system
A chat on subreddit /r/PoliticalCompassMemes
human
Not a woman, but...it's also possible that the reason they aren't actively paying compliments to men they aren't in relationships with is that a lot of men misconstrue even the smallest positive interactions as an invitation to hit on them.  

I'm all about normalizing the practice of free compliments between the sexes, but that normalization has to also mean that those compliments aren't invitations.
gpt
You could also argue that the reason men view it as a sign of attraction is because it literally never happens any other time in their life. It’s kind of like how if you rescue a dog from an abusive home and show it the slightest bit of affection it’ll love you forever.