On this page:
Signing up for the Service.
- Begin by entering your recognized college email address at the registration
page of The Matchup. If your email address is not recognized, but you think
that it should be, email The Matchup and let us know.
- You should momentarily receive an email message from The Matchup at the
email account you entered. Click on or paste into your browser the partially
encrypted link that is included in the message. This link will take you to
another registration page that will ask you to enter a password for your
account.
- After entering a valid password, you will be taken to your "Profile
Editor." From here you are able to create your own profile on the
system. You must have a valid profile to activate you account.
Creating a Profile.
- Click on "Edit Profile" under your "Account Options."
Until you've made a valid profile, your account will not be active and you will
not be able to contact other users.
- An online profile is an advertisement that other users of the service can
see. Based on your profile they'll decide whether to message you. So put some
effort into your profile and think positive. There are a few tips below about
how to do this.
- User profiles are limited to 3000 characters.
Uploading Pictures.
- Click on Photo Manager under your Account Options. You are allowed one
profile picture that associates you with your profile in search results,
etc. The six other pictures go in your profile's Photo Album.
- The images you upload must be in JPEG form and no larger than 1600x1200
pixels to begin with.
- Click the Browse... button underneath one or more photo slots and
select a JPEG image from you computer. After you've selected all the images
you'd like to upload, and the path to the image on your computer appears in the
text box below each photo slot, click UPLOAD ALL PICTURES at the bottom of
the page.
- The total uploaded size is 2MB per submission. If you exceed this in one
submission, you'll get an error.
- If an old image doesn't change after you've uploaded a new image even
though the new image is correctly formatted, try reloading the page.
Searching for Profiles.
- Once you've completed your profile, take a look at others on the
service. Click on 'Search' after you've logged in, and you can choose from a
variety of search parameters.
- Users with inactive profiles or users who have blocked your account will
not show up in searches.
- The search page lets you choose various fields or parameters to search. If
you don't care about something, leave it blank. For example, if you don't care
about age, leave the age fields blank. If you don't care about school or
political views, leave all the checkboxes for those fields unchecked. You'll
end up with a list of profile summaries for the profiles that have matched your
criteria. Profiles are ordered according to most recent activity.
Including Profiles that have not specified a value.
- When using Advanced Criteria in a search, a border-case question arises:
what to do with profiles that do not specify a value for the criteria being
searched for. Just because a user has not answered a particular field in
his/her profile does not mean that they do not match your criteria.
- At the top of the Advanced Criteria section, there is an option to include
such profiles. When this option is checked, search results will display users
that match your criteria exactly along with users that left part of your
searched criteria blank.
- With the option checked, many more profiles will be returned that don't
exactly match the search criteria, but then again, they can't be ruled out,
either. In other words, the search has become inclusive rather than exclusive.
Sending a Message.
- Anyone with an active account on The Matchup may initiate conversations
with other users through MatchMail™. When you view a profile you like,
click on "Message this User" to open a separate 'Send Message' window
where you can type your message.
- All messages sent with MatchMail™ are internal to the system. Any
user you message will see your message on their account's homepage.
- You will be able to see the status of all your messages from your account's
Outbox. Your Outbox allows you to see that your message has been delivered and
notifies you when it as been read. A sent message will be deleted from your
Outbox when the message's recipient deletes it from their Inbox.
- Messages are limited to 3000 characters.
Reading and Replying to a Message.
- When you receive a message from another user, you will see it on your
account's homepage.
- Click the Name on the message to be taken to that user's profile.
- Click the Subject or Date of the message to open it in another
window for reading.
- Use the checkboxes and the 'delete' button to delete any of your messages.
- If you save another users profile and that user later blocks or ignores
you or becomes inactive that users profile will be deleted from the saved
profiles in your Contact List.
Blocking Users.
- If you find another user to be annoying and would no longer like to receive
messages from him/her, you can choose to Block that user. You can find a
blocking link in that user's profile.
- When you block another user, you will no longer see that user in your
search results and you will no longer receive any messages from that
user. Blocking a user is not some kind of insult. It's a natural way of saying
"No, thanks" and closing the conversation.
Ignoring Users.
- If the same user appears in your search results time and time again and you
dont wish to contact this user, you can choose to Ignore him/her. That
user's profile will no longer appear in any of your search results.
- Ignoring a user does not restrict that user from contacting you in any
way. An ignored user can still contact you at any time.
Privacy Settings.
- To view or change your blocking or ignoring settings, click on
"Privacy Settings" under your Account Options, where you can unblock
or un-ignore blocked or ignored users.
Saving Profiles to Your Contact List.
- If you see an interesting profile on The Matchup and would like to find
that user's profile without having to search for it after each login, you can
choose to save that user's profile.
- Click on Save this User in his/her profile. That user will not know
that you have saved him/her.
- To view your saved users, click on Contact List under your Account
Options.
Deactivating Your Account.
- If at any time and for any reason you wish to retire from the service, you
may choose to deactivate you account. Click on deactivate account" under
your "Account Options".
- A deactivated account will not show up on any search results and will not
receive any messages. Also, a deactivated account will not appear on any
"Contact List".
- All of your information and pictures will remain archived on the system in
case you decide to reactivate your account.
What's My Password?
- Go the The Matchup's front page and type your account's email address into
the "Reset Password" section.
- You will be emailed with another encrypted link that takes you to a page
where you may reset your password.
Can I Change My Email Address?
**This feature is coming soon!**
- Yes. Click on "Change Email" under Account Options and enter your
new email school email address. The same rules apply as did you first email
address. It must be from a valid college allowed to use the service.
- An email message will be sent to the new email address. Click on the link
to verify the new address.
Can I Delete My Account?
- Users are able to deactivate their accounts at anytime.
- See "Deactivating Your Account", which is above in "Service
Help".
What does "Fling" mean?
- It means that you're open to a one night stand or a purely sexual
relationship.
- Please don't check the "Fling" checkbox on a whim. If you're
going to be offended by getting such a proposition, leave it blank.
I'm hesitant. What if someone I know recognizes me from my profile?
- Online dating is getting more and more mainstream. Also, only people who've
joined the service will see your profile, so they can hardly claim that you've
done something radical they haven't.
- If you feel unsafe or shy, maybe you should pass on this service. There are
plenty of other ways to meet singles.
Tips to Get Noticed
- Be Confident and Engaging but Be Yourself
- Confidence in yourself is the most attractive quality in a person.
- Be daring by initiating many conversations.
- Upload Photos
- Posting photos shows confidence and profiles with photos get 10 times
more replies.
- A picture is worth a thousand words, and you get seven pictures. The
best way to make your profile truly unique and descriptive is to upload
pictures of yourself, your family/friends, and the things you enjoy.
- Write an Essay and Say Something Unique
- These are the most common things people say:
- I like to have fun.
- I hate writing these essays.
- I like to go out sometimes, but I like to sleep in as well.
- Try saying something that you find interesting and will get someone's
attention, like:
- The most important thing I have learned from being in relationships
is ...
- If I had a million dollars I would ...
- The Red Sox will win the World Series this year because ...
- Keep Your Profile Active and Check Who Has Messaged You
- Search results are sorted in order of the most recently active users.
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