Agree or disagree?

[Norb]

agree

[Adamm]

Asking for someones ethnicity is one of the first thing I ask when I get to know a person, lol.

[Seya]

disagree but it depends on the context. if you ask someone in your own country who speaks your own language, then it sounds weird...it's like you telling him he doesn't belong there. but if it's a multicultural enviroment/country then it's different. i think it's weird not to ask.

[frankhammer]

Disagree. However, I only ask if it is relevant to the conversation, or I am interested in the person. It seems to be considered racist to ask such a question here today.

[Root]

in our society we usually ask some strangers about their tribal identity, it's normal and it really matters.. when you know he or she belongs to your own tribe, it makes you feel more closer to this person and think you're kinda one family, only abroad we just ask each other if he/she is from the same country and has the same ethnic background, and then you may ask anything else like his/her tribal identity, town/village etc

[Korialstrasz]

Not really an issue, as long as it is driven by mere curiosity. It's a natural thing to ask.
It's an issue if the person asking this to invoke and corroborate their own prejudices.

I always ask back with "What's your guess?". Depending on the answer, I can take a peek into person's motivations.

I rarely ask about it because one's origins are mostly evident by their own combination of phenotype and accent. The question usually leads to stereotypical discussion which is no good for getting to know the person and I don't like talking about my country, mostly.

[kundur]

This question points to a cultural difference between the West and countries like Turkey. In the West, ethnicity has been constituent part of the identity of people since the dawn of times and you see it in various forms. Like the Habsburg realm being divided, with Germanic regions which were part of the HRE and while the eastern parts (Hungary + Slavs around) were not, back when that empire existed.

However, in countries such as Turkey, asking ethnicity might be offensive to people, especially if the person in question is not ethnically Turkish. That triggers an insecurity. Even Balkan Turks are insecure since they might be called ''Bulgar'' by their nasty Anatolian counterparts or even worse ''Jew'' if coming from Salonica region.
It is perceived as being sinful or not being part of the group for some reasons in a society where people were identifying as being the slaves of Allah and the Sultan. That is due to cultural orientalism in those countries.
Talking about ethnicity and claiming a different identity than that of the majority are mere part of human rights and dignity.

[щрбл]

Mostly disagree.
If it's a one night hookup in a bar, then I don't know, I suppose it depends on the person.
Some people get offended. If you want to score with a chick, pretend to be a hippy and that you love everyone for what they are. It works 99% of the time. : )

Otherwise, you probably are already aware of the family background of the person your wish to "date", at least a little bit.
For example, I know the ethnic background, origin, place of birth and a little bit about the family history of all of my friends and many of my colleagues.
These things come up pretty fast in normal conversations..