The problem: The game is currently bugged when trying to /friend characters who are offline. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. This behavior makes it extremely difficult to keep in touch with all your closest friends, especially if each of you have several alts. I've already wasted several nights not knowing a friend of mine was also online playing a different character.

The solution: Please fix this bug, Bioware!

The work-around: Create a custom chat channel for your group of friends, and use this to announce when you've logged in.

The implementation:

1. Decide on a channel name and password
   
2. Create the channel using the following command (without the brackets): /create [channelname] [password]
   
3. Send the channel name and password to your friends, and instruct them to join using: /cjoin [channelname] [password]
   
4. Practice sending a message to the channel using /[channelnumber] [message]. (If this is the first custom channel you've joined, it will typically be assigned to 4. So typing "/4 hello" would send the message "hello" to your new channel.)
   

Your friends can join the channel at any time, regardless of whether you're logged in. Agree with your friends that every time someone logs into the game, that person will say hello on the custom channel and all others will reply. Then you'll know who's online, and you can take advantage of that moment to update your friend list. Never miss your friends again!

Known limitations:

• Custom chat channels don't appear to work cross-faction. You can still join the channel using the same channel name and password, but Imperial characters can't see what Republic characters type, and vice versa.
  
• The command "/list [channelname]" is supposed to provide you with a list of all current members for the channel, but it doesn't seem to be working. Everytime I attempt it, it provides a blank list, despite other friends actively sending messages to the channel at the time.
  

Additional chat functions: See Goshee's Newcomer's Guide for a full list of chat commands: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=612#anchor13