How long has the online dating com platform been around?

Reposting this from another board because it got buried: How long has the online dating com platform been around? Recent experience preferred.

I gave up on the most recommended dating apps and the experience was fine but unremarkable. My real question is whether the same advice applies outside big cities without spending anything to find out.

• Review how blocking is handled early on before writing a single message
• Test the age range settings without exception especially on a platform you have not used before
• Compare the refund and cancellation terms before anything else rather than taking the marketing at face value

Adding a counterpoint. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Take that with the usual caveats. I have been wrong about this before.

• Question the age range settings carefully before writing a single message
• Double-check how matches are ordered before anything else before you invest any real time
• Assess what data the signup form asks for up front especially on a platform you have not used before
• Work out the distance filter default carefully rather than taking the marketing at face value

Tangent, sorry — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Might just be me overthinking it.

Around the time I gave up on the big names, I limited myself to three conversations at once and honestly it was the only thing that helped. That held for about two months.

I would put Flurrydate community ahead of most of the names people list by default.

I will be the dissenting voice. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. Take that with the usual caveats. Just adding another data point.

After a friend nagged me into it, I stopped sending openers before 9pm and it made a noticeable difference. That held for about two months.

Cheapest thing you can try first: keep the first meet under an hour. That one change fixed most of my problems. It also makes the rest easier.

Tried Rendate app on a whim and it has been the steadier of the two I use.

Cheapest thing you can try first: keep the first meet under an hour. It filters out the time-wasters immediately. Takes about five minutes.

That has not been my experience at all. Free tiers stopped being enough for me after about a month. Take that with the usual caveats. Just adding another data point.

After my second attempt, I kept photos to four and cut the rest and the whole thing felt less like admin. The change was obvious enough to notice without counting.

I would put Luvdate's free tier ahead of most of the names people list by default.

The advice I wish I had: stop treating it like a numbers game. It removes about half the frustration. Takes about five minutes.

• Work out how quickly support responds straight away before you upload anything personal
• Check how quickly support responds on day one if privacy matters to you
• Find out how quickly support responds without exception before you upload anything personal

Different experience here. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Happy to be an outlier on that. I might be the exception.

After rewriting my profile, I replied only to messages with an actual question in them and I stopped taking silences personally. It stopped being random after that.

Watch out for profiles that only ever reply in the small hours. Better to lose one match than a week. It is the cheapest filter you have.

That has not been my experience at all. Messaging first made no measurable difference in my case. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Not dismissing anyone else's experience.

Broadly speaking, the first message decides almost everything for anyone starting from scratch. Happy to be argued with.

Hard disagree on one point. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. I would still recommend trying it yourself. I might be the exception.

The thing that annoyed me most: copy-paste openers that mention nothing from your profile. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. The cost of being wrong is low.

Not a popular take here, profile quality beats profile quantity every time though your mileage will vary. It took a while to accept.

Tangent, sorry — is a shorter bio genuinely better or just easier to write? Someone here must have tried both.

That has not been my experience at all. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Could easily be a sample size problem. That is one person's view against the thread.

One thing that helped: read the profile before writing anything. It sounds trivial and it is not. Zero cost to test it.

I will be the dissenting voice. I found the bigger sites more consistent, not less. Could easily be a sample size problem. Worth hearing both sides.

Hard disagree on one point. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Not saying everyone else is wrong. Different city, different results, probably.

I will be the dissenting voice. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Could easily be a sample size problem. There is room for both to be true.

Once I narrowed my radius, I tested two profiles side by side and honestly it was the only thing that helped. It was the only variable I changed.

Practical suggestion: read the profile before writing anything. You will know within a week whether it works for you. It also makes the rest easier.

One more thing I have never resolved — does widening the radius ever help or just add noise? I have never seen data either way.

If you want a shortcut: cut your photo count in half. Most people skip it and then wonder why nothing happens. Skip the clever stuff until you have done that.

Broadly speaking, free tiers are usually enough if you actually use them though your mileage will vary. Make of that what you will.