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 Alfndrate wrote:
As disgusting as we may find some magic players, they help keep our stores open so we can continue to play.

Best summary of the role of MtG in the table top ecosystem that I have ever read. This thread is truly full of, how do you say, refreshing comments!

 RiTides wrote:
TMI, Eric, TMI

What? I'm just 'fessing up.
I mean, this IS the Dakka confessional and everything I say here is private and just between us.
Right?... Right?...

RIGHT?


Eric

 Rainyday wrote:
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.

Have we met?

I've been living like that for the past 9 years. However, in my defence, I did live with several strippers for a year. So I couldn't have been that bad.

No I live with a friend and his girlfriend. She showers for about an hour and 20 minutes everyday. Then she spends 2 hours getting her make-up on and combing her incredibly long hair.

If she has to work at 1pm and there is a tournement I want to go to at 11am, I have to wake up around 9 to get ready to leave the house. I go to bed at 5am (I work nights).

Usually I got to a tourney with brushed teeth and some Brute.

As much as I agree with the message of the sign, this seems like a REALLY bad message to sent to curious highstreet shoppers. Sure, most people coming in will probably already know a bit about your products, but it seems dumb to have it in the window

 DeffDred wrote:
She showers for about an hour and 20 minutes everyday

"Showers".

 DeffDred wrote:
She drenches herself in a shower for about an hour and 20 minutes everyday

Fixed

This exact sign (probably the source of the image) is at Pegasus Games in Madison, WI. Here's my take on the sign: If you think of this in terms of class and acculturation it makes sense. In Madison you have a slew of stores to go to. The Last Square ( a favorite among war gammers), Misty Mountain ( a favorite among Magic players), and Neutral Groud (Magic but might have the name wrong) are where all the very competitive players gather at. Those players are more likely to spend money to get things to make their army/deck better and to spend more money you have to have a decent paying job. I might be pigeon holing here but the only place left for less income and advancement driven players to gather is Pegasus Games. Good hygienic behavior in the professional world are almost assumed; those who are lower income (and by rights less competitive) are less likely to value good hygienic routines. As I said, not to put down Pegasus players but when you look at the theoretical data and the climate of Madison you begin to see the supportive pattern.

 MeanGreenStompa wrote:

Then again, back in the UK, in Bristol, there was a guy we called 'wheezy pete', sweatpants, old woolen sweater, long rank hair, neck beard, wrist support and baseball cap. Now that mutha stank, he'd come into the shop to stand at the narrowest point in the store, telling tall tales of cooking sausages with electrodes and how he uses great old ral partha minis so doesn't need to buy anything. His smell was utterly toxic and would linger in the store for hours after he'd finally left.

Every store has at least 1 like this. My local had a guy given the nickname "Dog gak Dave"; who's name was quite self-explanatory. I remember one of the staffers actually ask him straight up if he's been bathing in sewage.

We had another guy who smelled really bad and dressed like an old 70's/80's punk and for some reason kept putting on a John Lydon voice. Good lord that guy was as annoying as he was smelly.

Then we had one last guy whose name escapes me right now. Apparently him and his housemates managed to fill up their entire back garden with bin bags full of rubbish. So much so the council had to come clear it out due to complaints about the smell. So we can see what kind of hygiene he'd keep. I found it incredibly funny and ironic when he relocated to Bath! (Yes, really)

 MagickalMemories wrote:
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

Yeah, this is basically how I am. I learned early to use anti perspirant, and haven't since had an issue.

Though I primarly get sweaty drom drinking. I have no idea why - as soon as alcohol hits my mouth, I start sweating.

My wife refuses to go to one of our LGSs on Friday because it is magic night.

Honestly, I don't think there's really a good reason for an adult (18+) to smell like gak. But then again, I know when I've got a bit of stank going on and am self aware enough to not want to subject someone else to It. I guess I just don't get how there are folks that can't also recognize when they smell like ass.

 MagickalMemories wrote:
What? I'm just 'fessing up.
I mean, this IS the Dakka confessional and everything I say here is private and just between us.
Right?... Right?...

RIGHT?


Eric

Absolutely. Just us, and our lawyers from Brit Con Ltd. A Cease and Desist will be issued to you shortly

 Manchu wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
As disgusting as we may find some magic players, they help keep our stores open so we can continue to play.

Best summary of the role of MtG in the table top ecosystem that I have ever read. This thread is truly full of, how do you say, refreshing comments!

