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People that over-use cologne (teens with axe body spray, old ladies at the mall) are just as painful to me as gamer funk kid (the teen/pre-teen with moldy clothes).

Both should be shunned. Or simply told that they need to work on their smell.

In college (and high school) there were lots of boys that thought cologne was a replacement for showering instead of something you added after showering. Good times.

Short answer, tell the kiddos to clean up their act, and if you must wear cologne, do so sparingly.

Rorschach9 wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:

Rorschach9 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

but I always, especially when in confined space with other gamers, shower, put on a nice liberal layer of Old Spice Deodorant, and when I have it, some cologne (I'm out/finding a new scent).

So in a confined space you lather yourself in chemical scents in this day and age where outrageous numbers of people have heightened sensitivities to these things (such as myself and my wife) and, in some rare cases (case in point a very good friend of mine) such a sensitivity that it could kill them (this particular friend of mine was sent to the hospital and in intensive care for several days just because she went to the movies and someone walked past wearing a bucket-load of perfume)?

Awesome.

As much as the stench of unclean/unhygienic people may be an issue, chemical scents is just as much of an issue for many people and, frankly, just as inconsiderate.

Hey if those people can't handle clean smelling freshness, then frankly they are in the shallow end of the gene pool and aren't fit to survive. Where's a cheetah when you need one.
(Sudden image of a cheetah running down a herd of cheeto stained gamers in the savannah) Yes!

Really? It's not the clean that is a complaint .. it's chemicals.

Like I said. Darwin would sigh heavily.

Rorschach9 wrote:
As for the numbers, because it is "next to impossible" (but still possible) you have no issue with causing others undue physical distress? Good to know. Rare or not, probability, etc, is irrelevant. People do have sensitivities to chemical scents. Most often the result is a severe migrane (which is certainly worse than dealing with people who just "smell bad" in my own experience .. you can leave that behind, you cannot leave the migrane behind) rather than anything worse. Does that make it ok?

If I'm causing someone duress with my cologne they better be adult enough to tell me. If they sit in agony because they can smell my cologne and are having adverse affects by it and they don't tell me, then it becomes their fault. How can I fix something if I don't know I'm doing something wrong?

You don't use cologne because you're out? For now, sure. That is a temporary statement. It implies that, sometime in the (probably near) future you will no longer be out of cologne and will again be wearing it. I have no issue with cologne, when worn in small amounts (you really should not notice it unless you are so close to the person that you're kissing them). People don't wear it in such small amounts though. It makes leaving the house a horrible experience for many people. Numbers are irrelevant. You WILL find people with a sensitivity of varying degrees. They WILL be affected.

I've been out for 2 years, I haven't been able to find the cologne I used, and I haven't found something that I enjoy the smell of, and that works with my body's natural chemicals. When I did have it, it was 1 mist into the air that I would walk into. I would then put on my undershirt and my t-shirt/dress shirt. No one ever complained of me really swimming in my cologne. And I can see why you would think I would be getting some more in the near future, I didn't say how long I've been out though. No harm no foul. I do agree that people to wear too much should be told to tone it down, that's my main reason with Axe body spray, is that people live in that gak.

The fact of the matter is, people who wear too much of a chemical scent are just as bad as those who smell bad because of a lack of hygene, or worse. By all means, wear cologne/perfumes. Just wear them responsibly in consideration of your fellow human beings (just as you would request that those with poor hygene consider their fellow human beings). THAT is the entire point of my reply.

Would have been a fantastic point to have made in your original post instead of attacking me for being a horrible human for not considering that my deodorant or cologne is attacking someone's sensitive nose


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 kronk wrote:
People that over-use cologne (teens with axe body spray, old ladies at the mall) are just as painful to me as gamer funk kid (the teen/pre-teen with moldy clothes).

Both should be shunned. Or simply told that they need to work on their smell.

In college (and high school) there were lots of boys that thought cologne was a replacement for showering instead of something you added after showering. Good times.

Short answer, tell the kiddos to clean up their act, and if you must wear cologne, do so sparingly.

Dammit Kronk take your logic elsewhere, this is Dakka afterall!

