feature included in the menu of offerings to be in line with the norms of other forums. I wouldn't know.

I'm not "unfriendly," just uninformed.

[animal world]

For all i know, each time one of your "friends" enters Chinese Forums you'll receive an electric shock...

Some time ago i received a notice here from someone with a Chinese name who wanted to be on my friends' list. I had never heard of this person who had made 0 posts here. It appears there are people in China who love to be on many friends list. A form of guanxi perhaps. The idea is that they might chat with you on QQ or somewhere but since they have so many friends (whom they don't know at all), such chats in all likelihood will never happen. Since i didn't know this person at all and didn't know how to politely say that i didn't want him on my friends' list, i cowardly pretended that because of technical difficulties i never received this request and didn't respond. Took quite some doing to wipe this request from my inbox here.

[xianhua]

I had never heard of this person who had made 0 posts here.

I received a similar request. Let's just say the other party appears not to like wearing white and likes making holes in the ground.

[roddy]

There's not a great deal of bene . . .oooh, hang on, I think there's an old topic I can merge this with . . .

[abcdefg]

I just found the previous posts on this subject. I think @Animal World is right and it's some sort of carryover from popular Chinese social networking sites.

A Chinese friend one day told me out of the blue that she had 57 friends. I was stunned that she could be so precise and I guess she meant on QQ or some such.

Next time someone asks me if I can speak Chinese, I think I'll say, "Yes, I know 2,894 words and phrases."

[zhouhaochen]

if you accept anyone friends request here you have to buy them four beers, one bottle of baijiu and a big 宫保鸡丁。

I just send you one. Just click yes.

[anonymoose]

Took quite some doing to wipe this request from my inbox here.

How did you do that? I can't get rid of mine.

[chrix]

can't you just turn it down?