There are several reliable sites.
The official policy of ECCIE is to discourage threads about "competitive sites" (unless that competition is paying ECCIE for ad space, LOL).
Forum Guideline #27.
#27 - ECCIE policy regarding the discussion of competing websites is intended to exhibit a straight-forward and simple approach. We do not disallow mention of other sites here at ECCIE, however we ask that you limit those discussions to the "Other Hobby Sites" thread located in the Member Suggestions and Feedback forum. This is the area that we have designated as being an appropriate outlet for these types of discussions. Posts of this nature made in other forums throughout the board will be merged into this location. If you find these types of posts in your local forums, please use the RTM function to report them to staff.
So, you may want to look there for your answers.
http://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=286
I will tell you that MOST of the ladies in smaller towns/areas are NOT members of the national sites. These sites tend to serve DFW/Houston/Austin/SanAntonio etc and not areas like Killeen, Temple, Waco and BCS.
Some of those large cities also have an "underground" newspaper or magazine that will have ads.
The advantage in being a member of a paid site, as mentioned above, is that your screening is easier for a lady that may be visiting town, who is also a member there.
Respectfully,
OldSarge