It might just be I don't meet people who say crap like that, but thankfully the whole concept of being 'friendzoned' isn't something that anyone I know actually says... however whenever I see it appear (mostly online), and have heard it in the past, and almost always with a massive sense of entitlement like "I would have been the perfect boyfriend but then she friend-zoned me" I just recoil with disgust.
But... as it happens plenty of people I've approached, or have wanted to ask-out have made very clear gestures to make sure we are and will remain friends. It's probably happened the other way round too. The big big big difference is that for me that's a positive experience. In fact a lot of my friends are people I've been attracted to, mostly because the things I value in a partner are also the things I value in friendships. I might not have many of the friends I cherish now if it wasn't for that 'friendzone'. The venn diagram of the sort of people I'd like to date and the sort of people I like to be friends with is a very big overlap.
Is anyone else really really thankful for the friends they've found through dates that didn't work out, or crushes took a different turn?