BAMP's, when they are scrounging for change to buy a single magic card, you know they aren't spending money on hygiene products.

At my local store, Im scared to go on card days.
The stink it is horrible.
I always treat going to a game like im going on a date, I wear nice clothes(Aka, the ones without bleach and grease stains) and my good hat.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I always treat going to a game like im going on a date, I wear nice clothes(Aka, the ones without bleach and grease stains) and my good hat.

You sound like the kind of person I'd want to play.

Maybe we need this at every store?

There's a hygine requirement in the floor ground rules that AEG uses for their CCG tournies, players that reek upon arrival can be asked to leave and not allowed to particpate. (and its been envoked more than you'd think) . On top of that our cardgame TO often brought a bottle of freebreeze with him to events and would ocassionally blast somebody with it if they were particuarly heavy on body odor. The bottle was on hand for several years at gencon.

It often prompted a "hey wtf man?" comment and he'd reply "wtf dude you stink! and if you show up smelling like this next time you won't play" (and the TO was dead serious). Rude perhaps, but no less rude than some stinky bastage showing up and reeking while seated in between a bunch of other people tring to concentrate. Some people need a reminder that hygine shouldn't be passed on and if you can't meet an acceptable like the rest of society then you shouldn't be allowed to participate.


One of my local group was ejected twice before he got the point. He would often work a 16 hour shift and then drive 4-6 hours to the event without even the forethought to bring a fresh shirt. He'd do a double shift because he refused to take any time off at work despite having a stock pile of vacation time, his work even had showers available in their lockeroom which he likewise passed on. If you can manage to plan to take a weekend off to game, and are commited to spending several hundred dollars to cover gas hotels food and tourney enterance how is it you somehow can't fit in a 5 minute window to take a hooker's bath in a washroom before the event starts? (wash in the sink) He knew he reeked but he simply didn't care, and thus I had no sympathy for when he was blasted with the bottle then ejected.

People sweat under the stress of events or the room tempature that's not controllable. However showing up before the event begins reeking like a dead cat on a sumemr day is an avoidable situation, it's called soap, water, and a fresh shirt, seriously it's not too hard. (these same smelly gamers wonder why girls avoid them like the plague, go figure)

 Frazzled wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 Sigvatr wrote:

Bonus: At a tournament, I had someone report his opponent to me because he said he couldn't continue playing with the constant smell around. Before you start laughing: it was a really hot day. His opponent was REALLY fat and seemingly had a major problem with sweating.

I'm an overweight guy, and I was for 1 week in the 6th grade, the smelly kid (I hadn't quite grasped that I was blossoming into a beautiful young woman and as such my body was changing in funny ways, hair sprouting in places it hadn't before, and that I required more showers than I had in the past). It wasn't bad, but I was truly embarrassed because I didn't notice it, my religion teacher did (catholic school kid). Since then I've had a solid record of showering. The problem is that when I get competitive, a game is on the line, or it's just really fething warm, I sweat like melon fether, and yet I don't stink, 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).

I can certainly understand how the kids 11 to 12 can smell and not realize it, but anyone older should be dragged out and hosed down like Officer Farva in Super Troopers, especially adults. A shower takes 15 minutes tops, and keeps ya smelling fresh all day, pull yourselves away from your cheetos and porn, and clean yourself off! GAH!

I agree completely.

I'll note also there is a different smell from men who have been working out (or just working). They smell like sweat. These kids smell like ass and Doritoes. There's a difference.

,
I'm 17 and ive known people like this for years . Stale sweat, and other gross stuff. They just don't wash, and for some reason they refuse to use deodorant (i think its a combination of laziness and.....i dunno).

I'm overweight and also have the same problem with sweating when shiz gets intense, but i don't stink. That only happens when you don't bathe and deodorize

( I also had a week or so when i was younger when i started smelling really bad but i picked up on it and shut it down.)

However, in my experience the Magic Players have the same ratio of smelly people as the wargamers, Just more of them in the room at the same time

 LuciusAR wrote:
The thing is that it's not kids who tend to smell this way, but grown men. We all known the type, straggly breads, greasy hair and the same stained t-shirts/combats trousers combo that they wear for 4-5 days straight. We are no talking about a slight smell either, we are talking about the sorts of smells that a normal person could only emit after a week of not washing in hot weather.

I know there is the stereotype of the anti social misfit gamer, which I generally attempt to fight, but you can’t ignore the fact that a significant minority of gamers do fit in with it.

