To initiate a chat with a Buddy you must send them a Chat Request. 

You have 72 hours to chat and decide if you want to become buddies.

The Chat icon is on the right side of the page (or the bottom of your screen on mobile). When you have a message waiting, it turns orange with the number of unread messages.
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To the left of each Buddy's name is an icon that indicates what category you both belong to.

If you are not yet buddies, you have 72 hours to chat and there is a clock icon to the right of their name.

During the 72 hours you can 

Important: At the end of the 72 hours, you can no longer chat, and you need to either Accept or Decline them as a buddy.
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If you or your buddy are not online you will each receive an email notification that you have a chat message waiting. 

Important: If you un-match with a buddy, your chat with them will disappear. If you re-match with them, it will reappear.