Yes they are but I won’t reply unless their is something significant to talk about. Like when people have just said “Hi” then I have deleted the message or removed myself from the chat if it is on forums. Like please get to the point here, if you say “Hi” I have no idea what you want. And I also ignore story ones unless it R4R. I could never imagine going into someone’s DM’s just to ask them to read my story, it would feel as if I am using them for reads which that is basically what it is no offence.
For the people who want to make “friends” trust me DMing someone that will most likely not get a reply because it is awkward. You should never really ask someone to be your friend. If you really want to make friends try getting into groupchats or reply to someone’s story. I have made many friends by just replying to someone’s story since you actually have something to start talking off.