A Question of Ethics - Just how bad is it to be a tease? To put it another way, is it wrong to flirt just for the fun of it (i.e. with no intentions of romance)? Let's take the following purely hypothetical situation:

Say you are out at a bar and see an attractive [person] noticing you. You're already involved in a serious relationship, so clearly nothing can come of it, but you flirt back, possibly even striking up a conversation. Things go fairly well, but there's never any overt discussion of where they are heading (or really even the possibility of them heading anywhere). Then it comes time for each of you to go your own way and - bam - the other [person] asks if you'd like [his/her] number. Feeling it would be rude to just say "No," you accept and, without warning, even get a little kiss (no tongue) by way of goodbye. (Of course you never call.)

Some would say this encounter is fraught with ethical impropriety. The other guy or girl clearly has made some assumptions about what just happened that aren't accurate, and he or she probably has some hopes that will not pan out. According to this theory, even though you never lied about your situation or intentions, by not supplying the obvious disclaimers, you perpetrated a sin of omission, which is no less than one of commission.

I can see the merits of that argument, but I'd like to propose the opposite. There needs to be space in this world for guilt-free flirting. Under my rules, flirters would be blameless, while any party leaping to unfounded assumptions about others' intentions would be in the wrong. There'd have to be a limit, of course -- you can't go around giving out your own phone number or making date plans. And you have to answer all questions truthfully. But within those boundaries, people would be allowed to just have some harmless fun. Something to ponder.