Evidently we can send messages to people with private profiles but most of the time I don't bother. If someone wants to shut themselves off from others then that's fine.

Its sad, really. I think the reason you come to sites like this is for support, not to shut yourself off. Being alone is one of the worst things you can do. Only when you open your heart and open your arms can you actually find peace and happiness.

I don't think it's a matter of not wanting support, I would say it's a matter of being particular about who you wish to share things. Some people are concerned about privacy issues on the internet, also. You know, google brings up our posts and anyone can click on the thread, click our names and see an open profile...people who are not bipolar and who are not part of this community. So, while I, personally, don't have a private profile, I can see why so many do it.

I used to wonder why people did it until I decided one day to do it myself. I still accept friend requests and message with my friends.

I have a private profile but I can still get messages. Just send them a email and ask to be their friend. Mine is private because of the google stuff.

I'm currently in the process of a name change due to internet privacy issues. I'm not too worried about it on here, though. If someone sends me any weird messages I'll just report them and be on my way. I've learned to ignore the creepers. I couldn't have a facebook for a while because of so many stalkers. Now I only add people I know and don't worry about anyone else.

BP, most people realize when they set their profile to "private" that they cannot recieve hugs or messages from people who are not their friends. The only solution is to send a "friend request". If they choose not to accept you, it means they do not want to communicate with you, I would assume.

if they arent interested then theres your answer. Move on and go shopping =p

oh and another thing... dont compulsively send them out friend request one after another. You'll give off the creepy stalker vibe then. Future referrence there...

To correct reply # 3
You can set your profile ,and hugs to be able to be seen by Daily Strength Members only...in the first few years of DS..anyone could Goggle your name and find some info on you...NOT anymore,DS has solved that problem.

It's sweet that you care but maybe they have received the support they need from their friends already. Having a bunch of friends to keep up with can get overwhelming so don't take it to personally that they didn't accept you. If there is anything that you feel you would like to say you can always send a message and if they like what you have to say they may send you a friend request. Just make sure you don't come across as stalker-ish, lol. Hugs. -Crystal

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has set their profile to "friends only" if they still get scammers messages.

Many of the messages people get from "strange men" (or women) offering undying love etc are actually scammers - they are only after money and they send stuff out indescriminately although they sometimes try and target the sex opposite to the one of the scammer profile.

This stuff arrives in the form of mesages - as I say, I am curious to know if you have a profile set to friends only and have recieved such messages. If you have it tells me something about the way the scammers operate.

Some of us here on the bp board suffer from paranoia from time to time so I would think some people don't want stuff coming from strangers in case it freaks them out and puts them in an episode or adds to an episode they are already in. A kind of self-protection thing if they know that could freak them out.

i have a private profile so my ex husband wont scan and find my profile....some people have very good reasons like me.

curious - mine is set to "friends only" and yes, I receive spam type messages.


DD - I had no idea that there was that option. How do I do that? the other day, I googled something, and a DS thread in the bipolar community came up! And I was able to see people's information (but I guess that's because I'm a member)!