One woman told me that approaching on the subway makes women uncomfortable and it's not cool.

My assumption was that if you're hot, well-dressed, and cool/smooth/non-awkward then it's not creepy, but she seemed to be claiming that it's always creepy.

This is what she said when I asked if it would be "weird" to talk to a woman on the subway:

To someone like me? Good God yes. I used to take public transportation a lot and being hit on by complete strangers was the absolute worst/scariest part. Here's what would run through my head when a guy would start hitting on me: I don't know you. I don't know what you want from me. Are you gonna be one of those weirdos that gropes me or follows me home? What if he gets off at my stop? Do I have my pepper spray on me?

I have had many cordial, casual conversations with men on public transportation but I'd never give out any personal information to someone I meet there. If anything, just use public transport as conversation practice. Please keep in mind that contact in public with men who are strangers can be very, very scary for us. Some women will probably just ignore you or shut the conversation down. Respect that they don't want to talk to you and don't take it personally. I think it's better to try and meet women in places where they are more likely to feel safe interacting with people they don't know. Social events/gatherings, or places for special interest groups. Think about stuff you're interested in and join groups/clubs based on those interests. Or, if you're looking for something more casual, just go out to bars.

I'm a musician so a lot of people I date I meet through music events/gatherings held by fellow musicians.

Somebody told me that you need to cold-approach a lot in order to get smooth, but somebody else told me that it's batshit insane to approach before you're smooth. So the implication is that cold-approaching is not the way to get smooth, and you need to develop smoothness some other way, and only then can you start cold approaching without creeping women out:

Jesus. If you cold approach women in your current mindset you're going to end up in the back of a squad car, or lying in an alley with a knife wound in your abdomen....[W]hen a man is awkward and cold-approaches, women are going to get so skeeved out they're going to call the cops or attack him with deadly weapons in "self-defense".

So my questions are:

1: Where are the "no go" places where it's fundamentally creepy/awkward to approach women?

2: Is the subway an example?

3: What are other examples of "no go" places?

4: What are the good places to approach?

5: What do you guys make of this idea that cold-approaching is not a good way to develop smoothness because you might be pepper-sprayed or something? Was that user being serious or sarcastic?