Well, it's a new feature that was added a while back (less than 6 months ago). Since most of the active members have over 100 posts, it's easy to forget about this feature. 
So, Jasmine4Lakshmi... do you already have your own pen pals from elsewhere?
I used to have one years ago when I first started using the internet in 1994. I met this gal in an online chatroom and we kept in touch for a few months through mail. We eventually lost touch with each other... I don't remember why though.
