This is not social media
Modern communication has been shaped by social media and various apps that are being used all over the world. Correspondence on social media apps has become short, predictable and geared for a broad audience. Apps, forums, group chats and message apps are all designed to message groups of people all at once. We do NOT want Global Penfriends to become another form of social media. We want our members to engage in longer format conversations that are meaningful and considered.
Instead of sending one line messages, we hope that you will take your time to offer your penpal a correspondence that is unique, personalised and bursting with detail. Treat each letter you send and receive as a personalised gift. Take your time to craft replies and provide your penpals with pensive, thoughtful correspondence.
If you are in the "getting to know" phase of your penpal friendship, we advise all members to use the sites internal messenger before giving out your contact details. During the first few months you should ask lots of questions. Discuss with your penpal, what they are looking for? and how frequently they would like to correspond? Discuss how they would like to continue the correpondence in the future.
As with any hobby or interest, penpalling takes time to perfect. To be a good penpal, you should be well organised. Store your correspondence in a way that is convenient to you. Keep your letters and correspondence organised and keep notes of important details about your penpal that you would like to remember. Sometimes it may be weeks or months between writing letters - so you want to ensure you have a system for remembering key details about your penpals for when you are ready to correspond. For those that are premium members, you can archive digital correspondence into pdf files using functionality provided so you can print them out for later reference.
Be considerate when you correspond with other members of the site. Always remember that you arrived at the site looking for international friendship. Being part of Global Penfriends, means you are part of a socially responsible community. We want everyone to feel safe and we want all our members to finish their visit to the site, positive and looking forward to their next visit.
