i am with Ben ans DW on this one. Considering people don't have just CF to do in their lives, knowing when to catch with friends is good. And there are many lazy people who will just stay off line because logging in for 3 secs to check player list is "wasted time" when you did not intended to play without your friends. I know i'm a loner and don't mind flying alone in space but i know a few people who will log-in only if they friends are around...