Questions on Livejournal etiquette

[anemonen]

I was wondering if someone could clear up some things for me?

Friending:
Some people have written in their profiles something along the lines of "just friend me if you want to", and some people have sticky posts where you can comment to be friended. I was wondering about those who don't have this. Is it generally okay to just add them?

Favourites:
If I one day want to make a favourites list, can I put peoples fics there with links without asking?

Comments

[sophie-french.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm still trying to figure some things out myself, but will tell you what I do!

For friending, if it's someone I've never interacted with but let's say, I've loved their art for example, I will send them a private message telling them why I want to follow them (to get updates on what they do) and ask them if it bothers them if I friend them. 90% of the time they do friend you back, but not always, and that's part of the game I think! :)

For the favourite list, I did one and didn't ask anyone about that, and realise that maybe it was a bit rude? I don't know really. The thing to do anyway is to put the link to the story and insert the lj userhead of the author. This way, normally they do receive a notification that they've been mentioned in your post. Although that doesn't seem to be working very well all the time! :)

[firethesound]

I think it's okay to just add people. At least, I always have, and that's mostly what other people do to me.

As for the favorites list, that's fine too. Other people do this.. gracerene has very comprehensive and well-maintained lists, and capitu has a whole reccing community for keeping track of her favorite fics. :)

[zeitgeistic.livejournal.com]

In general, I usually PM someone and let them know I'm friending them. It really depends on how they use their journal. If it's all fic, then just friending is probably fine. If they put RL stuff in their journal, it probably wouldn't hurt to drop them a line after you click "Add Friend". Just so they know why you're friending and can decide if they feel comfortable friending back. IDK. Fandom is very different from the way some other LJers use Livejournal!

It's totally okay to add a link to your favorites list without asking. It's just not okay to host the art or entire fic on your site without asking. Some people like to hear back when they're recced, but if they have Pingbacks enabled on their journal, they'll get a note anyway.

[birdsofshore]

Hello, new friend! I think it's OK to just add, but it's lovely to do what you did and message, too. I'm more likely to remember to friend back if I get a nice message, and it's just a pleasant way to connect with people, I suppose.

[delphipsmith]

If people don't mention their "friending" preferences it probably means they don't mind if you friend them. The suggestion to PM someone introducing yourself and asking if they mind is very thoughtful though!