 Alfndrate wrote:

If I'm causing someone duress with my cologne they better be adult enough to tell me. If they sit in agony because they can smell my cologne and are having adverse affects by it and they don't tell me, then it becomes their fault. How can I fix something if I don't know I'm doing something wrong?

In the majority of cases it doesn't take any time for the problems to hit. Merely walking past someone with a sensitivity can be enough to bring on issues. Are those people going to stop you ("you" as in anyone wearing too much of a scent) and say "Hey, tone down the cologne would you, you just caused me a migrane"? People just aren't like that. I personally have many times, but I'm not fool enough to think that just anyone will. Usually it's met with anger of some level, no matter how polite you are about it.

The fact of the matter is, people who wear too much of a chemical scent are just as bad as those who smell bad because of a lack of hygene, or worse. By all means, wear cologne/perfumes. Just wear them responsibly in consideration of your fellow human beings (just as you would request that those with poor hygene consider their fellow human beings). THAT is the entire point of my reply.

Would have been a fantastic point to have made in your original post instead of attacking me for being a horrible human for not considering that my deodorant or cologne is attacking someone's sensitive nose

It would have, but I was rushing and have a tendancy to not make myself perfectly clear when I'm writing on forums. I apologize if that's the impression given out. It wasn't meant to be, but rather a PSA of sorts regarding chemical scents and the way people bathe in them.

What is the percentage of the population who suffer migraine from scent vs the percentage of the population who suffer repulsion at gamers smelling of knob cheese?

Poor Spock here fell victim to the smell of a rank gamer's miasma and explains why we should all shower every day...

Rorschach9 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

If I'm causing someone duress with my cologne they better be adult enough to tell me. If they sit in agony because they can smell my cologne and are having adverse affects by it and they don't tell me, then it becomes their fault. How can I fix something if I don't know I'm doing something wrong?

In the majority of cases it doesn't take any time for the problems to hit. Merely walking past someone with a sensitivity can be enough to bring on issues. Are those people going to stop you ("you" as in anyone wearing too much of a scent) and say "Hey, tone down the cologne would you, you just caused me a migrane"? People just aren't like that. I personally have many times, but I'm not fool enough to think that just anyone will. Usually it's met with anger of some level, no matter how polite you are about it.

We are and have been talking about people in confined spaces that we game with yes? These are generally people you know far more than just someone that walks by you in a movie theatre. If people tend to wear too much, and need to tone it down, it's more of an issue with people not wanting to seem like they smell bad so they swim in the stuff instead of being just a gamer issue.

It would have, but I was rushing and have a tendancy to not make myself perfectly clear when I'm writing on forums. I apologize if that's the impression given out. It wasn't meant to be, but rather a PSA of sorts regarding chemical scents and the way people bathe in them.

All good.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
What is the percentage of the population who suffer migraine from scent vs the percentage of the population who suffer repulsion at gamers smelling of knob cheese?

Dunno, but on perfume allergies, Wackipedia says 1.7-4.1%. I'll let the article speak for itself as I'll probably mince the meaning.

cologne sets off my Mother's asthma, quite severely...
she better watch her back for that cheetah...

most cleaning products give me an instant headache...
the plastic fires people love to burn here in Mexico give me a migrane...
come at me, cheetah...

the smell of burning weed is one of my favorite smells in the world...
the cheetah agrees...

after i broke my arm and back on a 20 foot wave in Costa Rica, i put on a lot of weight...
when i was heavy, i noticed that my sweat reeked...
now that i'm back in shape, my sweat doesn't smell so tangy...
shoulda got me while i was fat, cheetah...

all joking aside, Gamer Funk is easy to remedy with a shower, and some clean clothes...
the problem is, most of the offenders don't care...
it's not like we go to the flgs to meet girls...
conventions are where all that action goes down...
maybe GenCon should put Star Wars soap on a rope in the swag bag this year (there's a Han Solo shower joke in there somewhere)...

cheers
jah

Is the real issue the stinky neckbeards, teens, etc, or is it the gaming community who collectively (both gamers and shop owners/staff) fail repeatedly to enforce and encourage mature standards of behavior and bating.

