You're absolutely right. This is one of the biggest UX challenges we're tackling. The reality: A US-Australia conversation could realistically be 4-6 back-and-forths over 48 hours if you're both responding once per waking cycle. That's why we allow mutual extensions. If the conversation is clearly going somewhere but you just need more time due to timezone lag, both people can extend it. What we're seeing so far:

Users in major timezone offsets (12+ hours) tend to extend more often Async messaging actually works better than expected. People write longer, more thoughtful messages instead of rapid-fire texts The 48-hour timer creates a bit of urgency even across timezones ("I should reply before bed so they wake up to it")

We're also experimenting with:

Giving users a "timezone buffer" notification if their match is 8+ hours offset Allowing one free extension per connection (currently testing this)

You've hit on something real though. Do you think a dynamic timer based on timezone offset would feel more fair? Like 72 hours for 12+ hour gaps? Curious about your take.