bluefirebird

OK, I'm relatively new to LJ. I got drawn in by fanfiction and created an account so I could give slightly more back to the many wonderful authors than purely anonymous comments. As a social networking site I understand the "friending" concept - an easy way for you to follow your friends online.

I have a bit more trouble with the idea of friending people you don't know - not sure of the etiquette:

Do you send a message to someone when you friend them?
Do you acknowledge someone who friends you?
Is it prying to friend someone you don't know? - Actually there's a whole bunch of people on here I feel I know a little and rather like, but my default system in this world is to not put my head above the parapet if I can avoid it. I like being anonymous - when I am being bad - and especially when I am doing good. But I like knowing about other people - interestingly enough, what time zone they are in is high on my list. Maybe it comes from working with people in different time zones.
What is the form for asking for access from someone who has limited their journal to friends only (not because of being secretive, but because they wish to control or limit their audience slightly for pretty good reasons?)

I am watching a number of communities (my interests are fairly limited, after all I am supposed to have the time to have a real life!), but that is not a mutual thing and a concept that I am comfortable with. I guess overall the friending is intended to be a way of making friends online, but I am somewhat shy with that, especially as in the communities I watch there are already groups of friends and I think I have more trouble breaking into an online community than I do a group of friends in real life - the real life feedback is somewhat more easily readable.

I also find it difficult to imagine a group of strangers being interested in my life

Now the lj-cut I understand the idea of because I have been using my flist to follow posts. I guess I'll get the hang of it all in time!