Maybe a no-stink sign is a good thing, but are we doing our part to verbaly encourage our peers toward acceptable behavior, or do we just go to forums and gripe about the smell?


On a different tack, the Cologne debate seems like a bit of a smokescreen.I've encountered alot of folks with too much cologne, but none of them were at a FLGS.
Yes, I think we can all agree that too much Cologne is a bad thing, and such a person should be discouraged from doing so. However, someone with a severe cologne allergy is likely to be so sensitive that any scent of cologne is going to set off their immune system. Are we going to ban all cologne from the FLGS. I don't think so.

I loathe the smells of the unwashed masses. I am a husky sorta guy like many gamers and can work up a smell especially after a long hot day but personal hygiene comes before games. My longtime girlfriend and mother of my 2 kids gives me a hard time when I get ready to go to the FLGS, that I am “getting ready for a hot date.” I also have a handle bar mustache and a beard. This doesn’t sound important but to have my mustache looking presentable grooming is a must on the daily.

 Eilif wrote:

Maybe a no-stink sign is a good thing, but are we doing our part to encourage our peers toward acceptable behavior, or do we just go to forums and gripe about it?

I think we should all wear a t-shirt at tournaments, game stores, and conventions with such slogans as "Wash your ass daily!" and "Put on new socks every day!" I think it might help get the word out.

 jah-joshua wrote:

the smell of burning weed is one of my favorite smells in the world...
the cheetah agrees...

I was fascinated to come to America to discover that weed does indeed smell like skunk. I don't consider it a terrible smell, just a strong one like frying onion or tarmac. The smell we're all talking about here is unchanged clothes and funk smell on a human being who has not showered or changed clothing in more than one day. It's particularly strong on men but I also met a girl the other day at our nearby store who came in for a magic game (which seems to attract a gamer of an even lower social dysfunction than our hobby) and smelled like tuna left in the sun.

Take a shower every day, use soap or something to clean, ensure you are cleaning the difficult to reach bits, put on clean clothes.

 kronk wrote:

 Eilif wrote:

Maybe a no-stink sign is a good thing, but are we doing our part to encourage our peers toward acceptable behavior, or do we just go to forums and gripe about it?

I think we should all wear a t-shirt at tournaments, game stores, and conventions with such slogans as "Wash your ass daily!" and "Put on new socks every day!" I think it might help get the word out.

A humorous suggestion to be sure, but essentially still a cop-out that lets us avoid potential confrontation.

I was thinking more about the more socially intimidating step of gamers politely drawing stinky gamers aside and letting them know they smell and -if the confront-er is a FLGS employee- letting them know that they need to fix it if they are going to frequent the FLGS.

It may be a tall order for a group of people who don't tend to be the most socially assertive, to step right into an awkward social situation, but if a person doesn't know they stink, a sign isn't going to get their attention.

 Eilif wrote:

I was thinking more about the more socially intimidating step of gamers politely drawing stinky gamers aside and letting them know they smell and -if the confront-er is a FLGS employee- letting them know that they need to fix it if they are going to frequent the FLGS.

That's the more adult approach, and one that people should be taking.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
... It's particularly strong on men but I also met a girl the other day at our nearby store who came in for a magic game (which seems to attract a gamer of an even lower social dysfunction than our hobby) and smelled like tuna left in the sun. ...

That is tragic. I always believed that more women in the hobby would help reduce the funk instances - apparently not...

Of course in rare cases people smell bad for genuinely medical reasons they just can't help (I knew of somebody stuck with the issue below and I'm sure there are others)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylaminuria

 kronk wrote:

 Eilif wrote:

I was thinking more about the more socially intimidating step of gamers politely drawing stinky gamers aside and letting them know they smell and -if the confront-er is a FLGS employee- letting them know that they need to fix it if they are going to frequent the FLGS.

That's the more adult approach, and one that people should be taking.

I would like to claim the adult approach would be taken at my FLGS, but sadly we would ridicule the kids that smell and make fun of them till they left.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:
It's particularly strong on men but I also met a girl the other day at our nearby store who came in for a magic game (which seems to attract a gamer of an even lower social dysfunction than our hobby) and smelled like tuna left in the sun.

