Somebody correct me if I am wrong....but.......I think all a buddy does is that you can tell if they are online in your profile. Until you have 25 messages, ( I think it is), you can't pm them. What I do (I don't have a buddy either), is just click "subscribe to this thread" at the bottom, and when you check in if you go to Profile it'll tell you what has new posts added to it, and I just add my two cents to them...lol. If anybody has more insite here, it would be enlightening. Good Luck Low carbing!!