When would you send a personal message to someone on a forum?

[UKboy]

There's a forum I use quite a lot, and there's an option to send a personal message to other members. I was wondering what situations you would do that in, because I was thinking it would be weird to send someone a personal message if you didn't know them.

So basically what I want to know is, should the personal message feature only be used when you're friends with the person you're sending it to? Or is it OK to send a personal message to someone you don't know, and in what situation would you need to do that (obviously nothing like bullying or harassment)?

Thanks for help.

[Jason]

It's okay to send a personal message if whatever it is you want to tell the person shouldn't be said in front of others. Most people won't be offended if they don't know you and you PM them. It happens all the time in a forum. Go ahead and do it! Especially if you're going to say something nice. People rarely say nice things on the internet, and it's always refreshing when you hear something nice.