Take a shower every day, use soap or something to clean, ensure you are cleaning the difficult to reach bits, put on clean clothes.

My FLGS relegates card gamers to the basement of his store, that way the main floor is quieter, cleaner, and smells a million times better. I walked downstairs on Friday night to put away our terrain, and it stunk like hot sweaty butt mixed with a hint of jock strap and... I think a zest of McDonalds. I opened the door to the room the terrain is stored in, and my nostrils were assaulted by the above scents AND sharp onion and garlic. Also the glares from the kids as I had interrupted w/e they were doing. I left the door to that room open so it could air out (as I had more terrain to put away), and as I walked away, they slammed the door. When I went back down, I opened the door again, and as I put terrain away, I said. "Guys, I'm sure you want your privacy for your game, but it reeks to high heavens in here, and I was trying to air it out because some of us have terrain and models we store in here. We'll give you the privacy you wish if you can give us the cleanliness we wish."

They weren't too thrilled with my words, and slammed the door again after I left the room.

There are definitely a few distinct categories of people you'll find with problems like these.

1. Smelly Kids: Either ignorance or overly permissive parents, has led them to a hygiene-deficient existence. They need deodorant, rarely bathe, and believe that faring in cramped public places is a god-given right.

2. The Sweaty Dude: The sweaty dude doesn't exactly smell, and, in fact, may be acutely aware of his hygiene. However, if the temperature is even slightly above normal, he'll be instantly drenched in sweat. It's not his fault, but short of swimming in antiperspirant there's not much that can be done.

3. The Bachelor: Moving out of his parent's house/away to college has granted The Bachelor, the ultimate freedom. With no one to remind/force him to pay attention to his hygiene, he will neglect bathing, washing his clothes, brushing his teeth, and consuming anything other than pizza, ramen and mt. dew. Eventually such people will either discover that most others dislike their newfound stench, and start bathing at least once a week, or go fully over to nurgle.

To be honest, it not just the lack of washing or the size, but probably something to do with all those Cheetos and Mountain Dew...

As many people have said, there's a huge difference between someone who smells like they've been working out and someone who....smells.

Gamers are hardly known for their amazing diets, and if you put crap into your body.....

Rainyday wrote:2. The Sweaty Dude: The sweaty dude doesn't exactly smell, and, in fact, may be acutely aware of his hygiene. However, if the temperature is even slightly above normal, he'll be instantly drenched in sweat. It's not his fault, but short of swimming in antiperspirant there's not much that can be done.

I sweat at room temperature... I've taken in the past 2 years to wearing an undershirt to mop up anything that might leak out of my body in such a fashion and carrying a paper towel or rag in my gaming back to wipe sweat from my brow.

ArbitorIan wrote:To be honest, it not just the lack of washing or the size, but probably something to do with all those Cheetos and Mountain Dew...

This, I have found that I sweat less smelling odors since changing my diet. I'm still an overweight guy (need more exercise to shed the weight), but a steady diet of fruits, leafy greens/dark green veggies, chicken, fish, and turkey have led to me not getting the meat sweats or anything else associated with bad diet.

 angel of ecstasy wrote:
I don't think it's fair that good decent people have to suffer and get harassed over other peoples OCD.

"Cleeaan. Everything must be cleeaan. Everything smells! Everything stinks! Must cleeeaaan!"

I'm with you on this. I've been playing this game for roughly 13 years up and down the East coast and I've yet to encounter this mythical beast known as the smelly gamer. Maybe I've just been extremely lucky to have dodged the legions of players with heinous, intolerable odors, though this sounds like a case of hypersensitive noses more than anything else.

* Puts down salami and cheese sandwich

Having just been to a show I can exhalt that sign to non end. ...Its a kind of ...ah... ...spicy? smell that they omit. Whatever it is its in no way warranted. It require's feth all effort to have a shower x amount of days a week or even, heaven forbid, spray deodorant on yourself.

It was so bad at that show that my friend started calling people on it. Though he'd been having to deal with it for two hours without any fresh air like I had, and said people were also typically pretty rude.

