So what are these fb and slam things, anyway?

For penpallers who write primarily on email, fb's and slams may be completely alien things... but in the "snail mail" realm, they're actually pretty common (if not over abundant! *grin*). So hopefully this will help you with the nifty little things that are oh-so-addicting. And maybe you'll even want to start one of your own!

Descriptions

These come from Kristen's Web Site and are probably the best short descriptions I have seen:

What are Friendship Books, Slams, and Crams??

Friendship books (fb for short) are traded by many pen pallers. They are small handmade booklets that are passed from person to person, each adding his/her name and address (many times by label). Most people add information about themselves such as age, interests, hobbies, etc. Some write that they would like new pen pals. Some add stickers or other types of decorations. When the book is full it is mailed back to the person it was created for. Fbs are started as a way to thank a pal, to look for new pals, and for collecting. It is very interesting to get a full fb back because you get to see all the places they have been....though many states and countries. The designs of fbs are full of variety. Some are very simple; others are complex art projects. I have seen people make them out of scrap paper. Others neatly cut fancy paper and emboss it with rubber stamps. There are no limits to the designs people make. You do not have to sign fb's if you don't want to, just pass it along to someone else. Fbs require patience; they can take years to fill (especially large ones). It is best not to make fbs too large because you don't want to pay too much for postage and have a hard time fitting them in envelopes.

Friendship Sheets are just like fbs, but instead of a booklet format they are just one sheet of paper.

Slams are similar to fbs. The first page(s) is the sign in page. This is where you write in your name and address or stick your label, usually next to a number. On each of the following pages is a question. Under the question all the signers add their answer next to their number. Some common questions are: "what is your favorite movie?"; "would you like more pals?"; "name your favorite TV shows".

Crams are fbs on a small scale. The point is to cram many address on to a small piece of paper. You do not write information about yourself or anything that will take up space. Many are for address labels only.

How to sign fb's

So you've received an fb from a friend, or you want to start making them because they sound so nifty... but how the heck do you *do* these things? Well... honestly, there are no rules. But here's a pretty basic outline for you. First, let me show you want these things actually *look* like...

This is an fb that I received from my penpal, Nichole Roberts, a couple months ago... it has since been passed on to be signed by another person (and hopefully two by now). They're really not that complicated looking, are they?

Okay... so let's begin... first... you see Jen Benko's name? Notice that beside her name is a "4:". This means that the friendship book was made for her. Theoretically, when the entire booklet is full of addresses, this book will be returned to her. All fb's, slams, and such are made for *someone*. It's normally the first person on the first page of the fb, and also is often designated at the END of the Fb with something like "When full, please return to _________."

Also, notice the "Bi:" by Nichole's name. This signifies that she *made* the fb for Jen. It's not a required thing, but is nice to know so that if the fb is returned, the person can thank the maker of it. =)

Below Nichole's name, you'll find my typical signature. A "signature" or "sig" is what a person puts in the fb about themselves. In my case, under the address label it reads (since it's probably kinda tough to read on screen):

So what does all that garbled stuff mean? Okay... let's start from the beginning...

B.D. 11 Jan., 1975. This is my birthdate. I put it in there so people know how old I am. Generally, I put my birthdate rather than my actual age at signing time because sometimes these things take a while to circulate. This way, it's always accurate. =) Other people, such as Nichole did in the example fb, just put their age. Usually this is found in a form such as =16= or *16*, in Nichole's case.
A/A L/L female pals. This is my "answer code"... it's in a traditional fb abbreviation format that's universally known among fb/slam swappers. In long hand, this says "Answers all long letter female penpals," which means that I will answer all, providing that you're female and that you write letters of some length. This basically is to weed out those who write five lines and that's it... I hate those kinds of letters. There are a number of different answer codes which can be found on the abbreviations page (link below).
Needs fb/slam swaps. Basically, I'm just advertising to see if anyone else wants someone new to trade fb's and slams.
Loves X-Files, music, pals, cats, more!. Actually, this line starts with another typical abbreviation on the physical fb... loves is substituted with a drawn heart and a "'s". But the list as a whole is pretty self-explanitory. This is a list of some things that I like.

Here's what you should generally put in an fb:
Keep it short, but make it clean and easy to read. The easiest way to keep it short is to learn the common abbreviations used in fb and slam signing. You can find a list of the common ones here. These abbreviations include answer codes, which designate roughly how many new pals you're willing to write to.

Before you actually sign your first fb or slam, practice what you're going to put down on a scratch sheet of paper. You generally don't want to scratch out mistakes and make a mess of these books... so get your ideas right and know what you're going to do ahead of time *grin*. Once you have something you're happy with, sign away. Another good idea if you're unsure of what to do is simply observe what someone else did and copy their format. Many fb swappers (including myself) did that when they first started out, and then developed their own style.

So I've signed it... now what?

After you've signed an fb, you want to pass it on to another penpal as soon as possible... the faster it gets sent on, the faster it can get back to the owner of the fb. It might not sound like a big deal, but unfortunately, many fb's take years to get filled... recently I received one that was started (because the maker happened to include the date it was made) back in 1991. That shouldn't be happening! Try to get them signed and on their way within a week if possible. And if you're the last one to sign an fb, please send it back to the owner. =)

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