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.
I've tried a few different things already with mixed results. Some were complete time wasters, others were okay but nothing really clicked.
Would really appreciate any honest takes from people who've actually tried different options.