Help Center - How to Use the Friends List

PBS Friends allow you to keep track of your PBS Friends' bookshelves and Wish Lists, see when they are online, and send them Personal Messages.  You can "tag" and sort members into groups. There is a Friends tab in My Account; you can also get to Friends from the menu that drops down under My Account in the toolbar at the top of the site.

To learn how to add someone to your Friends, click here.

How to Use Friends:

• Getting there:

  • Log into PBS, put your cursor over My Account on the main toolbar at the top of any page on the site, and click Friends in the menu that drops down.
  • Or click Friends tab when you are in My Account.

• Adding a Friend:
  • If you know her PBS Nickname:
    • you can search the Member Directory and click next to her listing there
    • you can click the link "Add New Friend" at the top left of Friends page and enter her nickname in the box that comes up
  • If you see a Post she made in the Discussion Forums:
    • Click her highlighted name to go to her PBS Profile
    • Click there
    • If her name isn't highlighted (meaning she has no nickname), you can click on her post to go to her bookshelf; click there
  • If you are looking at her bookshelf while requesting a book: click there
  • If you only have a 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) to be taken to her PBS Profile or bookshelf, and click there
  • If you know her PBS User Email address: Click the link "Add New Friend" at the top left of Friends page and enter her PBS User Email in the box that comes up
• Similarity Index on Friends
  • This is a fun feature that tells you how much you and a Friend have in common! It is mostly based on your book ratings, and your choice of "favorite genres" on your Member Homepage.
  • If a similarity score for a friend seems inaccurate, rate more books in the database; if your Friend also rates books, this  should improve the accuracy of the score.

• Using tags:
  • Making a Tag:
    • Click the Manage Tags link at the top of Friends page (or choose Manage Tags from the menu at the top right of the page--the default view is Tag Actions)
    • Type your tag text into the box for "Add a New Tag"
    • Click
  • Applying or removing a Tag
    • Check the box next to any Friends you want to apply a tag to or remove a tag from
    • Click Tag Actions (default view) in the menu at the top right of Friends page
    • Choose the tag you want to apply from the list under the heading Apply Tag in the dropdown menu, or
    • Choose the tag you want to remove from the list under the heading Remove Tag in the dropdown menu
    • There is no limit to the number of tags you can apply to a Friend.

• Sorting tags

  • On your Friends, click in the box after View Tag Group at the top of the page

    • Choose the tag group you want to view from the menu that drops down
    • This will show you only those Friends who have that tag applied. The others will be hidden. To switch to another group, choose another one from the View Tag Group box again. To go back to your unsorted Friends, click "View all Friends" at the top of the page.
• Giving credits using Friends:
  • A member must first be on your Friends in order to give credits.  Add him or her to your Friends as above.
  • It is NOT wise to search the Member Directory using first name and last initial for this purpose
    • Only members who have PBS Profiles appear in Friends
    • Many first names are common, and last initals may also be shared: you may end up giving credits to the wrong "Mary G." in the club!
  • It is wisest to start from a Personal Message, to be sure you have the correct person. 
  • If you do not have a Personal Message from the member, but you have shared a transaction with him or her, just go to that transaction on your Transaction Archive page in My Account and click the PM button there.  This will bring up a new PM with the member's name in the To; field.  Click his or her name in the To: field and click when you are taken to her bookshelf or PBS Profile
  • Once the member is on your Friends:
    • Click next to his or her name in the list
    • choose the number of credits to give, then click 
  • You will get an email confirming that you gave the credits, and your Friend will get an email notifying him or her that credits have  been given, and from whom.
    
    

     

     

Related Links:

What are PBS Friends?
How do I add someone to my Friends?
Similarity Index
BIR list conversion page