I don't collect friends either. I used to accept friend requests openly, but I got tired of seeing all of these people on my list and then having virtually no interaction. I can count on a hand or two how many people I regularly talk with, so I thought it would just suit me better if I were to be as discretionary in accepting requests in the first place.
Here are some frequently thought motivations for including and ignoring friend requests. I thought I should share some here to get the ball rolling (since maybe we're dancing around it a bit).
Requisites:
We need to either chat in the online room or talk back and forth through threads of common interest or through private messages. I need to build rapport with you to count you as an online friend. Not that I need much, mind you, but we have to connect.
It's always a big plus if you have a posting history. I just need to read enough information about you to get a sense of who you are and how you interact with people. An unsolicited request plus a pretty much blank user history on here means no way to that friend request.
Gender of Respondent:
I will befriend either men or women on the site. I have real friends of both sexes, so it'd be dumb to exclude people on the basis of gender here either.
Sexual Orientation:
I'm straight. I have about 10% of wiggle room which would explain why I'm comfortable and cool talking to other hung guys and have, in the past, compared and jacked with a guy without getting weird about it. I don't require that would-be friends' sexual orientations are in line with me. Although in real life I only have a couple of gay male friends (and a lesbian friend, and probably a bi one or two in there somewhere), I don't mind befriending them here.
That said, I find myself shutting the door sometimes. To be honest, sexually overeager people are a buzzkill. I like dick compliments, but if that's all we talk about it, then you have to ignore that I'm not focused on the conversation. And though I have had some escapades in my day (see prior paragraph), I'm not at a place in life where I want to do more.
I'm not a complete prude. I get horny as the next and sometimes I let you all know it. Still, we need to have interests or hobbies or something more in common beyond horny moments.
Locals:
Would love to befriend more locals, but I don't see or know any on here. I know there are some members that live in the same city as me, but we haven't met or had opportunities to do so. Or, in the event we could, vibes were too weird. (See above section for potential put-offs.)
Travels:
I would also like to meet LPSGers if I'm traveling on the road. I've had a few great experiences meeting LPSGers local to places I've traveled, and it's always good to get someone to hang out with or even get recommendations for places to go and things to do. I wouldn't alert some third-party to how LPSG fostered that communique; in a new city, though, I don't know anyone and no one knows me. Common sense dictates what to do beyond that.
PSN / Gaming:
Fair game. Will accept and trade my PSN to anybody who is just as much of a game geek as I am.
The Aloof Type, The LPSG Bastard, etc.:
I'll just say this. I don't collect friends or go out of my way to do so because I'm a long-time member here, people easily come and go, and I'm secure enough in my dick and my personality to not want to try that hard. Though I could be proven wrong if I were to get to know people who I think are those types of people, I also don't have much motivation to question my judgment either. Like I've mentioned, positive encounters can pretty much break any judgmental first impressions. I'm open to it, but I don't seek it. The simple truth is, if you seem like an attention whore who can't seem to string together half a sentence or attempt to be nice if I approach you neutrally, then chances are I'll recognize that I'm wasting time and I'll continue to judge you anyway.
See also The Hype Factor. See also Rejections on Principle Regarding "How to Win Friends and Influence People" types. See also Internet Communication with One Too Many Smilies.