# Tell me about your strange "friend" requests on Facebook **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 24, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675 "2012-09-24T14:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/41 "2012-09-25T00:37:36Z")
The ex- uncle by marriage of one of my hockey friends. I saw on the friend request that my hockey friend was a mutual friend, and since I had no idea who this guy was, I sent my hockey friend a message asking who he was. She comes back with, “I haven’t even seen him in 25 years! Feel free to decline request!” ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/42 "2012-09-25T02:54:46Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > The weirdest I’ve gotten are requests from people from my high school graduating class (1976) whom I do not remember in the least. The high school classmates on my friend list are not people I was friends with in high school. The people I was friends with in high school seem not to be on facebook. **Leaffan** , the request from the sister of the mother of whoever it was could very well have been initiated by one of those “people you might know” notices that facebook automatically generates based on friends of friends and friends of siblings’ sons’ parents. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/43 "2012-09-25T03:03:10Z")
> [@KermitTheFrig](#): > > **Leaffan** , the request from the sister of the mother of whoever it was could very well have been initiated by one of those “people you might know” notices that facebook automatically generates based on friends of friends and friends of siblings’ sons’ parents. Well sure, it might have been. But why would I want to be _friends_ with someone 2,000 miles away in another country who I only have tangential connections to through my son? Weird shit. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/44 "2012-09-25T03:21:19Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The friend doesn’t get any notification at all for any of those situations. If you have a public profile they will continue to see everything. If any part of your profile is private, they might notice that they may not have access to parts of your profile they used to for situation 3. For 1 and 2 if they’re very observant they might notice that they never see much in your profile if its pretty private. Awesome. I just spent the past 1/2 hour eliminating some “friends” whom I haven’t seen in years, won’t see in years, but keep posting MLM, “Like this picture if you love’s ya some Jesus” and “I just planted grapes in Farmville! Don’t you want coins???!?” glurge to my wall. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/45 "2012-09-25T03:28:57Z")
Facebook Purity folks, I NEVER see Farmville etc posts, you might be friends with stuff or ads ---
**Author:** ![Buttercup\_Smith](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buttercup_smith/32/473_2.png) [@Buttercup\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buttercup_Smith)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/46 "2012-09-25T03:35:12Z")
Fairly new to Facebook. I do belong to a secret group born from the Casey Anthony fiasco and yesterday a member mentioned she had forgot to wish me and a Dawn happy birthdays. Well I realized i was not friends with the Dawn. So I searched for her and friend requested the wrong Dawn. In the meantime I realized my error and became friends with the right Dawn. Later the wrong Dawn accepted my friend request. Now what? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/47 "2012-09-25T03:36:33Z")
> [@Buttercup\_Smith](#): > > Fairly new to Facebook. I do belong to a secret group born from the Casey Anthony fiasco and yesterday a member mentioned she had forgot to wish me and a Dawn happy birthdays. Well I realized i was not friends with the Dawn. So I searched for her and friend requested the wrong Dawn. In the meantime I realized my error and became friends with the right Dawn. Later the wrong Dawn accepted my friend request. Now what? Well…I guess you block her. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/48 "2012-09-25T04:54:05Z")
I would just unfriend her. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/49 "2012-09-25T05:02:59Z")
I don’t know where this person came from, but yesterday I noticed that they were listed as having a birthday, and I had absolutely no idea who the person was. I went to their page and sure enough, they are listed as a friend of mine, but I certainly did NOT respond to a friend request from them. How did this person get to be a “friend” to me on facebook?! I thought maybe it would be someone from SDMB, but I don’t think so. However, if you were unfriended yesterday and you are from SDMB, I do apologize. 😃 I have received friend requests from people that I have never met, and have no idea who they are. I just assume that they sent a request to the wrong person, and usually just ignore the request. I did send a FR to someone from HS that was rejected. I’m not sure why, although she and I were not that close in high school, I cannot remember ever going anything that would warrant a rejection. Oh well! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/50 "2012-09-25T06:01:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Who the hell is Dominique Wallingford? Try the Dominique Wallingford who’s sobbing into a Sam Adams at my kitchen table, at this very moment. All because you’re ignoring her. Are you really that callous? What did you do to her? Or do I need to find out from her? – (between the sobbing and the french canadian accent it ain’t easy). ETA: OK, I tried. All I could pick up was something about you and Dominique in Ohio and Pink Floyd and Cheese Nips and you standing her up when you were supposed to be playing a game with her… look, can you just come get her? She really shouldn’t be driving and I have to work in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![phxjcc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phxjcc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phxjcc)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/51 "2012-09-25T07:49:19Z")
