By Minnie Stephenson
Time was supposed to run out again for TerpMatch, the University of Maryland dating website, after a new version appeared for Valentine’s Day.
TerpMatch was set to close around the Feb. 14 holiday, “just in time for you to find that special someone,” the website said. But it was still up and running as late as Saturday for students with a UMD login, despite its homepage countdown reaching zero days ago.
It was supposed to be simple. Students could sign in and add the names of their crushes. If the feelings were mutual, the match would be revealed. Otherwise, only the total number of crushes should have been visible, not specific names.
But a quick test of the website revealed bugs with the program. When pairs of students input each others’ names, they did not match as the website FAQ page described. Some logged on to TerpMatch just to find their own name listed under the matches section — occasionally twice.
Students took note of the issues, not trusting the website’s promises.
Maggie Staudenmaier, a sophomore public policy and criminal justice major, was critical of the website from the beginning.
“I opened the website, and it looked dumb so I closed it,” Staudenmaier said.
The original TerpMatch arrived in December 2019 and was a hit. Over 6,000 students used it during its first run, according to the Washington Post.
That version was started by 2020 graduate Brandon Ferrell, who said he was not involved with the most recent one. Ferrell said he never expected his website to get so big.
The original was also limited. It was designed to be online for only the last two weeks of the fall 2019 semester.
“I thought 100 people would use it and that would be it,” said Ferrell, now a software engineer.
Recent UMD graduates said they could recall the original TerpMatch like it was yesterday.
December 2021 graduate Britt Farley said she remembered how quickly the first TerpMatch spread. And Farley said TerpMatch might still be fun for her now.
“I thought it was a cool idea in the first place to be just UMD and just names and stuff without having to do a whole bio and whatever that you do on Tinder,” Farley said.
Emily Williams, a fellow December 2021 graduate, recalled thinking the original TerpMatch was silly but cute. Williams said she was excited that another version was up.
“I hope that people can actually meet other people through it,” Williams said.
Ferrell said he would be happy to share his original code with anyone who wants to revamp TerpMatch. He said the new version’s creators did not reach out to him.
The administrators of the new website did not respond to interview requests from Stories Beneath the Shell.
Still, Ferrell said he still hopes the new program will find success in the future.
“I hope they fix it because it’s cool if it actually gets running,” he said.
Featured image: The timer on the new TerpMatch website has rested at zero for days, yet the “Find my Valentine” button is still active. Screenshot by Caleigh Bartash/Stories Beneath the Shell.