I have used POF for a couple of months. They built up their membership and name brand when it was truly free, and now they are milking it. Sure you can set up a profile and message people for free. But you won't see their entire profile or know if you have contacted them before unless you upgrade to a paid membership. Even badoo gives away better functionality for free. Plus the layout is a mess. POF is a very bad value, whether you use it for free or pay to upgrade your membership.