BC Etiquette

Do you mean your downhill tracks?? I understand people's desire not to have some inconsiderate and unworthy gaper that just followed the righteous and truly hardcore trailbreaker to the ultimate secret stash 'steal' first tracks. I don't really understand not wanting somebody to ski a slope after you, though. Are you preserving your tracks for later admiration? How much of a buffer should be left around your tracks?

Or do you mean skiing down over the skin track?  

I don't take issue with someone skiing after me.
Just don't ski on top of my (ski) tracks. Find your own canvas to paint.
The buffer is: not skiing on the downhill tracks, be it 3 inches or 3 feet, just don't ski on my tracks.
This isn't something I just made up, it's pretty common skier knowledge and etiquette.
You can steal my woman and drink my whiskey, just don't ski over my (downhill) tracks.

Skiing over the skin track is tolerable if you are just crossing it to make the least amount of contact, but skiing over it to ruin it is, well, pretty foolish behavior and a waste of what could be a good run and a way back. Unless it becomes so foggy that trying to find your way back you have to follow the skin track. I have had to do that before. But flat out destroying a bootpack or skintrack when it is unnecessary is just stupid BC behavior- IMO.

BC etiquette:
F-most of it.
I don't see a need to remove myself from the skin track to piss and cover it up.  I don't piss in the track but I will continue to piss along side when it suites me.  

If you are taking a lunch break atop some line and I come along... I may ski it.  It is your line once you ski it.  It is my line if I ski it.  Take your lunch at the bottom if it is important to you.   :

If someone abandons the tour for perception of danger the entire group need not always retreat in unison.  If it is reasonable, go back the way you came... you are a big boy and if you are not, how did you end up touring with me in dangerous conditions?

I set the best track that I can and not the best track that the least capeable person in the area is likely to come across.

There are probably other rules that I reject but I got distracted by people criticizing Scotsman's criticism.

I don't tour for wild snow in order to practice proper etiquette.  Keep it simple and be rational.  Be nice to others but don't expect everyone to "spoon turns" that you will be guaranteed your fair share.  
If you want some, go get you some.

Wow, I agree with all of this to the letter... maybe why I end up touring solo 70% of the time?

Re: skin track setting.  I sort of enjoy putting them in, and I usually consider in this order
1. safety- I always feel more vernerable ascending than descending because of speed. Look for the safest ascension route, sounds like a no brainer right up there with general awareness of your surroundings, but invariably I find skin tracks that unecessarily add risk.
2. efficiency- rounded turns are usually faster and working with the given terrain is more important than adherence to someone's calculated efficiency angle-sometimes straight up works better than shallow zig zags.
3. style. per Joedabaker, I don't like crossing tracks on the down, including the skin track. Is it absolutely necessary to put that track in ALL the way across the slope you are about to ski down? Set 1 up track per slope, 1 traverse track across.

Note that on the skin track, I stressed setting a track that ones party members can cope well with, and added a bit about taking pride even in what you leave for others (fully realizing that pride in workmanship is fast becoming a thing of the past)

As for the lunch break thing, that was my compromise on the "if you get to the top of my track, please move on to a new area rule" silliness.

You old buggers are always bemoaning things like "pride in workmanship becoming a thing of the past".... Bullshit on that. The younger generation are just as proud of their work as you old farts and a nicely set skin track is a thing of beauty.

If you get to the top of a skin track I have set at least move along the ridge/face/bowl a respectable distance ( not a new area) .

Totally disagree with my friend SnowBell on  leaving a partner to go home alone. When you agree to to do a tour together you agree to look after each other  like the  "esprit de cordee" exhibited in mountaineering. That is why you must be careful in choosing partners with equal aspirations, experience and risk tolerance for a serious tour. However once the pact has been made ..it should be honored.

Mofro - I agree with your three points and their order. On "style" I'd add that in some cases, you can manage to orient the track to pick up different nice views. But safety and efficiency trump such notions in many cases. There are also cases where I don't mind at all having a few traversing skin tracks across the slope we'll be skiing, when altenative uptracks would have been much less efficient.

The efficiency thing is more a matter of common sense than some calculated angle. But I'm amazed at how often I've seen people setting stupidly steep tracks - my usual crew calls it "snowshoer mentality." In spring/summers snow, the efficiency difference can often be clearly seen, e.g. on a tour such as Interglacier where we've caught-and-passed folks on the steeper portion after pacing them from well behind down lower. If you or your party members tend to get heel blisters and you've taken some care in your boot fit, maybe try a less steep track...

If you get to the top of a skin track I have set at least move along the ridge/face/bowl a respectable distance ( not a new area) .

Depends on where we are. If doing so presents equally reasonable ski options, sure. Why would I want be crowded by your party anyway, and maybe have to breath tobacco smoke or whatever? But if that pushes me into skiing an xmas tree farm, not gonna happen.

I don't know that the pride in workmanship thing is necessarily age-related, and would love to be proven wrong via the products I buy and the skin tracks I occaissionally follow (for all the discussion of crowding, I seem to end up breaking trail an awful lot, despite not being the earliest of risers).

I don't take issue with someone skiing after me.
Just don't ski on top of my (ski) tracks. Find your own canvas to paint.
The buffer is: not skiing on the downhill tracks, be it 3 inches or 3 feet, just don't ski on my tracks.
This isn't something I just made up, it's pretty common skier knowledge and etiquette.
You can steal my woman and drink my whiskey, just don't ski over my (downhill) tracks.

Sorry Joe, I have no doubt that you have more insight into "common skier knowledge and etiquette" than I, but I plainly reject the notion that it is improper to ski over someone's tracks.  (or is it just your tacks?)

If you ski before me, great for you, you can choose, unencumbered, where to lay your turns.  When it is my turn to ski, I will assume my own autonomy as to where to lay my tracks.  I am likely to find as fresh a line as I can, but if part of my chosen line is left of yours and part is right, I will spare no consideration for the preservation of your tracks.  If it is important to you that your tracks are left undisturbed until nature sees fit to erase them, perhaps you should ski last and place your turns in the isolation that they deserve.  

Castles in the sand buddy.