Sparks
Pilke runs on sparks. They build up from a calendar kept up to date and from the dates you go on, and 5 sparks send a date invitation.
Your sparks are at the top of the Dates page. This page covers where they come from, where they go and when they come back to you.
Where sparks come from and where they go
| What happens | Sparks |
|---|---|
| You confirm your phone number when you sign up | +5, once |
| You keep 10 hours of free time marked for a week | +1 |
| You go on a date and say how it went | +2, when you send the feedback |
| You send a date invitation | −5, when you press Find candidates |
| Your invitation is declined | +5 back |
| Your invitation lapses because nobody answered within 24 hours | +5 back |
| The person you invited calls off your agreed date | +5 back |
| No suitable candidates can be found | Your sparks stay put |
| You withdraw your invitation before it is answered | No refund |
| You invite none of the candidates you found | No refund |
| You call off an agreed date | No refund |
A refund gives you back the 5 sparks the invitation took.
The sparks for a date come with your feedback. Each of you gets your own once you have answered.
Sparks from your calendar
Your calendar earns sparks for how long free time stays marked. 10 hours for a week bring one spark, and so do 40 hours for a little under two days. Sparks arrive one at a time as they build up.
- Times still to come count, and only the part of them within the next 14 days. An hour stops earning when it begins.
- At most 40 hours count at once, so your calendar earns at most 4 sparks a week.
- A time you mark and remove straight away earns nothing.
Examples
| In your calendar | Sparks |
|---|---|
| Saturday 18–22 (4 hours), marked a week before | about 0.4 |
| The same Saturday, marked 20 days before: it starts earning once Saturday is 14 days away | about 0.8 |
| About 10 hours a week, always marked two weeks ahead | about 2 a week |
| At least 40 hours within the next 14 days, all the time | 4 a week |
The cap
You can hold up to 15 sparks at a time, enough for 3 invitations. Once you have 15, new sparks wait. They arrive as soon as you send an invitation and make room, so a full count is worth sending on its way.
For example: you have 15 sparks, and your calendar earns 2 more in a week. Those 2 wait. When you send an invitation, 5 sparks go and the 2 that were waiting arrive. The sparks for feedback arrive only when they all fit at once.
Refunds arrive whatever your count, so you can sometimes have more than 15.
When sparks are spent
You see your sparks 1 before you send an invitation. 5 of them go as soon as you press Find candidates 2. Then you find 3 candidates and choose who the invitation goes to.
If 3 suitable candidates cannot be found, your sparks stay put. If you find candidates and invite none of them, the sparks do not come back. Your candidates wait for you for 24 hours: see Who you are shown.