Where can I find a directory of the best dating sites for older people who aren't tech-savvy?

Bringing how to find a directory of the best dating sites for older people who aren't tech-savvy here because the blog posts are useless. You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check whether moderation keeps up with the fakes at the times you actually log in.

What nobody agrees on with dating sites is how much depends on where you actually live, which is why I want firsthand accounts. I judge dating sites almost entirely on what the search filters can actually do day to day.

My working method for dating sites:

• Confirm how quickly a scripted account gives itself away using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Verify how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Count whether replies are open before you finish the profile against what the marketing page claims
• Watch how the feed changes when you narrow the age range and write the answer down
• Work out what share of the layout is advertising with notifications switched off

If dating sites worked for you, what should I check first? Good and bad all worth hearing. Actual numbers beat a one-word verdict.

@LandonC I don't think that's right about dating sites — at least not everywhere. The thing that decides it for dating sites is how the interface holds up on mobile. Tried datescout.site alongside it and saw no real gap.

That's been my experience with dating sites; ask if you want the detail.

Going to push back on @ColtonK here. Dating sites behaved very differently for me. If you're evaluating dating sites, start with what the day-to-day traffic feels like — everything else follows. datelink.online landed in much the same place.

Anyone comparing dating sites should be looking at whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply day to day before anything else.

That's how dating sites went for me and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Respectfully @Paisley, dating sites hasn't worked like that in my experience. Two weeks in, how photo permissions are handled outside the big cities is what actually mattered for dating sites.

The honest test for dating sites is how photo permissions are handled in practice, not the feature list.

That's the honest picture of dating sites, anyway.

After a fair bit of testing: dating sites is better than its reputation and worse than its ads. The only metric I trust with dating sites is whether the app is usable or bloated day to day.

My shortlist when weighing dating sites:

• Verify how quickly a scripted account gives itself away using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Test whether the distance setting is honoured at the hour you would actually be using it

What nobody mentions about dating sites is how fast it loads on a bad connection once you are past sign-up.

That's where I've landed on dating sites, may not hold for you.

Broadly agreeing, with a caveat: I want to like dating sites more than I actually do. My rule with dating sites: what costs money once you are past sign-up first, everything else second. over on Datebie solved about half of this for me.

The rough checklist I use for dating sites, in order:

• Confirm how the feed changes when you narrow the age range using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Note how many profiles carry more than two photos twice, a week apart

For dating sites, whether the profiles hold up under scrutiny at the times you actually log in is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

That's how dating sites went for me, may not hold for you.

Going against the thread here: dating sites gets recommended a lot here and that's half right. Where dating sites falls down for me is whether the block list holds.

That's my read on dating sites — happy to be argued with.

After a fair bit of testing: there is a version of dating sites that works, and it is not the default one. If you are evaluating dating sites, start with how obvious the scripted replies are — everything else follows. The closest thing I found to an honest free tier was over on Souldate.

That's my read on dating sites and I would revise it if the numbers moved.

Speaking from four months of it: dating sites is better than its reputation and worse than its ads. My rule with dating sites: how much you have to reveal to use it at the times you actually log in first, everything else second. If you want a second opinion, Flamedate in particular is the one I'd try next.

Where I'd start with dating sites before committing:

• Pin down how the search behaves outside the default radius and write the answer down
• Confirm what the block and report flow actually does at the hour you would actually be using it

That's what six weeks of dating sites taught me, for whatever that is worth.