NEW YORK » The thump of loud music coming from headphones. A whack by an overstuffed backpack. The messy, pungent burrito.

Given the chance, subway riders will rattle off extensive complaints about acts committed by fellow passengers that inspire their indignation.

After the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a new subway etiquette campaign, The New York Times asked readers what behaviors irritated them the most. More than 700 responses arrived by email, in comments on the Times website, and via Facebook and Twitter.

Grievances include smells that offend, sounds that grate and personal grooming not appropriate for a public space. Riders seethed over frequent culprits: the door hog, the pole hugger, the litterbug.

Many riders agreed with the authority’s decision to take on manspreading, the v-shaped, wide sitting posture that can take up more than one seat. Others argued that women are also guilty of spreading out with shopping bags or purses and take up extra room by crossing their legs.

Some think food should be banned on the subway altogether. They had visceral memories of unpleasant odors on the train: Mexican fast food, garlic breath, Chinese takeout.

"I actually witnessed a man put on rubber gloves, open a can of sardines and eat it on the train," Yana Ivanov wrote in an email. "It was nasty."

Even dairy products offend.

"Generally, eating anything requiring utensils on the subway is gross, but spooning yogurt is the worst," Meghan Best said. "It is like a germ sponge traveling from carton to mouth."

Others lamented riders who turn the car into a nail salon. Erica Herd once saw a man clipping his fingernails on the No. 7 train. "His fingernails were flying all over the car like missiles," she said. "Other passengers, including myself, were simultaneously ducking and laughing."

Sam from Brooklyn wrote: "Last night on my commute home, a young woman actually whipped out nail polish remover and started taking off her nail polish. The fumes were overwhelming. Who does that?"

Other grooming that riders said should be banned: nose-picking, applying makeup, plucking facial hair, flossing teeth and swiping on deodorant.

Many of these behaviors will be addressed in the new etiquette posters that will be displayed on trains next month. Transit officials have said that being courteous to other riders has become more important as the subway sets records for ridership, with more than 6 million people using the system on several recent days.

The posters will ask riders to remove their backpacks and to step aside so they do not block the doors. Many riders welcome attention for these often-cited space-related incursions.

Tom Predhome’s top concern is backpacks. "Please wear your backpack in front of you, where you can be aware, at the very least, when you slam your fellow travelers in the kidneys," he advised.

A reader named Simma identified another scourge: "Worse than manspreading and guaranteed to raise blood pressure and turn even the most zen of riders into possessed beings is the Door Hog. You know the ones – they stand by the doors, regardless of whether the next stop is theirs or not, making it virtually impossible for anyone to get on or off the train."

Stanley Brown had a suggestion for keeping these riders out of the doorway: "Paint the area immediately around the door white. Have a rule that says you have to step out of the area when the train is in the station."

Then there are the riders who lean on poles, preventing others from holding on; those who do not offer seats to elderly or pregnant riders; and those who take bicycles on crowded trains. Others criticized sleepy head-bobbers who fall onto other passengers and those who leave trash, causing the mystery spills that expand in dribbles across the floor.

Several complaints were logged against people who take selfies on the train. Sharmila Mukherjee objected to riders who take these photos with "preposterous smiles on their faces." Women are often the culprits, she said. "They fancy they are girls in pearl earrings and the smartphone camera is Vermeer himself," she wrote, referring to the Dutch artist who painted the famous "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Mary Christine Andrews voiced the concerns of those who would prefer a quieter ride. "I loathe the droning beat of somebody’s tasteless choice of music assaulting me without end," she said. "Children playing loud video games is also an annoyance, along with people who are right next to each other and are yelling at the top of their lungs like we should be so interested in their conversation."

Dena Hirsch took issue with eye contact. "Creepy starers," she said, were her top complaint. "Just because we are stationary and sharing this space, doesn’t make uninterrupted, intense staring OK"

Several readers bemoaned such grousing during the holidays and defended the subway system and the colorful characters who use it.

"This is New York City – a vibrant place of personality, weirdos and in-your-face shtick," Neil in Brooklyn wrote. "Someone is spreading their legs, go over and ask them, ‘Do you mind?’ and pop in the seat next to them, giving them the old Brooklyn elbow if they get too close."

© 2014 The New York Times Company