If you hear nothing, how are you supposed to know whether they
got the message
got it but haven't read it yet
got it, read it, but haven't responded yet
got it, read it, and aren't interested but are too much of a weasel to respond (ew)
got it, read it, and are interested but are playing a game to see how bad you want it and how long it takes you to message again (double ew)
already picked someone else
etc.

Yes please for the love of Mike say something...

I respond to every woman who contacts me. 100% of them live far from me and I have a standard response that is, "Thank you for contacting me but nothing can possibly happen with anyone so far away. I wish you well and success in finding what you are searching for here and in your life." Any further contact from them I just ignore.

I prefer a yes.
Any reply is better than none. The whole goal is to make a connection. At least then I know it was read.

i think a polite no thanks is appropriate, if the "hello" was polite. just like returning a wave or nod. acknowledgement is better than dismissal?

I would prefer a simple "sorry I'm not interested" over no reply. No reply is kinda a kick in the self worth.

I'm pro ere on the side of communicating. Although I suppose it doesn't matter either way but I'd think more highly of the person who communicates clearly.

No thanks please. No reply is so cold.

As long as the person isn't harassing I see no reason to be rude.
A simple no thanks isn't tough.

acknowledgement is good as long as it is polite. On other sites I've politely explained I'm not looking for long distance or whatever reason (usually distance) and I've gotten push back. This makes me think they could be a scammer, and that if they aren't listening to me now they aren't going to listen in the future, so I block them.

A polite no is polite. Ignoring a message is arrogance.

I would like a no thank you just so I know they saw it

I have no issues getting a "no thank you" or " we aren't s match."

I think it's better to do that then block them if you think they can't accept a no. I try to tell people no. It's good practice for me as I try to break my social conditioning. A lot appreciate it.

Yes, please outline. I would like to know what I am doing incorrectly or if I have offended anyone.

Thought it was well known... proven psych experiments...

people prefer being told Something negative rather than nothing.

I don't think anyone likes being left out in the dark . . . ?

If someone responds with a "thanks but no thanks" and it upsets you, you have a problem, potential stalker. I think if you are on a dating site and open to meeting people, you should respond. If I contacted a lady and she responded favourably but I later found her habit was to ignore and delete, well, that is a black mark in my books.

Well, if one was to contact another, I’m assuming to instigate sex/relationship, and it was not of mutual interest, it may be good to signal that or they may continue the action.

Any kind of reply. Even a "fuck off" is better than nothing.

I think that is nicer the polite "no thank you" but it's their prerogative at the end. I won't give a lot of importance to that. Not everybody behaves the same.

Hmmm, seeing so many male replies wishing to have an outright "not interested". I've had msgs from people who clearly didn't read my profile, had nothing to comment about it in particular and don't read cues-so much so rewrote profile when in a mood. Also have had conversations drift off from the other side and take that as a not interested. So seeing all the responses to not reading cues is a little disappointing.

There is also the fact that the msging system isn't foolproof and have found things buried, no notification, so to that I understand the frustration.
With the exception of only one off the top of my head, usually say Hi back at least.
I kind of assume if someone reads my comments they might go running screaming the other direction. LOL

I figure they will respond if they want to. If they visit my profile and do not respond, they didn’t like me.

The way I view it: no one owes me a response, therefore I don’t owe anyone else a response. Does it sting not getting responded to? Sure. But I primarily do online dating (being a queer trans man, it’s kind of expected in the non-cishet community that we’re familiar with online dating) so I’m used to getting no response.

I used to say a polite no thank you, but eventually got sick of being called horrible things or being begged to at least try. I quit online dating largely because of it. I get that there are people who will accept a no thanks like a man, but for each who can or will, there are many who will react very, very badly. We SHOULD be able to be both honest AND polite with each other.

Nobody owes me a response. How they respond, or not, is entirely up to them.

I wouldn't think much of it of they didn't reply. I would just take it as a clear sign that they're not interested. I think women have to be a lot more cautious about who they respond to than men do. So I would completely understand if they don't respond.