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[BlackBronze]

I often look forward to any trading civilization showing up in my doorstep, especially since I live in a tree-less biome and cavern-trees take AGES to grow. Since elves generally bring about 20-30 wood logs with them each spring, I usually award them with some small golden trinket. Over time, I've developed a mutual trust with them.
 "That'll do, Elf. That'll do."

[Button]

Seriously though, I suspect it started because new players so often run afoul of their ethics.

There's no blurb in game that says, "don't trade wood, animal products, or clear glass to elves!" In the days before the wiki, I have no doubt that this caused some wtfs. You make the elves what looks like a pretty good offer, and they throw it back at you, refuse to trade, and likely declare war.

[ZM5]

Oh! And in DF elves are the only race that actively eats their kills.  Upon pillaging a town THE ELVES WILL EAT THE BODIES OF THE DEAD CIVILIANS.  They will also have horrific executions like burying people alive and feeding children to animals.

This pretty much. Even the Dwarf-roleplaying aside, elves genuinely are massive a-holes, and they're terribly and unjustifiably arrogant to boot - the only thing they have over other races is that they breed like cockroaches and don't die of old age.
Humans are bros, and goblins, while they can be genuinely dangerous to a fort, atleast keep their prisoners alive (and successfully integrate those who they kidnap into their society without any prejudice) and from what I've noticed don't go for genuinely monstrous executions - I think I've seen them behead people in worldgen at most, but that's a far better fate than being fed alive to animals. They abuse bodies of their victims too, but atleast that happens after they're dead. Take that in - even goblins, who are led by demons and in fanon are kind of like the DF version of Ork Boyz, are more humane than elves.

I think in a fanart thread I saw a drawing of an elf wearing a full set of wood armor and weaponry and a wooden mask - someone commented that looking at an elf and goblin, if not for their skin and hair colours as well as goblins using metal instead of wood, you'd be hard-pressed to find a difference. Even in their behavior they're not too different - elves are still worse though.

[Niddhoger]

Seriously though, I suspect it started because new players so often run afoul of their ethics.

There's no blurb in game that says, "don't trade wood, animal products, or clear glass to elves!" In the days before the wiki, I have no doubt that this caused some wtfs. You make the elves what looks like a pretty good offer, and they throw it back at you, refuse to trade, and likely declare war.

They are actually fine with animal products.  Its in their ethics, sure, but I constantly trade them bone knick-knacks, knock-off bone xbows, skull totems decorated with horn and hoof, etc.  I never actually trade them leather (too precious!), but I doubt they'd refuse it if they take cow bones.

[Button]

Seriously though, I suspect it started because new players so often run afoul of their ethics.

There's no blurb in game that says, "don't trade wood, animal products, or clear glass to elves!" In the days before the wiki, I have no doubt that this caused some wtfs. You make the elves what looks like a pretty good offer, and they throw it back at you, refuse to trade, and likely declare war.

They are actually fine with animal products.  Its in their ethics, sure, but I constantly trade them bone knick-knacks, knock-off bone xbows, skull totems decorated with horn and hoof, etc.  I never actually trade them leather (too precious!), but I doubt they'd refuse it if they take cow bones.

I know they are now, but back in the early days they didn't use to be. So you'd be much more likely to run afoul of elven ethics at the time.

[Dyret]

Seriously though, I suspect it started because new players so often run afoul of their ethics.

It's especially annoying on difficult embarks were they decide to leave you to starve because you accidentally offered them a wooden cup or something. Them being an infinite source of cloth, fruit and giant animals more than makes up for it most of the time, though.

[Deus Asmoth]

I remember the first fortress I had that survived their first winter. The farms were actually working, I'd sealed off the caves when I found them, we had a water source and even some iron ore. The second migrant wave had brought our numbers up to twenty, but everyone had a bedroom. The only thing I hadn't done was check whether the mountain homes were fighting off an infestation of Fair Folk. So, we get to spring, I'm expecting some traders. Instead the ambush announcement comes, my hastily drafted and poorly armed militia is overwhelmed and the survivors of the initial assault spend months hiding before eventually being found and killed or just starving to death. So yeah, curse all friends of nature.

Though as a funny-ish fact, when I first started playing I thought that when players complained about nobles and their stupid requests they meant the elves, since the more traditional versions of them were called the Lords and Ladies or the Gentry rather than naming them outright. Then I got a baron :/