Distressing concern about your servers

[Golgamoth]

Hey there. I find it difficult to find an admin on at anytime during the day. After getting a link from axel to these forums I joined to voice something rather distressing to me.

This would be the lack of play on your tf2 servers. Now normally I could not care for the lack of play on a server that has say 3 or 4 people in it when I join. But tonight in tfp server 5 there happend to be atleats 8 people in when I joined it. Now thinking that people would want to play (and which I wanted to as its my day off and I enjoy playing on your servers for the most part. its relaxing) I find that 3 or so people do not wish to play. They wanted to sit around adn chat as far as I could tell. One of them was achievement hunting but there are servers for that.

Now there was one other player in the server who did want to play. Her name was ayla im pretty sure. Now all 3 of these users. One more vocal then the other, were throwing around insults. On the rag was just one of them as she was a female player. If you want there names I can give them to you just pm me. Now these players are always like this. They always verbally abuse others when things do not go there way.

Seeing as there was some one else wanting to play I figured cap the point people would start playing. To keep it short because I wanted to play the actual game I was verbally abused. They would pick up the intel and keep it so that no one could capture it. And the whole night turned into a them vrs 2 players type of thing. Now I tried to reason with them. server 1 had no one playing on it. I suggested that they move over there and then they could do what ever they wanted. One player of the three did. The other suggested I move to a server alone so that I could get people to play there. as the only way for some one to join a server was to have people in it. Yes and no. yes that is true. No when that server would have 1 (me. And the other would have 14 (which at the point there were)

Now normally your servers are a very nice place to play. I find that players that do these things are a hindrance to your servers and if I was new I would never have came back and dropped your community from my groups list.

So in order to sum up this long post. I feel that there are certain characters in your servers who will gladly ruin the game for others that want to play in a somewhat full server so they can sit around and chat.

I apologize if my spelling is horrendous as its late im tired. And yes I am aware that this could seem like an im bitching post. If it turns into a spam thread of everyone saying in bitching for no good reason you can see me not playing on your servers again as I don't want to be part of a community with people like that in it.

Thank you all for reading this good night.

[Jinx]

While we try to be everywhere at once, there will be times when we won't have something covered. If that's the case you can always try friending an admin or dropping by TFP chat to voice a concern since we usually lurk in there. If you just can't get a hold of somebody, take a demo of the situation and send it to an admin later and we'll be sure to take care of it. TFP should always be a place to have fun

[Ayeaka]

Firstly; there is a list of admins on the group page, and you can contact them that way.

This doesn't sound like an admin issue, though, unless someone was actually griefing. On these servers, it's not uncommon for players to screw around until there's enough players for a full game. (not server, 8x8 or so.) also, there's often an agreement to just screw around, and it's best to go with what the majority wants. Rather than trying to force people into what you want, try striking deals, ie, "melée only?" or "normal game once we have x players?"
if someone is truly griefing, however, use the group to find an admin.

And, like Jinx said, get a demo of any abuse.

[Stormcaller3801]

I'm not sure if I quite understand the entirety of the problem. From what you've said there were at least eight people on the server that you joined, but they weren't interested in playing seriously. You mention one other person on the server wanting to actually play, and you attempted to get people to change their minds by proceeding to try and play serious in the hopes that they'd go along. This apparently was not successful, and your suggestion that anyone who didn't want to play seriously should go find a different server was ignored save by one person.

While I agree with your other complaint that there were people who were being dicks (and thus violating server rules) it also sounds as if you joined a server, discovered the majority didn't want to play your way, and then attempted to force them to do so. In as much as I can appreciate your desire to play seriously, because it largely mirrors my own love of goofing around, I don't think that what you did was right. If you join a game and they're playing in a manner you don't want to take part in, you should exit the server again and find a different one. Similarly, if the majority of the people on the server want to play a certain way and agree to that, then it should be accepted or you should find another server. That doesn't preclude asking, for instance, if next game could be serious- I've seen that done and agreed to- or suggesting a different way of playing. And it doesn't mean to suggest that either goofing off or playing seriously should take precedence over the other.

