I know we all have different levels of privacy that we\’ve chosen for ourselves,  in "real life" and here on the tribe. These reasons for these personal boundries are as numbered and varied as the inviduals who create them. personally, I have chosen for my life, or rather what I choose to reveal of it here on the tribe, to be pretty much an open book. I set my privacy boundarys to block only non-members access to my page, blogs, etc. To me this is just common sense because many of us have had the experience of being hit on by those human parasites, the scammers.  In my short history here, I have sent in the occasional friends request to someone who didn\’t know me but who I found funny, or interesting or informative for example….this doesn\’t mean that that  " I think yo\’re hot, let\’s make bebies" , or that I expect you to even accept the request.  In a perfect world (and when I was younger) someone would be my  friend by the default that they weren\’t my enemy. As i\’ve gotten older I have grown to realize that true friendship is something that is cultivated, grown and ,when necessary, pruned.

Here is what a friendship request is to me, both on here and pretty much in the "real" world" :

A FRIENDSHIP REQUEST IS  " Hey, I like what I read (or saw) and I appreciated it….let\’s see where this goes". …No expectations and  no strings except for those we mutually agree upon.  At the very least it makes it easier to send a quick message to say "hope you\’re doing well", or really liked your blog or " Have a Beautiful Day!" (insert smiley face here)

WHAT A FRIENDSHIP REQUEST IS NOT:

It is first and foremost NOT implicit permission for you to stalk me.

It is NOT permission for you to gain information about me while remaining a faceless entity.

It is NOT permission for you to trample my personal boundaries…

It does not mean that we are instantly BFFL (touch rings here and air-kiss)

It doesn\’t even mean that I want to DO BRUNCH !

It absolutely  DOES NOT give you permission to verbally bitch-slap me in private or open chat. (I would challange some people to talk the way they do on here to someones face in the "real" world)

If you feel the need to verbally abuse me  I would point out that there is a menu option at the top of the page labeled "FIND A THERAPIST"….if yours is strobing in neon colors, you might want to get a clue. I am not your punching bag here or in the "real" world. Believe it.

I do stand-up and believe me I COULD cause you to bleed out by a million paper cuts before you know what hit you. Operative word here is "could" because I choose not to bring that side of me to the tribe.  I prefer to bring happy silly Loki here to the tribe. Funny silly Loki is what I have to offer the tribe and the world….. Make no mistake, Evil Loki is lurking nearby, but I have chained and harnessed him to work for my stand up routine. If you want Evil Loki, you\’ll probably have to come see my act…but all the same,don\’t push your luck.

I hope this clears up any gray areas you may have about tribe friendship, at least where I am concerned.

To all my friends on here, and you know who you are, I thank you.

Regards,  Loki