Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen of Destructoid. How do you do? Myself? I'm feeling quite well after the gorging of food barbecued the prior night. Hopefully the twenty pounds of weight I added to my body will be shed as quickly as it was acquired. But this post isn't about my love of country BBQ cooking and the effect after the fact... this is about friends lists, etiquette within them and how you can be the very best online addition on your friend's, well friends list.

One would think that there is nothing required to being on a friends list. You either send a request for someone new to join yours or accept an invitation in return and off you go, never to actually do anything about the minuscule commitment you have made. Yet there are a few things you may want to keep in mind in order for you and your online friend to adhere to for both of you to have a prosperous relationship. Mind you this will be a brief affair. I wont take much of your time. But know that even though it's a minuscule commitment you have recently made, it's a commitment nevertheless and they usually require the surprising act of work.

Let us begin with the tried and true online technique of listing in bold font with the color red, as this seems to keep wandering ADD minds on point. The following will be scenarios that occur on a daily basis for your console of choice friends list and how you can infuse proper etiquette in them.

1. Your newly added friend invites you to play a game.

Nothing earth-shattering here. This happens all the time but what, as the recipient of said invitation, does may vary. There are three courses of action that one can do and one of them is a big NO-NO.

A: You accept the invitation, have a merry old time and rejoice in knowing someone with the same interest in games is on your friends list, as it should be.

B: You reply at your earliest convenience how at this time you are busy with such and such and would love to play at a later time. Thus the Raincheck Etiquette Card is played and all is well in everybody's gaming universe.

C: You are an utter prick and completely ignore said invitation or request* thinking in your mind that yes, this act of rudeness seems like the logical course of action ( Pssst, this one is the NO-NO ).

*This also applies to just general inquiries or regular PMs.

2. Your newly added friend invites you to play a game...over and over and over again.

For some unknown reason some people will send a game invite and when not immediately responded to, think that a barrage of invites will miraculously make you change your mind and join them. I guess their reasoning is if the first invite doesn't succeed the fiftieth one in a row will do the trick.

Just as it is rude for them not to respond, this act of invitation spamming is one as well. Keep in mind, they may be knee deep in play and may not have the opportunity to respond as it may be detrimental to their game health at the time. Send the one invite and if you don't get a response so be it. Thus the One Game Invite Etiquette Card is played and all is well in everybody's gaming universe. Chances are you'll get a raincheck notification later. He may not have even seen the invite due to his enraptured attention of the game he was playing.

3. You don't ever play games with people on your friends list.

This one is puzzling to me. You request to be on someone's friends list and yet you never play a game with them. That's akin to getting drunk and not having outrageous sex with a stranger. Whats the point of being on a friends list if there isn't any interaction somewhere down the line between the two of you? Is that person so popular that you just have to be on their list for no other reason than to be on it?

To which leads to the next one...

4. Your never online anymore.

So you're not online for thirty days or more and are surprised that you are stricken from a friends list. The cardinal rule for those not in the know is if you don't log in online for thirty days or more without a message or reason, don't be shocked if you are no longer on said list. The Give a Heads Up Etiquette Card should be played and all will be well in everybody's gaming universe. Its hardly any work to send a message via the console or Dtoid that your system is out for repairs or that you are walking the earth in search of inner peace.

Last but not least for this installment...

5. After a completed gaming session with your friend you don't utter the good game catch phrase.

It may seem trivial, even bordering on silliness but the Good Game Etiquette Card is one of the most important cards to play. It doesn't matter if they are stomping your ever living ass in a fighting game... that act of camaraderie is a requirement for even more enjoyment of your game time together. Quitting and not even acknowledging them is one of the biggest NO-NOs out there. Being a sore loser isn't what a Dtoider is about.

And so ends this installment of Hints on Etiquette and the uses of it in a Friends List...with a glance at BAD habits. These are just common sense yet its amazing how much of that we lose in the heat of our play sessions. Til next time, see you on my friends list... or maybe not.