re: #136 SixDegrees

You know, maybe I’ve led a particularly sheltered life, but I’ve never been aware of any gay foot tapping bathroom code before the Craig incident. At least, no one’s ever tapped their feet in any restroom I’ve ever been in. Maybe I should be offended?

Believe it or not, there is an extremely influential sociological work from 1970 called The Tearoom Trade. “tearoom” is Brit slang for bathroom.

It’s all about the practice of gay men having anonymous sex in public bathrooms— in the US. ‘tearoom’ was gay slang for the practice in the US; in the UK it’s called ‘cottaging’.

The book itself has caused major controversy for ethical reasons. The author admitted years later that he was gay (but then closeted), which is obviously why he was interested in the topic at all.
Check the link. Really interesting.
Anyway— there clearly is a whole subculture that is invisible to straight men. The gay men presumably know not to hit on you — or you’ve seen subtle signals and not recognised the code, so they didn’t pursue it.