Girl here. Thought I offer my perspective to the mix here.

I posted awhile back and ultimately found a fwb.

I got an unexpectedly overwhelming number of message (maybe like 30+) to my post ranging from the good to the bad to the ugly. From those messages I replied to the ~10 messages and ignored the other ~20 that were downright creepy or showed minimal effort. After a few days of messaging ~ 7 of them either fizzled out either due to a diminishing interest or some incompatible characteristic that came up (age difference, appearance, personality, etc.).

So I ended up meeting 3 people in person for dates. All of the dates started off a bit awkward at first but I ended up having a good time by the end. Two of them didn't work out due to lack of mutual attraction on both sides, and one of them turned into a fwb even though I initially thought I didn't want anything physical without a serious relationship. Well things turned out differently lol and I ultimately agreed to do a short term fwb situation with him, no strings attached whatsoever. Even though it was kinda fun at the time it didn't last long because of personal circumstances and a lack of a deeper connection.

Overall I think I personally prefer dating apps and chance encounters because its easier to see if there's mutual attraction and find compatible dates. But I still think this is worth giving a try because you can meet people you wouldn't otherwise encounter and make some memorable experiences along the way.