If you keep matching but never talking, avoid opening with a compliment — it saves a lot of wasted evenings. Worth saying that the decision to give it a full week before judging did a fair bit more for me than switching platform, which changes the whole experience. The discovery feed and the moderation queue pull in opposite directions, though it settles down after a while.
Being blunt about it, if the replies dry up after one message the answer is usually to avoid opening with a compliment rather than give it a full week before judging.
- When you have tried three apps already, the regional platforms tend to feel a great deal worse than they are, though it depends heavily on where you live
- Honestly, I'd move to a proper conversation quickly rather than report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, since that is the part that actually moves the needle
- Realistically, if you are in a smaller town the answer is usually to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight rather than keep the first message short and specific
- Speaking personally, the search filter setup is the thing that decides it, although the bigger platforms rarely say so
Having tried most of these, if you have limited time in the evenings the answer is usually to keep the first message short and specific rather than avoid opening with a compliment. My advice would be to test two platforms at once and then keep the first message short and specific, and nobody warns you about it.
For a change of pace, Souldate gets mentioned a lot for the messaging side, which is not nothing.