All houses have running water and shower gel and deodorant is available in pound shops. There is no excuse to be smelly these days. It’s simply a sign of selfishness and lack of self respect.

Thats been my experience. Its more the old fatbeards that are the ones reeking of sour milk and cigarette smoke.

Here's the deal bout sweat, though: very rarely does fresh sweat really "stink." If you haven't showered before sweating, whatever is sticking around on your body or in your pores is what comes wafting out. All that ass-stank you haven't washed out for a while? The sweat exasperates it.

This is why rugby scrums often smell like bar bathrooms.

And honestly, a de-stinking shower really isn't hard. You hit the trifecta (ass, balls, armpits) and you're typically good to go.

 DeffDred wrote:

 Rainyday wrote:
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.

Have we met?

I've been living like that for the past 9 years. However, in my defence, I did live with several strippers for a year. So I couldn't have been that bad.

I'm not sure that's an incredibly high hurdle to clear, given the clientele they deal with on a daily basis...

I can't do anything about anybody else but I am OCD about not stinking. I shower every day and twice when I go to game night. I use bar soap becuase I don't feel clean after using liquid soap i just feel slimy. Wash your hair and brush your teeth. Most important don't put back on stinky clothes.

 paulson games wrote:
There's a hygine requirement in the floor ground rules that AEG uses for their CCG tournies, players that reek upon arrival can be asked to leave and not allowed to particpate. (and its been envoked more than you'd think) . On top of that our cardgame TO often brought a bottle of freebreeze with him to events and would ocassionally blast somebody with it if they were particuarly heavy on body odor. The bottle was on hand for several years at gencon.

This is a really good policy. It may seem a bit harsh at first, but I bet the learning curve is really short, you don't get many re-offenders.

While the real stankers need to go, a quick blast of fabreeze freshens up the slightly-stinky, gives him a reminder for next time and makes life better for everyone else.

Try living on a tank for a month or two at a time when you and the other three crew members are spending between 22-23 hours a day on and in the tank. You learn that brushing teeth, taking a whore's bath and using antiperspirant are critical tasks. By the end of the field problem/gunnery/deployment your uniforms can stand on their own, your socks have developed personalities (and not good ones) and your funk bothers even yourself. One guy has feet that smell like burnt BBQ Corn Nutz, one guy spills his spit bottle of dip juice into the turret subfloor by accident, MRE flatulence has coated the inside of the turret in a greasy layer, and the grime from hydraulic fluid, JP4, mud, dust, gun powder takes weeks to scrub out of your hands.

If a stinky gamer once in a while is all you have to deal with, you are blessed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Frazzled wrote:


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 Savannah) Yes!

Can't help with a cheetah, but I can sic my Bull Terrier on them if they are in the Savannah area.

 Danny Internets wrote:

 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.

You've been extremely lucky.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Manchu wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:
As disgusting as we may find some magic players, they help keep our stores open so we can continue to play.

Best summary of the role of MtG in the table top ecosystem that I have ever read. This thread is truly full of, how do you say, refreshing comments!

So, you're saying they're like the slime molds, worms and such that break down organic material so that the plants can grow that the animals eat....the circle of gaming life.

 CptJake wrote:
Try living on a tank for a month or two at a time when you and the other three crew members are spending between 22-23 hours a day on and in the tank. You learn that brushing teeth, taking a whore's bath and using antiperspirant are critical tasks. By the end of the field problem/gunnery/deployment your uniforms can stand on their own, your socks have developed personalities (and not good ones) and your funk bothers even yourself. One guy has feet that smell like burnt BBQ Corn Nutz, one guy spills his spit bottle of dip juice into the turret subfloor by accident, MRE flatulence has coated the inside of the turret in a greasy layer, and the grime from hydraulic fluid, JP4, mud, dust, gun powder takes weeks to scrub out of your hands.

If a stinky gamer once in a while is all you have to deal with, you are blessed.

