Is there a polite way to turn down friend requests

[Ez Duzit]

I'm a long time single player gamer. Never got into online gaming at all. But I enjoy the forums and enjoy helping people with problems when I can. So every once in awhile I'll get a friend requst from somone I've helped. Don't really see the reason for online friends with people I've never met even though I may have helped them with some problem they had. So just looking for a nice way to turn down their request maybe with a short message, instead of just either flat out turning down the request or just letting it sit in my notification center unanswered?

[Jonathan Sensei]

"Sorry, i'm not interested".

[Ogami]

Well, as far as Steam goes you can do nothing but either decline or ignore the request.
I dont play multiplayer games at all but if someone adds me i usually just accept and then ask them for what reason.
If they tell me they want to play with me i just explain that i am not into MP games at all.
Usually they just say " oh ok" and delete me again.
Some just want some more indepth help or have a question about something.

Others just want to chat now and then, about games or whatever topic. Those usually stay on my friend list.



What you can try is putting a message at the top of your profile, something like " not interested in multiplayer games or friend requests, nothing personal".

That should stop most people from randomly adding you. And the ones who still try obviously did not even look at your profile. So no reason to feel bad about declining.

[JackBurton]

Edit Profile > Summary > Replace your current "NA" with "Not Accepting Friend Requests"

[Ez Duzit]

Thanks for the answers people. I think I'll go with JackBurton's suggestion. Hopefully they'll check my profile before sending any friend request. With that said, is there any way to clear unanswered friend requests from my notifications?

[shiel]

Originally posted by Ez Duzit:

Thanks for the answers people. I think I'll go with JackBurton's suggestion. Hopefully they'll check my profile before sending any friend request. With that said, is there any way to clear unanswered friend requests from my notifications?

Decline them.

[perpetuaL]

It is fine to ignore a friend request, it's not a sign of disrespect online. People are always looking for friendly and helpful people to friend but you only have so much attention. It is perfectly reasonable and polite to respect your own "space" and not to accept every invitation that comes your way. If you feel that badly about it, just add a friendly note on your profile about it.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by perpetuaL:

It is fine to ignore a friend request, it's not a sign of disrespect online. People are always looking for friendly and helpful people to friend but you only have so much attention. It is perfectly reasonable and polite to respect your own "space" and not to accept every invitation that comes your way. If you feel that badly about it, just add a friendly note on your profile about it.

This. Declining isnt impolite. People who expect a reason are impolite, simy declining isnt.