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For me, I mean.

Haha it might come to it, we'll see ;-)

Personally I have several permanent marks upon my body (scars) and have never had th desire to get a tattoo.
Question though, I have read several articles that say it is a faux pas to compliment people’s body art, (mostly women). If you spend so much time, money, and endure so much pain for these works of art. Why do you not want to talk about them? Pure curiousity. :)

Thanks for the comment! I agree, I also have some scars that I feel tell my story as much as anything I'd choose :)
Re: your question, the tl;dr I'd say it's a function of how obvious the work, the placement and your relationship to the person. But I encourage friends here with their own work to speak up!
If someone has a really cool character from pop culture on their bicep, chances are they want the world to see and recognize it and it's fine to comment on. One of my friends has a very pretty bit of scrollwork on her collarbone where it can be seen in almost everything she wears, and it wouldn't be weird to compliment the delicacy of the linework. However, it's just sort of a given that a man complimenting a woman is going to put her on her guard. The world is sad that way, and it's a matter of whether you think you can give the compliment without making it feel creepy.
Then there are things that aren't obvious, or aren't just decorative, and may not be in places obviously made for people to comment on. You likely wouldn't comment on a woman's chest, for example, so if her tattoo is only visible in a bikini, even if you're on the beach, it'd be uncomfortable to mention it if you aren't very good friends. Similarly, if it's not something immediately recognizable, it might have a more personal meaning and it's hard to have that conversation with strangers. Lots of people get ink to commemorate lost loved ones, for example, and even if it's always visible, bringing it up might be a bit painful. I see this a lot, too, with the semi-colon project. It's tough to talk about suicide all the time, even if you never want to forget how strong you were to survive.
But of course if you're very close or it's someone who talks often about their body art or their personal lives, it wouldn't be as invasive to ask.

I can give you my take on this. I am a woman and I have 36 tattoos. Most of them are visible if I wear shorts and a tank top. I am TOTALLY fine with people commenting on them. It actually really makes my day. I mean hey, they were expensive and they all depict something I love! (That's why I get permanent representations after all.) So if another person likes them, I really am happy to hear about it.
I will say that none of my visible tattoos are anywhere near my chest or above my knees. I imagine if a woman had something near her cleavage or close to any private areas that peek out from her clothes, that may be an awkward piece to comment on. It may also depend on the tone that the comment is given in. A lot of women are unfortunately very used to unwanted sexual attention. So saying something like "Hey, that rose tattoo is super hot" may not be the best way to make the comment. But I can't imagine something like "That rose tattoo is really lovely" or "I really love the color on your rose tattoo" being an issue. As long as you're not leering while you say it.
I have a lot of friends with tattoos, and I've never heard any of them mention that they don't like to talk about their pieces. I talk tattoos with people all the time.
I'll also comment on another person's tattoo if I feel like it makes sense in the situation. If it's a scenario where walking up and talking to someone wouldn't be totally awkward.
I will say, there is one type of individual I would rather not talk tattoos with. That is the person who compliments my tattoo just as an excuse to make me pay attention to theirs. If you're happy about your piece, that's great. I'd love to talk to you about it. But be genuine. Also, twice in the span of a week, I had two strange men basically take their shirts off in public to show me their back pieces. It was awkward. (The check out guy at Walmart was totally confused when the man he was ringing up started stripping.)
Don't know if that helps. But that's my experience as a woman with many tattoos.

Sorry you had that happen, but it's made for a good story, at least!
Thanks for sharing <3
Particularly literary tattoos.