I'm guessing you missed the smily face at the end. But even if he was dead drop serious, social reality is that "No" generally means "You're gonna need to try a

I'm guessing you missed the smily face at the end. But even if he was dead drop serious, social reality is that "No" generally means "You're gonna need to try a little harder" this days. "No, I really don't have any interest in getting to know you as you're not my type" is a total negative, but a regular "Sorry no" with a smirk or small smile, is generally females being hard to get. Besides, I really think that "A NO is not really a NO" in HN is most probably not a Julian Assange type of rethoric, but a "I'm gonna try to win the girl over unless she really tells me she's not interested, even if she said NO before while at the same time licking her lips seductively and winking over 9000 times at me...". Being very politically and socially correct this days is really an obstacle while meeting new people or trying to express your opinion. I say keep it fun but courteous, not safe and conservative.