Don't really know what it is, so I would have to try it - Brendon Wadey

___ has a private feed. Request a subscription ... Strikes me as odd. - Enrique Gutierrez

I find them odd too. But figure there's a reason, or they just are trying to block me, in which case I didn't need to listen to them in the first place. - Robert Scoble

I request the subs and then if they accept I decide whether I will stay subbed or not. - Mathew™ one of a kind

They're hiding from their jobs...or potential jobs - Rahsheen ™, Coach of FF

Being followed by someone with a private feed, sparks my curiosity when I see they have a private feed, but the dilemma is - FF is a place to share your feeds... for the most part, so unless you're a person in dire need of knowing who's interested in reading your stuff - there's no need to have a private feed. On that ground, I don't want someone deliberately expressing an interest in my interest... if I subscribe to you - it's because I've liked what you're sharing ... </book> - Enrique Gutierrez

♫ Rahsheen™ - in which case; that's justifiable to a degree. - Enrique Gutierrez

Enrique, for a second I thought FF generated the "___" to replace the person's FF handle... Then I realized it doesn't censor names, just elides entries based on "block"ings. Silly me! - Richard ¿digame? Walker

Richard - I wasn't trying to put a specific *anyone* on the spot - so, I axed the name. I'll probably end up subscribing to the person because now my curiosity is getting the best of me... - Enrique Gutierrez

It does present a problem when trying to see if you want to follow someone. Hadn't thought about the implications of that before. - Rahsheen ™, Coach of FF

Yes I think that's polite. ! I gave in to curiosity twice I think, and was "accepted," but haven't had the time to look at their feed. Usually I check it out before I follow, of course, so the "acceptance" happens later (with no notification) - Richard ¿digame? Walker

I don't subscribe to people with Private feeds unless I know them in person. To me, it seems as Those with private feeds are those who look for a closed circle of friends. It is a 'by invitation only' sign to me. And I do not consider subscribing to my feed as an invitation. - Parth Awasthi

yep, now i'm totally dumbfounded - the feed, out of *needing to know* I subscribed - is thick with all sorts of good shares and finds. not sure why to have a thing like this private outside of simply wanting to know who wants to read your feed. heh - Enrique Gutierrez from IM

I have a private feed. I switched it a few weeks ago as certain people at my work kept taking what I post out of context and spreading falsehoods. Plus I do post sometimes at work and while my boss is cool with it, other people have reacted poorly to it. IMO if you don't want to follow me because of the status of my account, that's fine, it just means my content isn't strong enough for you. - Johnny Worthington

Johnny, how are we to gauge strength of content if we have no content to gauge? ... that's the dilemma. I can totally related to people at work harping on your web2.0 interactions and misinterpreting them though. So I fully understand under that regard. - Enrique Gutierrez

Enrique... now you see the problem I face. I have actually posted an idea in the feedback section for a 'Private Option'. A check box that would exclude the current post from appearing in your public feed. The problem now is it's all or nothing. I would love to be able to private the picture memes I do while at work :) - Johnny Worthington

Excellent point Johnny, now it's all coming back to me. You're one of the two :-) I find the idea of hiding behind a handle to avoid discovery by a different sphere is unworkable. Too bad you can't attach a message to the "private feed" notification. "My feed is private because my co-workers used it against me" - Richard ¿digame? Walker

Johnny & Richard those are both awesome ideas... the way it is now leaves too much to be guessed, which is the point, but it's also the problem. -- also, thanks for all you who commented and gave feedback. not only helped bring me to a decision, but it was also pretty much the first time this much activity's happened in my FF timeline, pretty excellent. - Enrique Gutierrez

It seems to me that there are other networks or platforms (Facebook, for example) that are better suited to whatever a private Friendfeed feed acheives. It never felt right having to "ask" someone to share their feed here. I just think that given the FF context, it's kindof missing the point. - Brad Kligerman

Brad... that is one of the things I struggled with when deciding to private my feed. I do not like the fact people have to ask for my feed but that is one of the limitations of the current system. My average time between request being placed and approving is less than 5 minutes. I like Richard's idea of message. Hopefully things will settle down in a few weeks and I can go back to a 100% open feed. In the end, a choice between a restricted FF experience verse no experience at all, it's a no brainer :) - Johnny Worthington

Where are Paul Buchheit and Bret Taylor when you need them? Goofing off with their families,no doubt. Meanwhile, this thread will be forgotten... unless... I re-share it to FriendFeed Feedback... ;-) - Richard ¿digame? Walker

I am often concerned about what the finger-pointers at work will try to come up with if they see me posting during the work day, so I can understand the private feed thing. If I'm sitting at a machine waiting for software to install, I might hit FF or Twitter with one of my phones, and how're they to know? Sometimes I'll slip in a "Why does Office 2007 take YEARS to install?" on Twitter or something (for reference), but I can't always be bothered. Mostly I just don't respond, no matter how badly I want to. - MiniMage, sheeple of FF

I suppose MiniMage and Johnny could also use FF corollary to http://twuffer.com/ - FFDelayedPostorComment(content, toWhere, nHoursLater) - not because of service availability, but to time-shift away from hours with nosy office mates. - Richard ¿digame? Walker