Calling them on its probably not polite, but really, its one of the basic social practices (though perhaps they're all secretly larping as Tudors). =P

 Danny Internets wrote:

I'm with you on this. I've been playing this game for roughly 13 years up and down the East coast and I've yet to encounter this mythical beast known as the smelly gamer. Maybe I've just been extremely lucky to have dodged the legions of players with heinous, intolerable odors, though this sounds like a case of hypersensitive noses more than anything else.

You've been extremely lucky.

I was at an Ard Boys tourney here at a GW in the STL area, when I noticed that the guy behind me had the worst smelling pits. It had been a long hot day and, thankfully, we were near the end. I figured I could power through it.
Every time I moved, though, he seemed to be moving with me.
It wasn't until I had my hands full with models and went to scratch my itching nose with my forearm that I realized it was MY pits.
When I showered that morning, in a hurry, I simply forgot my antiperspirant. :shocked:
Guess who stopped by the store right after leaving the store?
Ugh.

I realized in my early 20's that deodorant just wouldn't work for me. My pits will exude a funk like you wouldn't believe, no matter how clean I am, when I start sweating. I have to use antiperspirant/deodorant to keep from sweating, or the effort is useless.

Sadly, there are not enough people in the world who realize they need ANTIPERSPIRANT, instead of DEODORANT.

Eric

TMI, Eric, TMI

GW truro used to have that sign up behind the tills for years .

One of my friends showed up to the game store I used to work at and suggested to another guy and me that the owner needed to start putting bars of soap in the prize bag for Magic tournaments. A Magic player came down as soon as he left, flew into a rage and swore to beat the crap out of him if he ever said something like that again. The owner then agreed with the Magic player and said that the local cop who works out at the YMCA before gaming and the smokers all smell worse than the non-bathers. It's truly pathetic. We didn't have any gaming funk WH players, but 90% of the M:tG players smelled after an hour of sitting.

 Eilif wrote:
I've encountered alot of folks with too much cologne, but none of them were at a FLGS.

And that is our DakkaDakka Quote of the Day, ladies and gentlemen.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
One of my friends showed up to the game store I used to work at and suggested to another guy and me that the owner needed to start putting bars of soap in the prize bag for Magic tournaments. A Magic player came down as soon as he left, flew into a rage and swore to beat the crap out of him if he ever said something like that again. The owner then agreed with the Magic player and said that the local cop who works out at the YMCA before gaming and the smokers all smell worse than the non-bathers. It's truly pathetic. We didn't have any gaming funk WH players, but 90% of the M:tG players smelled after an hour of sitting.

The issue I'm seeing with what the store owner said revolves around the fact that Magic players keep the lights on and the doors open. These are people that will spend just randomly 20 bucks at the chance they get a single card. Then they do this for a few months, and when a new set drops they spend 25 to 50 bucks at pre-release, and then at least a hundred bucks on release night hoping to get the cards they need... That's more money in the store owner's pocket. And a 6x4 table can hold more MTG players than it will 40k/WHFB/WM/Malifaux/Infinity/etc... I mean assume that a player spends 50 dollars a month on tournaments and single booster packs, and then once every four months drops 150 dollars on fat packs, tournaments, and single boosters. In a single year, that 1 player will spend 900 dollars on JUST boosters, tournaments, and fat packs. I mean you can add in more money for buying singles from the store, and you're breaking a thousand dollars per magic player with ease. I know my store has at least 15 magic players that spend that kind of money in a year, and another 10 that spend maybe half that. So that's 22,500 in a year. While I have no numbers to back this up, simply my observations, the links here, here, and here suggest that I might not be too far off the mark .

So if you've got 22 grand coming into your store (not profit), and your 10 wargamers spend maybe 500 dollars each in a year at your store, then who are you going to cater to? The people that bring more money or less money into your store?

As disgusting as we may find some magic players, they help keep our stores open so we can continue to play. I realize I was deriding them a few posts ago, but I'm not a store owner, I don't have to cater to the magic players. Not saying I agree with that store owner, simply staying as to why he may have said what he said.