Basic question about live chess

Hello,

I'm still rather new to Chess.com and have some basic questions aboutlive chess:

1) how do you select which color you get...white, black?  Or do you have no choice.

The option to choose your colour was recently removed. Now it's automatic - trying to keep it balanced. You can still choose the colour when you play against a friend.

2) What is the time limit for live chess games?  Where is the time shown (I have only attempted one live game and my opponent aborted the game within 10 seconds.  I was black and was thinking about what move to make.  I don't think 10 seconds is too long even though it's my first move...there are lots of choices.  I was looking at the board and not browsing for a clock anywhere.)

DON'T click on Start New Game! Instead, click on NEW GAME, and specify the time details (initial time, bonus time) you want.

3) how does scoring work in an aborted game...or is this as if the game never happened?

Immediately aborted games don't count.

4) how do you choose opponents with a similiar rating...for example, I'm basically a beginner, so how do I select players who are a little better or close to my skill level?

DON'T click on Start New Game! Instead, click on NEW GAME, and specify the rating limits you want.

5) how quickly are moves generally made?  I realize these games do not take days to complete, but, on average, how much time to players take before moving?

At around 1 minute per move, the game might last approx 45 minutes.

Finally, I hope these questions are not answered somewhere else in this forum.  If they are...I couldn"t find them.

Thanks