Across a couple of different accounts the chat-first sites have tightened up the reporting flow, so treat the reviews with caution. For what it's worth, the distance radius is the thing that decides it, while the ones people keep recommending rarely say so.
From the threads I've read, the ones with a paywall have started throttling messages, and nobody warns you about it.
- Going by my own attempts, the photo review is the thing that decides it, even if sites that skip verification rarely say so
- When you are after something serious, the newer sites tend to feel somewhat worse than they are, and it shows in the reply rate
- Despite the fact that the bigger platforms look similar, the photo review differs noticeably, though it settles down after a while
- From the threads I've read, if you are new to this the answer is usually to read the last few pages of a thread before asking rather than move to a proper conversation quickly
- Worth saying that the decision to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages did a great deal more for me than switching platform, which changes the whole experience
Broadly speaking, I'd skip anything asking for a card number to read messages rather than avoid opening with a compliment, since it filters out the time wasters fast.
Since the start of the year the forum-style sites have started throttling messages, and nobody warns you about it.
Coming at it from another angle, Datenest's verification setup works noticeably better for the local side of things, which is not nothing.