"Friending"

[Don M]

I have recently received several requests by forum members to be their "friends" on the forum. These present me with a dilemma! I am currently covered up with forwarded emails and messages from various social networks I inadvertently became a part of. I really can't handle more. The only choices listed on this forum are to "accept" or "reject" a friend request. No way I am going to "reject" such a request from someone I respect yet I much prefer not to become part of any more networks. I have decided to ignore these requests instead and hope that no one considers me "unfriendly." I have thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with forum members and hope that they will continue undiminished. My email address is listed as part of my signature and I welcome any communications that are specifically addressed to me. I hope y'all will understand.

[padredan]

Don, i see what you mean, i do not belong to any social networks that i know of, here i consider it a priveladge when some one asks to friend me here or accepts me as a friend, but i do see what you mean. Where you are living in houston or harris county is stress enough, dealing with the traffic. I use to live there and tried to avoid downtown at all costs. I do not think anyone here will be offend at all by your actions. This is a great forum, i have learned a ton about lugers here. Your posts are very knowledgeable, thanks for sharing with us. Padre

[Curly1]

Yes this social networking is getting out of control IMO especially with the younger folks.

I have managed to not get invovled in facebook or tweeting.

I really don't care about the minute to minute activites of peeps, famous or not.

I have enough on my hands keeping track of my own comings and goings.

I don't think anyone will be offended now that you have explained your intentions.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Don M

I have recently received several requests by forum members to be their "friends" on the forum. These present me with a dilemma! I am currently covered up with forwarded emails and messages from various social networks I inadvertently became a part of. I really can't handle more.

I don't use FaceBook, YouTube, or any other social network/site. I have accepted 'friend' requests from members here, and have not received *any* spam associated with these members or this forum.

IMHO, your fears are unfounded.

[alanint]

I'd have to agree. I have several friends friended on the Luger site and cannot trace any spamming or outside emails to these friends.

[Edward Tinker]

It is NOT a social network, it just 'gives' you the opportunity to see what friends are doing.

I personally say yes to most folks and it doesn't go further than that.

[Edward Tinker]

What is the difference between a friend and a contact?
A friendship is a mutual, two-way relationship between two users. It is initiated by one user and accepted by the other.
A contact is a one-way friendship. This could be where the other person does not accept the friendship, a friendship request is pending, or you do not wish to be friends at this time but want to show them as a contact only.
Where is list of friends and contacts displayed?
Your friends and contacts are displayed on the 'Contacts and Friends' page in your User CP. Your friends are also displayed in your profile page.
How can I request a friend, accept a friend or break a friendship?
There are two ways to request a friendship with someone.
The easiest way is to view the profile page of the person you want to become friends with and click the 'Befriend' link.
The other way is to add the person to your contacts first. Then from your 'Contacts and Friends' page ask to be their friend by checking the box next to their name labelled 'Friend'. Next, save the page.
If you know the username of the person you want to be friends with you can send a friend request using the box provided and clicking 'Add Friend'.
To accept a friend, go to your 'Contacts and Friends' page. At the bottom of the page you will see a list of pending requests. Check the box for the requests you wish to accept then check the 'Accept' button and save the changes. If you do not wish to be friends then select 'Reject' instead.
Breaking a friendship can be done in three ways.

• From your 'Contacts and Friends' page, uncheck the box for friend for the particular person and save the changes. If you no longer wish them to be a contact either, uncheck both boxes for that person.
• In your 'Profile Page', click 'Friends' and then click 'Break Friendship' next to the user's name.
• In the other person's profile, click 'Friends' then find your username and click 'Break Friendship'.

PERSONALLY ON EITHER FORUM, I DON'T THINK IT MATTERS IN THE LEAST, OUR FORUMS ARE NOT SET UP TO BE A SOCIAL NETWORK....

[Lugerdoc]

Don, I'm in your camp, since I don't really understand all this "Friend" business. I hope to be friendly to all Forum members, but don't need them to know about my contacts with other members. TH

[CAP Black]

I have participated for about three years and it is a great thing. One of the best features is of course that so many people will share info and teach us newbies. Another is that it's there when I sign on. If I'm too busy and I stay away for days or weeks and if I want I can access it several times a day. It is what I make of it and I always share, in return, and show appreciation. As a veteran I believe in other's rights, same as mine. The folks who put this forum together have wisdom - we should abide by it and have good results for all. I haven't seen much stepping on toes and I enjoy it all. Keep on keeping on - as the saying goes. And we all admire a man who stands up for what he believes in.

[Don M]

From what I can tell from the above, friending has virtually no effect, good or bad. I think I'll stick with my original position.

[mrerick]

Hi,

Adding friends on this site isn't the same as adding them on the social media sites.

This is a Bulletin Board. It is the first generation of Internet web technology for helping groups of people come together. In some ways it is similar to systems we had prior to the widespread acceptance of the Internet back in 1993.

I am not an admin here, but have some background. The facilities and controls of the "vBulletin" BBS are straightforward and controlled through an access heirarchy. Non-Members - Members - Admins etc... Generally things that are posted can be seen by everyone that is authorized at a group or forum level. Email addresses can be made visible, or kept private and may be made only accessible by the admins. The admins have some abilities that are needed to properly manage use and misuse of the site (for example, they can research the actual IP address that sessions originate from).

If you use care in what you post here, you're not exposing yourself or giving up your privacy without knowing exactly what you're doing.

That is all different on the "Facebook" "Twitter" and Google implemented social media sites. They are more powerful, but with great power comes great risk.

They also are collectively the greatest invasion of privacy in human history - and all operating because masses of individuals are willing to trade privacy for a sense of community. That, of course, isn't necessary - but it's a potent attractive nuisance.

I have a Facebook page that I only use "defensively". I post absolutely nothing of a personal nature on it. I created the presence because someone where I work was opening up Facebook accounts in other employee's names, and then using them to imply all sorts of things.

Imagine the high school student posting plans of the family vacation at the end of the month. The student's "friends" and their "friends" lead to some members of the social circle that are "into drugs". By constantly reviewing the postings, it's easy to locate vacant houses and schedule burglaries.

The recent Laptop Shooting seen on YouTube happened because a father created an account for the family dog, then had the dog befriend his daughter's Facebook friends. He then gained access to what his daughter was saying about the family... That video is up to 32 million viewings, and is now attached to commercial advertisements.

Privacy invasion can take place at large scale commercial levels through a variety of means. Both legitimate and illegitimate. To me, the social media are just not a good "value", so I stay away from them.

I like what we've got here just fine! Thanks Admins and supporters...

Marc

[alvin]

It's a sign. You're well known in the Luger circle now, because of the excellent book.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by mrerick

The recent Laptop Shooting seen on YouTube...

That was funny! I'm sort of disappointed that a 45 didn't do more damage than 8 holes...

[ithacaartist]

I'm finding the friendship feature of Lugerforum to be a relative non-issue. A couple of people have, as one said, enjoyed my posts, and asked for "friending" in this context. We've exchanged a couple of courteous and positive P.M.'s, and that's about it. No spam or any other hassle... I do see that this is not particularly necessary, and was probably simply part of the software used to run the site. I'm not motivated to take a stand on either side.

You can "friend" someone on Facebook, and then set things so that it you are not bombarded by every little up-to-the-minute detail about the stain on Jr.'s bib, etc. And the possibility remains for sending PM's to facebook friends in the event you really want to contact them about something of true import. Redundant because of email, but maybe still useful. Finally, it makes sense to be informed and careful of online activity in these networks, otherwise it's yet another way to tip off the burglars, as mentioned above. People can be very creative...

David Parker