How big is the bbw world community online?

Reposting this from another board because it got buried: How big is the bbw world community online? Real experiences only, please.

I nearly paid for three different plus-size dating apps and I would rather not repeat the mistake. What I actually want to know is whether the newer options are any better than the established ones before committing any real time to it.

The advice I wish I had: cut your photo count in half. That one change fixed most of my problems. It works better than it sounds.

• Note whether profiles are verified first in the first day or two
• Confirm whether messaging is capped without exception before you upload anything personal
• Question whether messaging is capped every time before you invest any real time
• Look at how many photos are required straight away before you invest any real time

I will be the dissenting voice. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Happy to be an outlier on that. That is one person's view against the thread.

Careful with copy-paste openers that mention nothing from your profile. Report it rather than just ignoring it. The cost of being wrong is low.

Switched over to Flamedate after getting nowhere on the big names.

In my experience, how you handle a stalled conversation matters more than how you start one if you are looking for something specific. I hold that loosely.

If nothing else, do this: read the profile before writing anything. Everything else is secondary to that. The effect shows up fast.

Keep an eye on profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. Once you notice it you cannot unsee it. Move on and do not look back.

Going to push back slightly. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Take that with the usual caveats. I have been wrong about this before.

Worth a look at luvdate.site if your area is thin on the usual platforms.

If nothing else, do this: read the profile before writing anything. You will know within a week whether it works for you. No downside I have found.

• Read up on how blocking is handled especially on a platform you have not used before
• Verify how blocking is handled straight away if you plan to use it long-term
• Confirm how many photos are required without exception if privacy matters to you
• Find out how reporting actually works before anything else in the first day or two

If I am being blunt, being specific is worth more than being interesting once you have been at it a few weeks. That is the short version.

Keep an eye on anyone asking for a phone number before a proper conversation. Blocking early costs you nothing. Most people ignore it once and regret it.

The one that surprised me was Datescout app — smaller, but the profiles were current.

If you want a shortcut: keep the first meet under an hour. It stops the whole thing feeling like a chore. No downside I have found.

• Confirm how many photos are required properly while the account is still new
• Double-check whether messaging is capped carefully rather than taking the marketing at face value
• Test whether profiles are verified properly if you plan to use it long-term
• Verify how many photos are required every time while the account is still new

Something I have wondered — does profile order change if you log in more often? Would change how I use it if so.

Not sure I agree with the thread so far. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Could easily be a sample size problem. There is room for both to be true.

Speaking only for myself, consistency beats any single clever trick which is why the generic advice keeps failing. Ask again in six months and I may say something else.

• Verify the last-active timestamp up front if privacy matters to you
• Review how quickly support responds up front before writing a single message
• Look at how blocking is handled without exception if you plan to use it long-term
• Check how blocking is handled before anything else in the first day or two

Low-risk approach: cut your photo count in half. You will know within a week whether it works for you. Zero cost to test it.

Keep an eye on anything that wants payment before you can read a reply. I stopped giving second chances on that one. Nobody has ever thanked me for being patient there.

Genuine question though — is it different if you are over forty? Genuinely do not know the answer.

Practical suggestion: stop treating it like a numbers game. Most people skip it and then wonder why nothing happens. No downside I have found.

Two months in, I limited myself to three conversations at once and the conversations got shorter but better. Repeated it twice to be sure.

Related, and I am curious — does this hold up outside big cities? No agenda, just curious.