Tradition 1: He does the asking

For: When dating roles were more clearly defined, everyone knew where they stood. If a man liked you, he'd ask you out. Simple.

Against: Stop press: men are human! If he's scared of rejection, he won't ask you out. Men are also notoriously bad at reading body language signals, so they may not know if you're interested.

Verdict: Go back further than the fifties and you'll find that women (well, their families) always did the asking anyway. Tradition itself can't make up its mind. If you're keen and he seems keen, ask him out.