Ex-wife on her 55th birthday. Had not communicated with her in 26 years. Thought she was still in Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/52 "2012-09-25T08:52:56Z")
Recently I got one from some middle-aged guy in Australia. He’s just joined FB and has seven friends. I don’t know how he came up with my name or why he would want to “friend” me. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/53 "2012-09-25T09:01:00Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > I got a friend request from the fellow that tried to seduce/molest me (along with another friend) when I was around 10. Pretty sure he was just a horny teenager rather than a proper pedophile, but jeeze, does he think I was too young to remember? Same thing happened to me, exactly this. Right down to being 10 at the time and understanding he was a horny teenager not a pedophile. I accepted the request because our parents are very good friends, I really like his parents and I was somewhat curious what he was up to. He’s a loser. So ha! ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/54 "2012-09-25T16:18:51Z")
A random friend of an old college friend that has the same birthday as me. For perspective, I graduated from college 40 years ago. On my last birthday I got the usual messages from friends and one from a friend of this old college friend…“Hey Ann, wow, we have the same birthday”. Than she sent me a friend request which I ignored My brother went throgh a messy divorce several years ago and stopped going to the church he and his wife had attended, he claimed his wife had poisoned everyone against him. My brother has some psychological problems and is probably the last living person under 55 who has never used a computer, much less the Internet. So I got some friend requests from some total strangers but they were accompanied by introductory messages. They explained that they were friends of my brother from church, they asked me to ask him to come back to the church sometime. I accepted their friend requests. After I friended my old college boyfriend, I got friend requests from two of his college friends…accompanied by fairly long really nice messages about being glad to find me…I thought this was amusing because they were always a little snarky to me back in the day…not to mention that the ex and I didn’t exchange any personal messages after we friended each other. And they are always starting conversations about the good old days and they always include me. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/55 "2012-09-25T16:24:11Z")
Oh, I forgot a weird one. Back when I signed up for Facebook I ran the routine that “finds friends” based on your address book, and I friended an ex-client of mine that I had a fairly good relationship with, the projects we worked on involved international travel so we had spent a lot of time together, workwise. He was on my friend list for awhile but he never showed any activity so I kind of forgot about him. Than about a year later I heard he had committed suicide. I opened his Facebook page and discovered I was his ONLY friend. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/56 "2012-09-25T16:32:01Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Than about a year later I heard he had committed suicide. I opened his Facebook page and discovered I was his ONLY friend. Ouch! I would have cried my head off at that point… ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/57 "2012-09-25T16:35:29Z")
I get friend requests once a year from creepy men who seem to be Arab, with whom I have no friends in common. (I have Arab FB friends, but these guys aren’t coming from there.) I think three of the four invitations have looked something like, “Hello i love you.” Why me? Other women in my demographic whom I’ve asked don’t seem to get similar requests. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/58 "2012-09-25T17:02:32Z")
> [@digs](#): > > ETA: OK, I tried. All I could pick up was something about you and Dominique in Ohio and Pink Floyd and Cheese Nips and you standing her up when you were supposed to be playing a game with her Oh, THAT Dominique Wallingford! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/59 "2012-09-25T18:05:13Z")
I keep getting a friend request from a guy at my former job. I’ve never spoken to this guy, we never worked together, I wouldn’t recognize him on the street. I have zero clue why he keeps sending them to me, but I’ll go right on ignoring them. Have gotten 2-3 random requests over the years from females I have neither met nor heard of who are not local. Since my name is unique (no other human on Earth shares it with me that I am aware of), I could only assume it was some kind of attempt at a scam, and I just ignore them. ---
**Author:** ![Gesturing\_Mildly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@Gesturing\_Mildly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gesturing_Mildly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675/60 "2012-09-25T19:01:29Z")
I am a part of a group of entertainers. Someone I’ve never met posted to our group page that [Stage Name] should send her a friend request. I have a policy against not friending people I’ve never encountered outside of facebook, but I was curious. I sent her a friend request. Nothing happened. I wrote on her wall, “so now what?” She wrote back “now we’re friends!” Her two week guest pass is up today! She seems normal enough, but not someone I feel the need to get to know. Weird. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-your-strange-friend-requests-on-facebook/635675.md?page=4)