>>56
A smile and a nod can mean anything. They don't necessarily have to be connected to a romantic context. People usually tell me I look extremely gloomy so when I see people smile at me or try to start a conversation, I assume they're trying to cheer me up or something, not necessarily anything else. Or even if that weren't the case, maybe they're just being friendly. In any case, it's hardly means romance. And if you do end up misinterpreting things, then you're setting yourself up for a massive humiliation. In the case of someone just talking to you, well you understand the person was just being a deceitful asshole and you're done with it. You're still humiliated but not to the extent that you'd want to quit this dating game both out of disgust and humiliation entirely since signals are so ambiguous.

But even then, when the sole basis of this communication is based on signals, I wonder how anyone can put up with it. It's entirely antithetical to any normal means of communication. I don't like beating around the bush or hinting at things, I want actual direct communication. Some of the signals you've mentioned I've noticed are utilized rarely by people. Instead you have people fooling around and what we're dealing with then isn't real communication, it's a game involving people beating around the bush. For any relationship to be reduced to that is an affront. And even then if you don't notice these signals, no matter how direct they are, or play along, then there's essentially no relationship. If the foundation of a relationship is established upon such shaky grounds, then the whole premise of romance seems farcical.