How do I stop having hatecrushes? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Oct 18, 2009 - 31 answers

Previously dated men, now wants to date women. Problem: I can't tell when women are interested in me or if they just want to be friends. [more inside]
posted by Eleutherios on Oct 13, 2009 - 17 answers

Should I amend my personality to make more friends, or "be me" and have fewer friends? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 12, 2009 - 39 answers

How do you extricate yourself from a family-oriented friendship? Very long and pathetic story to follow. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 4, 2009 - 28 answers

Any effective but non-offending responses for people who, in the name of being helpful and concerned, I feel are starting to become a bit too close for comfort when it comes to personal problems? [more inside]
posted by KWittman on Jul 25, 2009 - 16 answers

I met a new 'friend' (acquaintance) on a course I took recently. He sort-of invited himself to come and stay with me for a week in Paris. I figured that he was mostly coming to see Paris but also to hang out with me, but he's made himself completely scarce since arriving and I'm not sure how to deal. [more inside]
posted by ask me please on Jul 1, 2009 - 39 answers

RelationshipFilter - What to do when a long-standing online friendship starts to head into uncomfortable territory? [more inside]
posted by Inner Universe on Jun 14, 2009 - 17 answers

How do i get over my fear of intimacy in friendships, and actually let myself get into close friendships and not push people away? Help me sort out my problems with intimacy and social anxiety, and fix it. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 11, 2009 - 8 answers

How can I make new friends on Twitter? [more inside]
posted by The1andonly on Apr 22, 2009 - 16 answers

"Why do you do that? Stop it. Let other people bless you. You're always supporting others, why don't you let others show support for you?" This is what a co-worker said to me today when scolding me about my not wanting to have a promotion luncheon and moving to another area. This has happened like three times in as many years. After many excuses, I finally conceded to her "I don't know." [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 16, 2009 - 11 answers

How do I, a lesbian woman, get over my fear of women? Ever since I was little I have had trouble making friends with women and it cripples my dating and friendship options. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 2, 2009 - 24 answers

Are there any decent guides to improving your social skills? Most of what I've found on the topic deals with children, formal etiquette, or the standard self-help cant. Is there anything for people interested in the nuts and bolts of building relationships, giving off a good impression, and making people think you are a good guy. I get the idea that most people with bad social skills tend not to care or notice and this hurts the market for such material. I have a pretty good eye for books and I have found precious little on this topic. I assume we are supposed to learn these things in childhood or be screwed for life. [more inside]
posted by Yakuman on Feb 6, 2009 - 16 answers

How can we get our friends to put their 4 year old to bed so we can have grown up evenings together? [more inside]
posted by lilyflower on Jan 18, 2009 - 45 answers

I feel like I made the right decision in breaking up with my (jealous) BFF of 10 yrs - but I still feel guilty over it? Also, what to do about mutual friends and any advice on coping? [more inside]
posted by urbanchic on Jan 18, 2009 - 22 answers

When moving away, how do you say goodbye? (And how do you keep up friendships after you're gone?) [more inside]
posted by inatizzy on Dec 11, 2008 - 14 answers

How do you deal with a spouse who is jealous of your friendships and family relationships? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 10, 2008 - 50 answers

Am I really going to lose this very important friendship over politics? [more inside]
posted by tumbleweedjack on Sep 21, 2008 - 64 answers

Is it really true that the more you do for others, the closer you will become? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 30, 2008 - 13 answers

How do you turn your homoerotic relationship with your best friend into a full-fledged homosexual affair? [more inside]
posted by captain nemo the dream squire on Feb 27, 2008 - 32 answers

Is it possible for the wife of a CEO (me) to be good friends with the wives of my husband's management team spouses? We socialize a few times per year and I always sort of feel guarded with them. I like many of them a lot and would like them as friends. Part of me sees it as not a good idea though? Would it compromise my husbands relationships at work? Might there be trust and confidentiality issues? Maybe it is just about how close I get to them? Keeping boundaries as far as what we talk about? Staying away from talk about the company? Would I be able to share important things going on in my life or will it become company gossip---and spread like wildfire? Anyone here have experience with this?
posted by seekingsimplicity on Feb 7, 2008 - 10 answers

