How to respond when his compliment feels like copy-paste

A compliment with no specific detail is almost always about your photos. He hasn't looked at what you wrote, your interests, what you're looking for, or anything else. This isn't always a red flag. Some people are visual-first and slow to read. But it also means the interaction has no foundation yet. He's pinging to see if you're active and interested, not trying to know you.

Sometimes it's a numbers play. He's saying the same thing to several people and seeing who bites. You can't know which until he responds to your next move. The reply matters because it filters for whether he'll actually engage or just keep spraying generic lines.

You want to stay responsive while making it clear that you reward specificity. This means: keep it short and light so you don't seem annoyed or cold. Give a small response that doesn't pretend the compliment was deep, so there's no false validation. And leave an opening for him to say something real. You're essentially saying I'm here and I respond, but you're going to have to look closer if you want my time.

Don't ask a big question or give a detailed answer about yourself. That shifts the work onto you and teaches him that generic works fine as long as you keep the conversation alive. Instead, be brief enough that the ball stays in his court. If he cares enough, he'll dig in.

Send your brief reply and then stop. Don't follow up with a question or a second message. The next move tells you what you need to know. If he replies with something specific about you or something he actually noticed, he was just warming up and you've got a signal to engage more. If he sends another generic line or goes quiet, you know he either doesn't read cues well or he's not that interested.

Give it a few days before you assume he's not coming back. If there's still silence, move on. You're not obligated to keep a one-sided text thread alive, especially one that started with low-effort contact.