Bagpuss
Legend
#1. Do not ask where they are from if they are born in the US or Europe. This is annoying. They go to cons, they go to game stores and people ask them where they are from. They say they are American or born in the UK, and then they are asked..yes...but where are you really from...or...but where is your family from. This implies they are still foreign and NOT really American or European. This happens all the time among gamers. This is not polite. They are just as (insert whatever nation you are in) as anyone else born in that nation.
Gamers that ARE from Asia don't mind being asked this question, as long as it is respectful. However, they do not like being confused or called as being from a place they are not (eg. a Korean individual being called Japanese or vice versa...etc, or Japanese being called Chinese...etc).
Well this puts you in an impossible situation.
You can't tell where someone is from by looking, but if you ask an Asian looking person from US/Europe they take offence, however if you fail to ask someone from Asia and incorrectly guess the region in Asia they are from they take offence, so it would be better to ask, but then you offend someone if they turn out to be from US/Europe.
Can we just agree if you ask someone where they are from it isn't offence, but if you then say "No, where are you really/originally from?" it is.