Can you recommend books, movies, or essays with good portrayals of friendships or people's social circles? [more inside]
posted by salvia on Jan 27, 2008 - 30 answers

Help a girl make guy friends with a minimum of misunderstandings. (Despite a history of misunderstandings.) I am female, in my late 20s. I am in a committed relationship that is about to temporarily become long-distance. I am about to enter an environment (MBA program) where male students outnumber females three to one. [more inside]
posted by Mr Bunnsy on Jan 15, 2008 - 56 answers

I'm at a point in my life where I have to break off some friendships I've made online and am finding it tough. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 15, 2007 - 17 answers

Why do I feel this way? I apologize for the length of this. This is a desperate attempt to get some understanding around a problem that has plagued me for years. What follows is a chronological account of things. The way it looks to me? I simply can't have friends. [more inside]
posted by tcv on Jul 6, 2007 - 45 answers

How do you make new friends, when you have no circle of friends? [more inside]
posted by scarlet on Apr 3, 2007 - 22 answers

How involved should I be in my 8-year-old’s friendship woes? [more inside]
posted by BluGnu on Mar 23, 2007 - 31 answers

Ethics and friendship: I lost touch with a fairly close friend about six or seven years ago; he'd gotten married, had a kid, moved, etc. We recently reconnected and have been hanging out. My girlfriend likes his wife, I like his kids, so all this is good. BUT...also about ten years ago, he and I happened to be competing for a pretty prestigious job at a major corporation - one people have heard of. I got the job, he didn't. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings; I gave him some (lucrative) freelance work, maybe a little out of guilt, but mostly because he was really good. He did great work, and continued to do so on freelance projects until I left the job a couple of years later... [more inside]
posted by soulbarn on Oct 25, 2006 - 34 answers

A close friend has just had a parent die after a long illness. For reasons I won't go into the situation is very, very bad overall, and I want to be as supportive as I possibly can be on the long road of handling something like this. [more inside]
posted by AthenaPolias on Oct 13, 2006 - 12 answers

What do you do if you met online, got married, and completely told your close friends how it happened BUT didn't tell other people? In fact, you lied, declaring you were set up by friends. You thought the other people would be passing acquantainces but they became much closer friends..... [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 28, 2006 - 25 answers

What's the adult version of "Let's be friends"? [more inside]
posted by questionmark on Feb 9, 2006 - 33 answers

I can't go a whole day without offending someone. Should I be true to myself or please you? [more inside]
posted by Xurando on Dec 13, 2005 - 90 answers

So, is it possible for a heterosexual female to meet women on the internet? [more inside]
posted by awegz on Jul 27, 2005 - 26 answers

I have a friend would like to perform a "social intervention" for an acquaintance whose lack of social skills has managed to nearly alienate him from everyone in his social circle. [more inside]
posted by debgpi on May 14, 2005 - 13 answers

My friend has a popular website that has a lot of technical problems. Frequent downtime, sub-standard performance, inconsistent feature implementation, and large numbers of bugs. The software is all custom-written, and clearly needs a complete re-write. He needs help but won't accept it. What can I do?
posted by mosch on Jan 26, 2005 - 15 answers

My girlfriend and I are friends with another couple whom we'd like to become, er, more intimate with. Unfortunately, they, like us, are very reserved, and don't tend to talk about sex, so we have no idea how to begin to broach the subject. The friendship is very important to us, and we don't want to ruin it. What should we do?
posted by anonymous on Jan 26, 2005 - 38 answers

I'm loooonely. I moved to Panama City, Florida for my dream job. And I love the job - that's no issue at all. But as someone who likes to keep a certain distance from co-workers outside of work hours (I've seen co-workers get people fired for personal reasons before), and without a car to get around, I have no way offhand of making friends. This troubles me greatly - I'm an extroverted, social person and I'm not used to the lack of social contact.

And to make matters worse, no mefites live in my area! It all makes me want to cry. Bah.
posted by u.n. owen on Dec 6, 2004 - 21 answers

Friendship with an Ex? (added wrinkle: 17 year age difference, and of course, more inside) [more inside]
posted by amberglow on Oct 22, 2004 - 16 answers

Can someone's standing be vitiated by honesty? For example, telling someone they are fat and need to lose weight? [more inside]
posted by the fire you left me on Aug 29, 2004 - 33 answers