Are any of these reasons true of those who ask ”does he/she like me" questions?

They’re hoping we will provide the answer they want. It won’t change the situation but they can live in their fantasy world a bit longer.

Their friends are sick of talking about it, so they turn to the collective.

@GloPro LOL – You’re probably right.

Is it that some folks believe that Fluther is a Magic 8-Ball?

all signs point to yes

I consulted with the Star Wars Magic 8-Ball on my desk. We must “USE THE FORCE”.

I reckon they’re mostly asked by pinheads ripping the piss.

1. They are very young (<13) and they pretend to be at least 13 years old to bypass the sign-up requirement.
2. They lack of social skills (possibly because they’re too naive or as a result of some kind of disoder).
3. They already know the answer themselves and just ask as a way to get us to tell that answer for them.
4. Like @GloPro said :)

It means that Brenda’s a slut.

I think the person really wants to know, and they are not necessarily clueless. People, especially young people, get mixed messages about the opposite sex all the time. They see people in movies and on TV doing certain things and then the couple always gets together. These things can be good things, such as smiling at the other person or being nice, or they can be bad things, such as saying sarcastic comments or avoiding eye contact. But the couple always ends up together.

Situations in real life can appear to be similar to the situations they see in the movies, but the outcome is rarely the same. It’s not likely that every guy or girl that smiles at you, or treats you kindly, has a romantic interest. It’s not likely that every guy or girl that speaks to you sarcastically or avoids eye contact with you (as if they’re playing games, or playing hard to get) has a romantic interest. So these poor people (mostly younger people who haven’t gone through the ringer a time or two yet) have to ask other people, like us folks here on Fluther, that can look at the facts of the situation, without being emotionally involved.

Also, males and females, young and old alike, play games with the opposite sex. I don’t think people intentionally set out to play games and hurt people, but they hide their true feelings, so that they don’t come off as emotionally needy or desperate. Most people would be scared off if someone was too direct, especially if they were too direct, too soon. So people tone it down, play games, test the waters, before they ever let the other person know how they really feel.

Sometimes people smile at other people and treat them kindly, simply because they are nice to everyone. So it can be hard to know if that particular person might be interested, romantically.

Sometimes people make sarcastic comments and avoid eye contact, because they are mean or anti-social and don’t particularly like people. Unfortunately, some people act this way because they do in fact have a crush on the other person, but they are afraid to admit it, for fear of being rejected.

So there’s lots of stuff going on, the media doesn’t help, people don’t tend to be 100% open and honest at all times, so the poor person with the crush has to wade through all of this human behavior and try to figure it out, without getting humiliated or heart broken in the process.

Sometimes when you’re in the middle of a situation, you can’t see the facts clearly, so they come on Fluther and ask us what we think. Most of the time, I think they are hoping that we will tell them that their crush has the same feelings as they do, and it can be pretty hard hearing the news, that they probably don’t, based upon all of the other factors that they’ve told us about.

That’s why I almost always answer the relationship questions. Because I know what it is/was like to have to walk through that minefield called love.

@Kardamom Agree with all the above.
But I don’t think jellies here can give them the accurate answers because we don’t know what their crush’s like. The information they give up will not be enough.