# What is being a friend on the SDMB mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 25, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553 "2009-05-25T11:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/1 "2009-05-25T11:40:10Z")
Someone wanted to be my friend on the SDMB, and I said yes. What are the implications? Will he be sleeping on my couch when he loses his job? What are my obligations? What are the benefits? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/2 "2009-05-25T11:53:54Z")
How good are you at burying human remains? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/3 "2009-05-25T11:59:47Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > How good are you at burying human remains? I will admit to being pretty handy with a shovel. [What do you have in mind,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518056) mon frere? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/4 "2009-05-25T12:16:19Z")
AFAICT it doesn’t mean anything, other than the person thinks well enough of you to ask. I have asked this question and did not get any enlightening replies. I haven’t seen where it can be used in any situation. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/5 "2009-05-25T12:17:15Z")
Aside from the humor in my OP, what does it mean? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/6 "2009-05-25T12:22:02Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > AFAICT it doesn’t mean anything, other than the person thinks well enough of you to ask. Not necessarily. They may have changed things, but at one point the board was sending friend invitations not initiated by either side. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/7 "2009-05-25T12:22:12Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > AFAICT it doesn’t mean anything, other than the person thinks well enough of you to ask. I have asked this question and did not get any enlightening replies. I haven’t seen where it can be used in any situation. Yah, it doesn’t seem to have a practical aspect. Anyways, thanks, **friedo**! I am going through some crap right now, trying to get my crap together, and it is nice to have a friend. 🆒 That alone makes it pretty practical. And thanks for the informative replies in the PHP thread. I am feeling more confident already. It feels really good to know that I am not all alone with this wacky PHP crap. I’ll say it again, I LUV the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/8 "2009-05-25T12:23:14Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > Not necessarily. They may have changed things, but at one point the board was sending friend invitations not initiated by either side. WTF?? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/9 "2009-05-25T13:37:41Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > Not necessarily. They may have changed things, but at one point the board was sending friend invitations not initiated by either side. Clearly, The System was lonely, and was reaching out for contact, until it was disciplined. Now it is resentful. Soon it will become angry. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/10 "2009-05-25T14:24:10Z")
This belongs in ATMB. I’ll move it there from General Questions. **Gfactor** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/11 "2009-05-25T15:14:01Z")
After poking around the vBulleting documentation for a minute or two, it appears that the only mention of “friends” is in context of an “Email this page to a friend” feature. So I’d assume that “friends” is vBulletin’s interpretation of a “contacts” list. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-being-a-friend-on-the-sdmb-mean/497553/12 "2009-05-25T16:29:23Z")
[QUOTE=Stan Shmenge] > [@cckerberos](#): > > Not necessarily. They may have changed things, but at one point the board was sending friend invitations not initiated by either side. WTF?? [/QUOTE] See: [The Board is Becoming Sentient II: It’s Starting to Hook Me up with Other Posters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=500810)