I’ve been reading the Doll-Fan forum for years, but I only just subscribed today! I see there’s a “friends” feature… does anyone here want me to add them?
(Also, a question - I signed up under “teacupbears,” and then realized that the Terms of Service require part of your real name to be in your username. Will I get in trouble? Who should I contact to fix this?)
Yep! I went with the $20 for 12 months option.
There are quite a few who don’t have their names on theirs. I know at least one that has a name and it is not really her name, so… don’t worry about it. I did change mine to have my name on it though. I’m LollipopCradle_Paula If you do want to change yours, you have to send a message to Steve and he will change it for you.
Yeah, it’s great so far! It’s a lot bigger than any other forum I’ve been on, which can be a bit intimidating, but I’m sure I’ll really appreciate that if I ever have to sell something…
Thank you! 
Honestly, it’s a lot lot slower than BB and FB. Also mostly collectors on there. It’s free to read and the only thing the $20 gets you is the ability to make topics, comment, and PM. It’s a great place to meet collectors and get deals on second hand dolls and kits (especially silicones) but if you’re not interested in that I wouldn’t say there’s much of a point. I am a member there though, my subscription is on auto renew and I enjoy it so haven’t canceled.
I look forward to seeing your posts!! 
Tbh the friend feature doesn’t do much lol. Never really used it.
I enjoy DF. It is a bigger forum as Emi said. There are a lot of collectors and artists. Silicone, resin, vinyl, OOAK, BJD…different dolls and kits collected, sold, bought, discussed and just shared. You can browse without being a member but you cannot (as Izzy stated) start topics, comment, or send private messages ( and you can’t access the members only private-off topic area). You can’t otherwise contact members unless they give their contact information in their posts. So really you can only “stalk” the forum if you’re not a member. 
Also as Izzy said, the friend feature doesn’t do much. However, if you want quick access to a member you can find them easily for PMing, etc if they are a friend.
I have to say I have gotten my money’s worth and more from the forum. It’s not as close knit as BB but it does have it’s advantages. You can do a 6 month trial membership for I believe $12 and see if you like it. That’s how I started 2&1/2 years ago.