First, don't confuse the friend "suggestions" that FaceBook itself generates with the one "suggestions" that come from mutual "friends" or with actual "friend requests" that come from the people themselves.    I see no reason to "friend" someone just because FaceBook notices that we have one or a few friends in common.

Second, having someone as a "friend" does not mean they are likely to post to your "status" or threads, or even that they are likely to read much of anything you post.

And the more "friends" each of you have, the less likely it is that you will "follow" what all your "friends" post.

Third, you don't have to share everything you post -- links, discussion threads, photos, etc. - with all your "friends." You can easily set up sub-groups, e.g., "Family," "Mudcat Friends," "Work Friends," "Music-sharing Friends," etc.   Then, when you post a photo/album, link, etc. or start a discussion, you pull down the "Share" menu and click on "Specific People." Then you type in or click on the names of the specific people or specific sub-groups you want to be able to see what you've posted.

(I have about 8 such sub-groups, and many of the things I post are shared with less than half of my FB "friends."   I sometimes even post photos, for example, that I make available only to a handful of people that way.)

Fourth, you can adjust your FaceBook settings as to who can see various aspects of your profile, such as your age, location, bio, etc.; who can send you a personal message; who can view your "status" and "wall"; who can post on your "wall" etc.   I, for instance, have my date of birth viewable "Only by me" and my email address viewable "Only by friends," but I allow "Everyone" to see my FB page (except for specific restricted threads) and "Friends Of Friends" to post in the threads that they can view.   

Fifth, when you "reject" a friend's request or a friend suggestion, that probably doesn't usually hurt their feelings.   If you simply don't respond to a suggestion or request, the person doesn't really know you've seen or noticed their request and rejected it. You may simply not visit FB very often, or you haven't gotten around to dealing with the suggestions and requests.

I've had people confirm a "friend request" from me months after I first made it. And if that never happens, I don't take it personally (unless it's from someone in my family who ignores my friend request, but that's a whole nuther topic *g*).   People have lots of reasons for not accepting every suggestion or request, so I don't think it's tanatamount to a snub.

Genie