unofficial rules

"What if he thought that I was not interested because of the text that I sent?"

It's crazy that dating games are overly complicated. The unofficial rules ("If he calls or texts you the day after, he's interested in a relationship" or "Never call/text first, wait for him to call/text otherwise he's just not into you"), which I don't even know really what they are, are...oxymoron as my friend put it.  How can rules be unofficial and yet be followed by many?

I've had boyfriends in the past but I've never been in the dating game.  No one had asked me out on a date before, no one had pursued me per se, no one had complimented me in a more-than-friends manner. 

So I got to say, I'm absolutely lost.  Let's see.