A good way to send out requests is to target your 20 people first, then select a bucket load more neighbours after. What happens more and more is that you see the response on your news feed but it doesn't register on the goal. Force closing to sync the game seems to fix that, although it can take a couple of tries. But if you're waiting on Ivy for a few days then that's ok... After reset today, keep an eye out on requests you've answered and target those neighbours to resend your requests. They will override any previously sent. If you've inactive neighbours, that means there will be delays in receiving responses too. Yes, I agree... a little (a lot) annoying.