The very basic idea is, we're all here to have fun, and we all have our own ideas about what that entails. And in the end, there's a two step order of precedence for who gets to make that decision. The first is the people who run the server. If the Admin loads the server with Wacky Races and Balloon Race and Mario Cart and so on, that's what you'll end up playing if you go there. But the second is the people who play. And at that level, it ends up by necessity being a democracy, with majority rule. Majority rule ultimately means that you need to compromise on one (or more) of three points:

- Where you play
- How you play
- When you play

Past that, I wish you luck in finding good games with good people in the future.

[Golgamoth]

For the admins. I have tried getting ahold of you on other occasions. You never seem to be around ever. Must just be my luck. I have tried adding a few of you to see if that would work. Either were ignored or you had to many on your f list or something. My concern is not with being able to contact an admin as this was not really all that much of an admin problem. ( with the exception of keeping the intel for no capture) I also cannot take demos as when i type in the comman to do so my coputer will freeze up and make me unable to play either tf2 or cs:s until I restart.

Now I can agree with melee only. Atleast then your actually doing something. Ive seen it before in your servers and I don't have a problem with that. What I find a problem with is that a small percentage of your community will not play the game and then go about ruining it for those that do want to on a full server. They would much rather clog a server with people that want to play. And not play even when there is a server empty in which they can happily do that in.

Storm caller, i do agree that if the admins load what every and I join it im stuck playing that. But in an arena map where there is only a few ways to go on to the next round or to get a map change. These 3 people will keep it on that map and unless an admin comes along there will be no next round. Also they had an agreement. No killing. No one was to kill with anything not even taunts. What I joined last room is on of the finest example of a chat room you can find on tf2.

But thank you for the luck hopefully it will be better tonight.

[Sekh765]

[Stormcaller3801]

Quite understood, and not meant to be implied. It's not a rule of TFP, but it's a rule of social interaction in this sort of setting (i.e., online multiplayer games). I also make a point to acknowledge people may not know the rules- and that I may not know the rules myself. I always listen when I log in to try and figure out what's going on, and I ask as well. If someone doesn't seem to know. I make sure to mention it both in text and in voice, and if they're on my team I do my best to get their attention and get the idea across that something unusual is going on that they need to pay attention to.

[Tehrasha]

I should point out that this was approx 4:am CST so its not too suprising that there wasnt an admin around, but that is only a minor detail with no real relavence. Previous to the round described, when I joined there were at most 10 people on the server, screwing around in an 'off map' zone of CTF_Well.

The map eventually changed to Arena_Lighthouse, which we all immediately RTV'd to KOTH_Lighthouse -specifically- to continue screwing around on.

While messing around, a few more people joined the server, and eventually Alya "Got bored." and decided she wanted to play for real. Golgamoth, who had joined the map late in the game agreed, and the two of them performed what could be best described as reverse-greifing. And of course, drama ensued.

Comments about people's mothers, questionable sexual preferences and orientations, threats of admin banning, etc, etc, etc.....
At that point, the majority would be damned if it was going to let the map change, and Golga and Aya were not going to find a 'real server'. (two of the other TFP servers were populated at the time) Threats had been made, egos had been bruised, and any sign of weakness would equal OMGRAGEQUIT.

Eventually Aya and Golga managed to cap the point, allowing the timer to run, and the map to change.
All in all, it ruined the mood, and the fun that the majority had been having up to that point.

I do not know what went on after, I did not stay for the next map.

[Golgamoth]

Could you possibly point out which servers. I have 1,2 3 and 5 faved and 5 had the only people on it as far as I could see. And as for the majority if you mean 3 out of 10 a majority then yes I must have ruined the majorities fun. As you said I came in after ayla decided to play fro real. I came into them insulting her, camping spawn so she could not get out of it. Fine behavior for those just "screwing around."

[Tehrasha]