How Does Yahoo Personals Work?
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Create Profile
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When a user signs up for Yahoo! Personals, he is asked to complete a profile, listing relevant information such as interests, hobbies, education and employment. The new user must also answer a series of questions specifically designed to probe the user's psyche, identifying key interests and traits that may be desirable (or undesirable) in the eyes of other users. The new user is also asked to identify whether he is interested in the opposite or the same gender, as either match can be made through the Yahoo! Personals system.
Matched Against Other Users
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When the user completes his profile, including all applicable and required information, the Yahoo! Personals system uses a proprietary matchmaking script to automatically generate a list of other users with similar or compatible interests. While the matchmaking script is specific to Yahoo! Personals and is neither public nor customizable, the user can select certain characteristics that receive preference. Such preferences may include age ranges, hair or eye colors, heights, distance from the user or even religion. The proprietary matching system can modify the matchmaking process based on the user's preferences and the user can update his preferences at any time.
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Payment Prompt
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In most cases, the new user is allowed to browse his matches without paying for a Yahoo! Personals subscription. He may make adjustments to his preferences and even flirt with potential matches by sending them "winks" (nondescript expressions of interest that do not allow personal information that may bypass subscription policies). If, however, the user wants to communicate more openly with a potential match, or even set up a date, the Yahoo! system requires completion of a payment form and approval of credit card payment.
Automated Matches
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After the user creates and submits his profile, the proprietary Yahoo! Personals system will make periodic matchmaking updates and send these new potential matches to the user. If the user has subscribed to and paid for the service, the periodic emails will contain an option to contact any interesting potential matches. If the user elected not to pay for a subscription, each periodic email will remind the user of his unpaid status and provide a link for making payment.
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