frequently asked questions

Q: If I forget my password (and username), what do I do?

A: Click here to request your password from buddyup.com. Your password will be mailed to you automatically as long as you know the email address with which you registered.

Q: How do I select a buddy for an activity?

A: After you have searched (use Simple Search on bottom of home page), a list of potential buddies will be displayed. Pressing on the user name will select one.

Q: I did a search and selected a buddy, how do I arrange an activity?

A: Once you have selected a user from the search list, that user's profile will be displayed. Go to the appropriate sport and press on one of the available times (shown in red or yellow) to send an invitation. An invitation will be generated by buddyup.com that lists the activity, the proposed time(s), the proposed location and your information including username, skill level, sex (if disclosed), and philosophy. The invitation will be automatically sent to the selected member. The member must then sign on to buddyup.com to confirm the invitation. Once the invitation is confirmed, you will be notified on your personal home page. If the invitation is accepted, it will be dispalyed in the summary of activities.

Q: Where should I meet my buddy?

A: Choose a public spot that is convenient to the activity or to your location. If the selected member lives nearby, then the selected location is likely to be convenient. Lastly, pick a unique spot and avoid general locations. Meeting in the park on Sheffield and Lill is likely to result in a missed connection. Choose a corner, a store, a bar, or a distinct landmark. The 7-eleven at Lincoln and Sheffield is a better location than the "park."

Q: I can't make a confirmed activity and need to cancel. What do I do?

A: When you log on, a summary of activities will appear. You may select an activity by selecting the user name and cancel the activity. An email will be sent to the member and if the member subsequently logs in, the activity will be shown as canceled. For this reason, it is important that you cancel activities in advance and that you log in and check activities just before going to the meeting place.

Q: How do I confirm an arranged activity?

A: If you selected the user, the activity will become a confirmed activity once the selected member accepts the invitation. If you receive an invitation from another member, then you must log on and select the pending activity on your home page and accept it.

Q: I sent an invitation to a member, but never received a reply. Why not?

A: The most likely explanation is that the invitation was never received. This could be due to an inactive account or the selected member is out and not checking-in. Lastly the member could have moved or has otherwise become inactive. Buddyup.com tries to identify inactive accounts and remove them from the database, but they have to be inactive for a substantial period of time before we risk alienating a member by canceling their membership. Our latest statistics show that about 1 in 10 invitations are accepted. You can help your chances of getting a response my selecting a skill level and age near you own.

Q: I accepted an invitation but the member did not show. What do I do?

A: We hope you managed to salvage the activity. Sometimes more important events unexpectedly come up. So give your buddy the benefit of the doubt. However, when you evaluate your buddy, be sure to list him or her as a no show. If it was not a one-time event and it happens again, a track record will be established, allowing others to potentially avoid this member in the future.

Q: Why is it important to complete evaluations?

A: Evaluations are used to provide third party feedback to other users. Some of us have a tendency to over estimate our abilities. Other underestimate. The evaluation system allows a third party to provide an estimate of ones ability. The dependability and overal ratings may let others find a particularly good buddy. Lastly, it is a way to alert others to a problem buddy. Completed evaluations also confirm that the event took place and earn buddup user points.

Q: When I evaluate my buddy, will he or she know what I said?

A: The evaluations are averaged and the averages will not be shown until two or more evaluations have been received. Further evaluations will be added in groups of two or more. Without knowing the exact number of evaluators, it is difficult if not impossible for a member to know what any single evaluator said.

Q: How do I change my email address or other information?

A: Go to my profile and make the appropriate changes.

Q: How do I delete my profile?

A: Go to my profile and click on the "delete profile" link on the bottom of the page. In the following box please tell us why you have chosen to leave the buddyup.com community so we can improve it for the remaining users.

Q: How do I change my user name?

A: Current members are unable to change their user name. This is because each message or invitation you send contains your current username. And other users may have your name on their buddy list. Changing the user name with outstanding messages, buddy lists, or invitations could cause confusion. Thus, the only way to change your user name is to delete your old profile and create a new one with the desired user name.

Q: Why can't I send a message or invitation that contains my email address or phone number?

A: At this moment, buddyup.com is an advertising sponsored web site. If you sign up and find a buddy and then give that buddy an alternative way to contact you, then buddyup.com will never recoup the average cost in attracting its members. It will soon cease to exist. Thus, the Terms of Service state that you can not give out alternate contact information through the web site. We would rather have you tell us how to make the existing invitation process more usefull. In fact our internal studies show that users of the internal invitation process have fewer problems and missed conections than "offline" users. Please keep buddyup.com in business and don't go "offline". You may also consider the safety and privacy issues. As avid users of the net, we would not give out our phone numbers before meeting another person.

Q: What are buddyup user points (BUPs)?

A: BUPs are a way for us to keep track of and encourage active use of buddyup. In the future we may only extend membership to users with a not yet established threshold of points. We may also reward users above a certain threshold with prizes and discounts. The buddup user points are based on the number of invitations sent, the number a user accepts, and the number of evaluation completed. No programs utilizing these points are in place yet.

Icon Key

Click here for the icon key, which matches the sports icons to the activities they represent.

skill help

Click here for Skill Help.

We want to know what you think. Buddyup is always looking to expand and suggestions are welcome. Also please inform us of any problems.