*Sigh* I hate that argument "You have never been in war or lived in barracks, so you cant complain"
Its like saying "Dude, you have never been shot, you shouldnt complain about having that knife in your foot"
You go to a place where you cannot take regular baths, so that is expected.
If im going to a Wargame tournament, or card game, Im not going to assume the guy im playing just came from a warzone in iraq to the game, He probably came from home or work where he can shower.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Try living on a tank for a month or two at a time when you and the other three crew members are spending between 22-23 hours a day on and in the tank. You learn that brushing teeth, taking a whore's bath and using antiperspirant are critical tasks. By the end of the field problem/gunnery/deployment your uniforms can stand on their own, your socks have developed personalities (and not good ones) and your funk bothers even yourself. One guy has feet that smell like burnt BBQ Corn Nutz, one guy spills his spit bottle of dip juice into the turret subfloor by accident, MRE flatulence has coated the inside of the turret in a greasy layer, and the grime from hydraulic fluid, JP4, mud, dust, gun powder takes weeks to scrub out of your hands.

If a stinky gamer once in a while is all you have to deal with, you are blessed.

*Sigh* I hate that argument "You have never been in war or lived in barracks, so you cant complain"
Its like saying "Dude, you have never been shot, you shouldnt complain about having that knife in your foot"
You go to a place where you cannot take regular baths, so that is expected.
If im going to a Wargame tournament, or card game, Im not going to assume the guy im playing just came from a warzone in iraq to the game, He probably came from home or work where he can shower.

*sigh* I never said you can't complain, I tried to show that there are similar if not worse smell offences out there and it is not unique to gaming. *sigh*

Saldiven wrote:
So, you're saying they're like the slime molds, worms and such that break down organic material so that the plants can grow that the animals eat....the circle of gaming life.

Pretty much, yes. They are an integral if disgusting part of our ecosystem.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 CptJake wrote:
If a stinky gamer once in a while is all you have to deal with, you are blessed.

I don't know why anyone should consider themselves blessed for needing to put up with a lack of hygiene when said lack is totally unreasonable.

 Alfndrate 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.

Man, damned if I do, damned if I don't.

1) Outrageous numbers is not a fact, it is as they say in the OT, an appeal to emotion. If you were to say, "95 million people in this country have sensitivities to fragrance products" then you might have a better leg to stand on, and even then... 2) Notice how you said rare cases. If we were to consider Fragrance Sensitivity a "rare" condition we would have to determine what constitutes a rare condition in the United States and the easiest would be to see what the FDA considers a rare disease, which is something that affects less than 200,000 people in the United States. So that means that out of the 316 million people that live in our country, the chances of my deodorant causing someone to go to the hospital is like you said... next to impossible.

While I have heard of people having issues with body sprays, perfumes, aftershaves and colognes, I have NEVER heard of anyone having a sensitivity to a deodorant they weren't wearing. I have a feeling you're finding more issue with my usage of cologne than my usage of deodorant, something I said I don't use because I'm out.

Just remember...moderation. We have a guy at work who drowns himself in cologne. Apparently he smokes a lot, and tries to use it to cover the cigarette smell. When he walks past my station I can smell him for several minutes afterwords. Sometimes the initial blast is so strong I have to hold my breath until it fades a bit. Dont be that guy.

That is genius. Praise be to 9gag for bringing us this glorious...thing.

 CptJake wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 CptJake wrote:
Try living on a tank for a month or two at a time when you and the other three crew members are spending between 22-23 hours a day on and in the tank. You learn that brushing teeth, taking a whore's bath and using antiperspirant are critical tasks. By the end of the field problem/gunnery/deployment your uniforms can stand on their own, your socks have developed personalities (and not good ones) and your funk bothers even yourself. One guy has feet that smell like burnt BBQ Corn Nutz, one guy spills his spit bottle of dip juice into the turret subfloor by accident, MRE flatulence has coated the inside of the turret in a greasy layer, and the grime from hydraulic fluid, JP4, mud, dust, gun powder takes weeks to scrub out of your hands.

If a stinky gamer once in a while is all you have to deal with, you are blessed.

*Sigh* I hate that argument "You have never been in war or lived in barracks, so you cant complain"
Its like saying "Dude, you have never been shot, you shouldnt complain about having that knife in your foot"
You go to a place where you cannot take regular baths, so that is expected.
If im going to a Wargame tournament, or card game, Im not going to assume the guy im playing just came from a warzone in iraq to the game, He probably came from home or work where he can shower.

*sigh* I never said you can't complain, I tried to show that there are similar if not worse smell offences out there and it is not unique to gaming. *sigh*

Well, they're different situations. You're on deployment, in an active zone, and only able to do the barest necessities for hygiene. These are people in the comfort of their own home, with access at all times of the day to a shower and laundry, and yet feel it's a good idea to simply not bathe or wash their clothes before going to a social gathering.

One is barest hygiene by necessity, the other is no hygiene by choice.