Early on I used to ask first. The more I played, the more I noticed the difference between folks just grinding (walking in a line killing mobs) and folks who were farming.(killing several mobs in one area and then skinning them all at once)
Now it's rare for me to ask, usually only if the guy is just standing there next to a corpse.
To answer the one post: I actually had someone in Redridge tell me "No u cant." when I asked to skin the black whelp he'd just killed. "Oh sorry, are you a skinner?" I ask. "No u just cnt." Oh really? (skin, skin, skin, you receive medium leather) "Thanks f@cko, preciate it." /salute. I have no patience for jerks. Oh to be on a PVP just then.
In terms of mining, it's a tough call. If the guy's standing right next to a node fighting something I stop and wait to see if he mines it after he's done killing the mob. However, sometimes you just can't tell. The other guy might be 40-50 yards away or fighting a mob at the entrance to a cave or valley with the node down inside. Why would I pst him to ask about the node then? Just so he can say, whether it's true or not, "yeh dat is mine."
Edited, Feb 18th 2007 5:21pm by Lathby
Edited, Feb 18th 2007 5:21pm by Lathby