Decided to just come out and ask since the search results aren't giving me much.
The free tiers on most of what I've tried are basically useless — you get just enough to see real people are there, then hit a wall the moment you try to message anyone.
The main problem I keep running into is not knowing who to trust or where to start. There's a ton of conflicting advice out there and half of it feels like it's from people who want to sell you something.
If you've got experience with any platforms or approaches that work, drop them below.