I'm new to Paperback Swap.  I'm wondering what the advantages are for adding people to my Buddy List. Can I have someone on my Buddy List without being on that persons list?  Who should I put on my list ? Who shouldn't I put on the list?  How many should I have on my list? How do I make the best use of the Buddy List?

Any thing else I should know about the Buddy List?

I have a lot of people on my buddy list because I do a special where I post 1 WL book to a random person on it a week.

I don't really use my buddy list anymore.  Before they changed it, I had them all tagged with WL books that I had in my TBR.  After they changed the buddy list, I couldn't get the tags to work, although I haven't tried recently. I set my BL to automatically accepted buddy requests. Now there are so many on there (from games) that I just don't pay attention to it anymore.  If I'm looking to post a book directly to someone I usually go my favorite genre board and look up one of their posts.

(What a fun idea! I have sent some random credits to members who catch my attention in the forums, but I like the wish list thing.)

Wow, Kalualani!  I just sent you one of my books!  Hope you enjoy it!  I agree with you that the "random book" (and your random credit) idea is fun!

I've never known what to do with Buddies, either!  I want to make friends here, but it doesn't seem too easy.  I like to look at other's WL's too, and have found many good books that way!

Ruth

I use it for like-minded people whose bookshelves I want to pursue frequently, or whose WLs I know I can get good idea from.  I tag each buddy with the genre that made me interested.  And of course, I use it for true buddies!

FYI, you can post directly to anyone's WL, you don't have to have them on your buddy list.

A Buddy List is a wonderful tool if you play in the Games Forum a lot like I do. 

Here are some ideas about the Buddy Lists taken from the Help Center:

Why use the Buddy List?

• The Buddy List is 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 Buddy List 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 Buddy List to view only Buddies 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
• The Buddy List allows 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 put her on your Buddy List 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.
• The Buddy List can make Chatting easier:
  • Go to the Buddy List and see if your Buddy is online (if the dot beside her name on the list is green)
  • If she's online, send her a PM: "Wanna meet me in chat?"
• You can use the Buddy List to give other members credits
  • Click  next to a name on your Buddy List, then
  • Choose the amount of credits to give
  • Click
  • An email will be sent to both giver and receiver documenting that credits have been given.

I use my buddy list for other members that have the same reading interest as me & as others said I like to view their WL. I also always try to check my buddies WL when posting a WL book to see if any of them are waiting for it and post it to them first.

I agree with June - my buddy list is almost all people I've met in the Games Forum.  I have 130 people on my buddy list and feel like I "know" almost all of them.  The Games are a great place to make PBS friends.

Also coming soon, the Similarity Index, where you can see how similar your Buddies' book tastes are to your own.  (It was supposed to be implemented in August, but because of glitches with the Book Ratings, it is still on the pending list of features soon to come...)  

Here is what PBS team said about it in August Newsletter:

New feature. You can now see how similar you are to your Buddies, with the new Similarity Index!  When you go to your Buddy List you will see a notation beside every Buddy that says Similarity: xx%.   Your similarity is based largely on whether or not you and that Buddy like the same books, and the Index accuracy will depend on whether or not you and your Buddies have star-rated your books and selected your favorite genres on your Member Homepage.  If you want to boost the accuracy of your Similarity Index, apply star ratings to books.  If your Buddies also do this, you will see your similarity indices adjust.  We have a lot of fun new features in mind, based on this index... and every book you rate gets us closer to being able to tackle those projects!  Read more about the Similarity Index here:  http://www.paperbackswap.com/help/help_item.php?id=595

I'd like to be able to search my buddy's WL. Individually took too much time.

Acutally, I'd just like to be able to see the WL of someone who is first up for the book I have in my hand. I have some heavy books that are WL'd that I don't want to post--but if I happened to have several on one person's list I'd post them all to them.