Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. We are doing something very similar with http://onsite.io http://onsite.io, and have encountered some of the same prob

Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. We are doing something very similar with http://onsite.io http://onsite.io, and have encountered some of the same problems. People won't update their availability for 2 reasons, they can't be bothered or they want to keep their options open. Good freelancers will often have a few offers on the table at the same time and can pick and choose between jobs. One of the ways we have attempted to deal with the problem is by building in the option for available and qualified freelancers to state an interest in a position. Hiring companies are still returned a list of matched candidates, but can further refine it by showing only those interested in the job. We are looking at also building in a simple 1 click update via email (I'm booked next week, I'm booked for 2 weeks, I'm booked this month) that will allow freelancers to update their availability without having to sign in. Unfortunately people don't like emails much either. So this will require careful testing. Agree that curation is important. Nobody is going to pay for access to a list of people of dubious quality. They would rather have 4 good results than 200 bad ones. You will get accusations of elitism, but if you are serious about building a valuable product, quality control is paramount. Cheers.