With the proliferation of people I have never said 2 words to asking to be my friend, there are things you need to know before we can be friends. Some of them you may like. Some of them you may not like. For this reason, I will lay all my cards on the table and let you decide if you still want to be friends or not.

First and foremost ... I am not a nice person. As a person I met always says, I prefer to think of myself as "kind". I will always tell you the truth (unless I have gotten wrong information along the way). I will keep my opinion to myself until such a time that you ask for my opinion. I will give you my pure and unadulterated opinion without mixing words. If you do not like brutal honesty, you will not like me because this is how I am. Call me what you like but you will not call me "spin doctor" or "public relations manipulator".

Second ... I am not interested in filling my friends list just to say I have x number of "friends". I prefer to have people on my list that I actually communicate with enough to have a "relationship". Whether the relationship is business or personal, friendly or romantic, distant or intimate, I want to be able to communicate. If you cannot hold a conversation (for whatever reason) or you aren't interested in saying hello sometimes (or saying hello back when I say hello to you), well ... it seems we have very little in common no matter how many other things we share an interest in.

Third ... I need you to answer these questions:

1. How did you find me?
2. What is your goal for our relationship?
3. What is your favorite professional baseball team?
4. Finish this sentence .... A miss is as good as a ____________
5. What is your favorite Billy Joel song?
6. What is your first name?
7. In what state of the United States do you live? If you don't live in the United States, in what country do you live?

Now ... you can avoid this whole thing by sharing a few messages with me first. The messages don't have to be private. They can very much be public (in tribes). Say hello, tell me a bit about you ... learn a little bit about me. I am an open and honest person. I like to think of myself as approachable (though that judgment is up to you). Ask me questions. Answer my questions.

Just so you know ... I don't care about what you look like, where you live, how much money you make, what your gender is or what your sexuality is. What I do care about is if we can help each other to grow as people or not. I'm not perfect and I don't expect you to be perfect, either. What I do expect, though, is communication. If you are unable to communicate, how good a relationship (on any level and in any medium) do you expect to have?

My friends all know who they are. Being a friend of mine puts you in line to receive gifts from time to time. I make videos for a living. You may well receive one as a gift. This means I could possibly save the pictures you have in your profile to make a video. If this is unacceptable to you for whatever reason, just say so and it won't happen. These pictures (friends only or not) will not be shared with anyone else unless you share them. As I said, if this is unacceptable, say so and it won't happen.

If you request being my friend without talking to me first or answering the questions, I will deny said request. If this offends you, I'm sorry, but it is posted here and you opted to not read it.

W