Hi, when you want someone to follow you, click on the "Message" button that appears next to the Follow/Unfollow button. Then this message will appear: "Please write a quick introduction to yourself. Let this person know how you can help them with your native language, and how you're interested in their language and culture! Once this person follows you, you'll be able to send direct messages and chat" Click 'Send' and you will be sending a follower request NOT a message. You can then message them.

I know this is an old entry, but for those who have the same problem and are seeing an "!" sign, there's a chance you're trying to send a bigger message than you could. In this case, try to break the message down.

whats massage?on italki? on italki u can only send to people who is ur friends,u should pay attention to each oher then u can send

You can send message to your friends only. Ask italki stuff for help or check FAQ.

Italki has made some changes so there is some users who can't send messages or chat. I don't know if there is a solution, but, maybe you can complain about it in http://support.italki.com/home