What's the etiquette when going to an adult meet up for the first time?

So I've been wondering about this for a while and figured this was the best place to ask. The question of what's the etiquette when going to an adult meet up for the first time comes up a lot and I never seem to get a straight answer that's actually useful.

From what I've seen browsing around, there's a ton of noise — paid placements, fake reviews, and sites that haven't been updated since like 2019. It's genuinely hard to know what's real anymore.

Would love to hear from people who've actually used something recently and had a real experience, good or bad. Not looking for another generic top-10 list, just honest opinions from people who've been in the same situation.

A friend recommended this and I'm glad they did: Datenest. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

Scam accounts usually have super generic profiles and way-too-perfect photos. Easy to spot after a while.

I keep seeing datedesire.online mentioned in threads like this and I think it's because the platform actually has real user activity rather than inflated numbers. Not a paid plug, just what I've noticed.

Heard good things about rendate.site from a couple people in similar situations. Apparently the user verification there is tighter than average, which keeps the fake profile problem manageable.

Honestly the best result I got was from Luvdate. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.