What are PaperBackSwap Friends?

Friends allow you to keep contact with other PBS members easily. On the Friends page, you can see links to your Friend's Bookshelf and Wish List, check if she or he is online, send him or her a Personal Message, and more. You can also easily give credits to other members using Friends, and tag and sort your Friends by tags that you create and apply.

You can set privacy options for your profile information in your Privacy Controls --choosing Only Me, Friends, Friends of Friends and Everyone for each category of information. Your Privacy Controls are accessible from the top of your Account Settings page. See Privacy Controls for more information about Privacy Controls.

Your Friends are in the menu under My Account.

Why use Friends?

Friends are a great way to communicate with and keep track of a group:
- For example, if you are playing or hosting a Game in the Games Forum, you can add all of the other games players to your Friends and make a tag with the name of the game you are playing. Then when the time comes to send out a Personal Message to one or all of the players, you can sort your Friends to view only Friends with that tag, and send your PM.
- If you have joined or are leading a Local PBS Chapter, this is a great way to keep in touch so you don't miss a PBS event
PBS Friends allow you to keep an eye on specific members' Bookshelves:
- If you get a wonderfully-wrapped book in great condition, shipped promptly, you are likely to want to swap with that sender again. You can add her to your Friends and tag her "great swapper!" and when you have some credits burning a hole in your pocket, you can go shopping on her bookshelf and submit your request for a book directly to her.
- If you meet someone on PBS who has similar reading tastes, you can check her bookshelf periodically to see if she has Posted anything new, or send her a Personal Message when you have posted new books for swapping.
If you are a Standard Member, Friends Direct lets you easily see if a book you are posting is on any of your Friends' Wish Lists, and offer it to one of those Friends directly.
If you are a Standard Member, you can also sort your Reminder List by books on your Friends' Bookshelves, so you can order from your Friends if you like.

How to add another member to your Friends:

If you know her PBS Nickname:

You can search the Member Directory for the member's Nicnkame and click next to her listing there (Note: The Member Directory is accessible only to members enrolled in Limited or Standard Membership.)
- NOTE It is not a wise idea to try to find a member looking for the member's NAME in the Member Directory! Many members have the same first name and last initial. Use the Nickname if the member has one: since PBS Nicknames are unique, if you are sure of the Nickname, you will be finding the correct member.
- Also NOTE: Not all members appear in the Member Directory (only those with PBS Profiles who have not opted out of being listed will appear there), and again many first names and last initials are common in the club.
You can click the link "Add New Friend" at the top left of your Friends page and enter her nickname in the box that comes up
This will invite her to be your Friend - she will need to accept. When she accepts, you will both go onto each other's Friends List!

If you see a Post she made in the Discussion Forums:

Click her highlighted name to go to her PBS Profile and click there
If she has no nickname, you can click on her post to go to her account Bookshelf; click there
This will invite her to be your Friend - she will need to accept. When she accepts, you will both go onto each other's Friends!

If you are looking at her account Bookshelf while requesting a book

click there
This will invite her to be your Friend - she will need to accept. When she accepts, you will both go onto each other's Friends!

If you have a Personal Message (PM) from the member:

Click her highlighted name in the To or From field of the PM
- these names will be highlighted, even if a member does not have a PBS Nickname
This will take you to her PBS Profile or account Bookshelf
Click there
This will invite her to be your Friend - she will need to accept. When she accepts, you will both go onto each other's Friends!
- Please note: you can remove a member from your Friends List at any time, and you will both be removed from each other's Lists, without a notification to the removed Friend.
- You can also decline a Friends request without creating a notification to the other member.

If you know her PBS User Email address:

Click the link "Add New Friend" at the top left of Friends page
Enter her PBS User Email in the box that comes up
This will invite her to be your Friend - she will need to accept. When she accepts, you will both go onto each other's Friends!

Doing any of these things will send an invitation to the member to be your Friend. If the member accepts, she will appear on your Friends (you will be added to hers too). Pending Friends invitations can be viewed from the link at the top of Friends.

Help Center - What are PaperBackSwap Friends?