The moderation queue changed a great deal after giving it a proper go, though it settles down after a while. The read receipt setting changed noticeably over roughly forty conversations, but only if you stick with it.
Across a couple of different accounts the older established sites have got noticeably worse for bots, but it is not the disaster people claim.
- I stuck with the older established sites in the last stretch of trying, and the honest result was that the matching algorithm mattered massively most
- The block list changed hardly at all after giving it a proper go, though it depends heavily on where you live
- The awkward truth is that the age check matters slightly more than the profile prompt, though it settles down after a while
- The profile prompt changed a fair bit having stuck with it a while, but it is not the disaster people claim
My advice would be to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages and then keep your expectations low for the first fortnight, but it is not the disaster people claim. Despite the fact that the ones people keep recommending look similar, the search filter setup differs a fair bit, and nobody warns you about it.
When you are new to this, the bigger platforms tend to feel considerably worse than they are, which most people notice within a week.
On the same subject, Flamedate's messaging setup suits the local side of things, at least in my case.