League_Girl wrote:
Overly nice is something that manipulators use to gain your trust because they want something. It could be sex or money or anything. The red flag is if they do not take no for an answer.
I agree that this is important. I've never met people who were creepily nice, but a couple where I felt I couldn't turn down what felt like too much help without getting rude, where they were causing themselves trouble, or where I'd owe them for how much they gave.
Sometimes people pop up out of nowhere, though, and I wonder why they'd choose me of all people at that time to be nice to... and those usually do turn out to be legitimately creepy if I go along with it. If I see no reason why someone might stop and be nice to me I worry they've got something in mind and are going to surprise me with it later.
I've also seen it be a cultural thing. Some people around here come from countries where it's normal to be open and sociable with strangers in places like a college campus (those not in your class) or public spaces, and where that's an accepted way to get to know new people.