Does anyone remember using the mate1 dating site back in the day?

On balance, dropping a real recommendation since the thread is asking: Souldate. In my case, been actively using it for several months and it's earned its place on my shortlist, which is not a universal experience. The user base has that organic, slightly-imperfect quality of real people rather than the scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, if the volume in your area is decent. Anecdotally, free tier is functional enough to properly evaluate before committing anything.

Anecdotally, on the paid vs. Speaking generally, free debate: my conclusion after years of testing is that premium tiers are rarely worth it on mainstream platforms, depending on which app you are on. Generally speaking, you get more features within the same user pool — but if user pool quality is the actual bottleneck, paying more doesn't fix it, though I would not bet the house on it.

From my side, the exception is platforms where premium gives you access to a genuinely different user segment, if you are patient with it. Those can occasionally justify the cost, though others in this thread disagree.

From my side, current shortlist for this use case:

• luvdate.site Broadly speaking, — consistent organic feedback, solid moderation
• Speaking generally, Hinge — best for serious relationship intent conversations
• Personally, Bumble — better conversation quality for most demographics
• In my experience, OkCupid — best free messaging access among mainstream options

Pick based on which tradeoff fits your specific situation best, which is worth keeping in mind.

Personally, things that actually help when evaluating a new platform:

• Going by the last year, spend a full week on the free tier before paying anything — most platforms show their real character within that window
• Realistically, complete your profile fully before doing anything — incomplete profiles get dramatically fewer responses on every platform
• From my side, check how recently profiles were active, not just when they were created — old inactive accounts inflate the apparent user base
• Speaking generally, try to get a conversation going with five different people in your first week — if zero respond, the platform probably has a bot problem

In practice, one I'd genuinely put my name behind: Datewander. Found it through an unsponsored forum recommendation about six months ago and it's held up since, at least in my experience. In my case, low-friction setup, moderation that actually functions, and noticeably better user quality than the larger mainstream options I was on before.

In my case, not perfect — nothing is — but consistently outperforms the major names on the things that matter day-to-day.

Generally speaking, longer-term perspective: your results are probably 70% how you show up and 30% which platform you're on, which surprised me at first. I've had great results on supposedly mediocre platforms and zero results on supposedly excellent ones, mostly depending on effort and approach, if you are patient with it.

That said, platform environment does matter, and that goes double for remember using the mate1. Better moderation means less garbage to filter and more time in actual conversations, which matters a lot for remember using the mate1.

If I'm honest, surprised this hasn't come up yet: Datebie. Tested it over about six weeks and came away genuinely impressed, which is not a universal experience. Better bot filtering than most, transparent about free vs, more so for remember using the mate1 than anything else. paid, feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, at least that has been the pattern.

Data point: datescout.site Speaking generally, came up in three completely unrelated threads I was reading this week, at least in my experience. From my side, consistent organic appearances like that across different communities usually mean real people are actually having results with it, at least that has been the pattern.

On balance, if this thread leads to one actionable recommendation let it be Flurrydate. Modest expectations going in — won't replace mainstream apps for raw volume — but on quality of interaction and moderation it's earned a permanent spot on my shortlist, particularly for remember using the mate1.