I've only been here for a handful of months, so I'm still new, but I think making friends is a little difficult so far? I still personally want to do it, maybe make a discord server for it!
Aside from the icons, I think interacting on the forums can help gain some subscribers because you are able to promote your stories and get some people interested. I've definitely come to find interesting comics and novels by looking through the forums and have gained subscribers from it as well.