Okay. There is a privilege of being a friend - that is you can be yourself, you SHOULD be yourself. Do you know that? If you don't wanna do something, if you wanna say something - you ought to voice it. If you want (to do) something, or if you feel strongly about a decision - you ought to shout out. Gah, I really loathe it when people drag and waste my time.
Stop being ambiguous, people! If you can't do dinner, just say you can't. It's OK. If you can't go or don't wanna make the effort for a trip, just say you can't. It's OK. If you don't want to cycle, just say you don't want to. It's OK. No one is gonna kill you for speaking the truth. I can eat by myself, I can go for a trip by myself too no problems, I can cycle by myself too. It's not gonna kill anybody or make me depress or anything! The only reason why I mustered the extra effort and time to plan something or even ASK you is because it might be fun to involve you. What's not fun is when you go along with it, only to decide later to change your mind later on. You exchange your relief for my disappointment, that's NOT OK with me.
Look, if you're not sure, say you're not sure. Tell me when you can get back with an answer, or I might give you a 'deadline' to reply. If something isn't important and your unsureness isn't gonna hurt anybody or any planning, go ahead and do your unsure thing. Who cares. I'm happy if you turn up, I might forget if you don't. But it's a different matter if I needed to know a clearer decision to ease planning. If you want to join in, you gotta commit and let's work together to sort it out. I will make it happen, you gotta show me you want to and will do things to make it happen as well.
So now you know if people didn't actively respond, they probably aren't keen on something. You actually know that, but you try hard and ask extra couple times because you're being nice, you wanna be a friend, you make excuses for them. The answer 'no' is OK. What is NOT ok with me (and pisses me off, at times really stretching my patience) is the wishy-washy-ness of it all. Please, friendships are not commitment-free!
