From Beatbox CommunityFriendship had no home. Requests arrived as a badge on the messages icon, the friends you already had were a number in a hover panel, and the only way to reach one was to remember their name and find them again.
One door
A 👥 icon in the navbar opens Friends: the requests waiting on you first, then everyone you are connected to — sorted by who is online right now, because a list of names is a directory and a list of who is around is an invitation.
Each row carries their flag, a live presence dot, a link to their profile, and Message.
Requests you can actually see
Pending friend requests now show a count on that icon. If somebody has been waiting on you, you will know without opening anything.
Sent requests get their own quiet section too, so asking is never invisible.