I followed [email protected] from my account on this instance, and another nodebb instance.
This one shows Following, the other shows pending!
Follows dont need acceptance do they, why the difference?
Also, why a settings icon only on my nodebb instance?!
@eeeee follows do need to be accepted, although it's configurable. Most software auto accepts, but delays in messaging mean sometimes the requests or responses get lost.
Cancel that follow and try again, and it might be accepted.
You see the settings cog because you're an admin on your instance.