Archives: FAQ

If you or the other member changes a response to a matching question, this prompts the backend to look for matches. If your prior responses and new responses both were a match, then you’ll have matched up twice. This function could be helpful if someone you previously didn’t match becomes a new match when one of you changes your responses.

Although the profile thumbnail of the other person will remain visible, chat messages will disappear after 6 months. Please copy and save those that are important to you. It’s necessary for us to limit the data load in our system.

With the fremium model, where you only pay for extras and the main services are free, we are making a bet that if we provide a quality service that people need and want, we will eventually get the member numbers to a point where even a small percentage of members subscribing will cover expenses. In the ethos of the sharing economy, we feel it’s important to buck the trend of monetizing everything. ICmatch is not built to be sold and shifted into a profit-maker. Read more in our mission statement.

ICmatch doesn’t want to police the chats, but we do want all members to feel respected. We request the following:

• Please do not write to others to give them feedback or criticism about their profile answers unless they ask for your comments. Do not offer unsolicited feedback even if you feel your critique is important. Do not offer unsolicited feedback even if you intend to state it kindly. Do not offer criticisms in the form of questions, for example, “Why would you believe it is appropriate to…?”
• If you find a chat comment irritating or immature, we ask that instead of seeing it as a teachable moment, you simply disengage. 
• If you feel a comment shows a clear intent to insult or offend, do provide ICmatch helpdesk a screenshot of the comment, including your statement that the commenter was responding to. If members report hostile or goading comments or questions in the chats or profile responses, and show evidence, this will result in a warning. Second or third offenses may cause membership to be paused or revoked. 
• There is no obligation to respond to any questions in chats, unless you are a group coordinator and others inquire about joining. We’ve tried to make it easy to politely block unwanted chats. Use the pre-fab responses button, found above the chat box when a chat message is open. See the FAQ “What do the pre-fab responses say?”

Not only do we insist on ICmatch being a place where communication is respectful, we help you find the right words. If you’re reading a chat message, at the top right there’s a button labeled “pre-fab responses.” Here are the messages that are sent from the three options:

• Invitation to check back later: I don’t currently have the capacity to look over your profile and respond promptly. If I don’t get back to you within a month, feel free to check back if you’re still interested in chatting.
• Polite decline: I’ve taken a look at your profile and I don’t see that we have enough compatibility in the areas that are most important for me for right now. I’ll contact you if that changes. Good luck in your search.
• Polite decline and block: I’m convinced that we don’t have a level of compatibility that would work for me. I won’t be responding further. Good luck in your search.

See this map to identify U.S. regions. East Asia includes China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea. You might be interested in the ecovillages page that has a Resources section with links to international ecovillages.

As a subscriber, your profile will show up on all of the community types pages that you select as a main interest. As a non-subscriber, others can access your profile thru searches from the Match for Free page, the Team Up page, and the Consultants page if you are a consultant. Yet some may choose to look for members or consultants on only one community types page that most interests them. They may be looking for the most interested members, thinking that subscribers are more likely to be the most invested. As a result, you may get more visibility by subscribing.

Our rates are affordable. You can cancel a subscription at any time. We do not offer refunds. Read more at the end of the Community Types page.

Other members will not see your email address or user name. For privacy, use a display name that you don’t use on other platforms, and not your real name. Communication with others can stay on the platform until you feel it’s safe to give out your contact information or meet up with people. All the profile questions you answer will be visible. Only registered users will be able to chat with you. Some people investigating the site will only make the effort to join because they see profiles of compatible members. While answering profile questions reveals a lot of information about you, only you can tell others the identity behind that profile description.

Make sure you have responded to all the questions labeled MATCHING Q. There are two ways to do this.

1. The matching questions are at the top of each of the categories, except the last three categories have no matching questions. When you go into your own profile responses, you can see which are labeled matching questions. Make sure you have at least one item chosen for each of these questions.

2. At your profile page (accessed from your My Account page), notice at the bottom left a circle graph (pictured below). The Profile Completeness circle graph will prompt you toward the next steps to complete your profile. Click on “Top Qs” to start or finish answering the matching questions. If you want to change your response to a matching question, you will be able to later. 

For more information, click into the orange button at the top of the Match for Free! page.

Still not matching? You might consider being more open about what traits or situations you will accept. You might get more matches if you select additional items in the MATCHING QS. Yet it’s best to stay consistent with what you actually prefer and believe. You’ll only set yourself up for frustration—and eventually annoy others—if you try to present yourself in a way you think others would be impressed by, but doesn’t match how you typically are.

Nope. Doing a background check would mean we would have more information about members than some want to give. We do want to hear from you if you have a scary experience with a member or if a group situation sounds exploitative.

We get it. There’s a lot of personal information in the profile. That’s why we invite you to create a memoji instead of posting a photo. We also ask you not to use your real name as a display name, but it’s up to you. The chat function on the website allows you to communicate without sharing your contact information until you feel comfortable. See our Privacy Policy.