hey
Hi Ben, welcome to the site, and the wonderful world of naturism :)
Here's a few things you should know to help you to fit in here.
First of all, because this site is open to anyone, we are all a bit paranoid about perves, Lurkers and looky-lous. There seems to be a feeling that these undesirables tend to hide behind an UNcertified, closed profile (visible to friends only) So anyone with their profile set to friends only, (especially a newbie) is viewed with suspicion, and will not get a favourable response to friend requests or on the forums.
So, first priority is to get certified. No one see the cert pics unless you want to post them in your gallery, (I suggest you don't, re someone could try to use them to fake a profile) and admin will delete them once they have been used to certify you.
Try and put some more info on your profile, but keep it visible to anyone.
There are a number of privacy features available to you, if you need them. I always suggest makingthe basic profile viewable to anyone, and restrict pictures to certified members only, (this makes the site less desirable to casual looky-loos) and if you wish you can also make some or all also viewable to friends only.
Best way to make friends is to be active on the forums and or chat room. This is the quickest way to enable other members to get to know you and gain their confidence in you. Then they will feel happy that you are genuine and will be more ready to converse with you.
That'll do for now. Oh, use the search function on the main forum. You WILL find a thread to answer almost any question you may have, but if not, feel free to ask, but try to do it on the appropriate forum, so many don't :(
Phil.