"Well, he's hitched, so there's no hope for me" is pretty much the mindset among the less bold to encounter.

I kinda figured that's what you meant, but I got off on a tangent in my reply. In my own case, it's sort of the opposite for me--if somebody is only going to talk to me if there is 'hope' of hooking up, I'm not so sure it's that much of a loss to me of they won't. But that's just me--we're obviously coming to SL with different perspectives in terms of what we're seeking and there's nothing wrong with either way of looking at it.