As expected, the current system (flagging non-registered players with a
? icon next to their name) as opposed to the old system (disallowing, to some extent, players who were not running CD) has resulted in an influx of new players, since it is straight-forward to simply join and play on the server. More players means both more desirable players as well as more undesirable ones and I think it's the responsibility of
everyone- admins, temp admins, supporting members, veteran players, and just plain regular players- alike to adjust themselves and/or be more vigilant as a result.
What does this mean? Well:
- Help new players: If someone is obviously lost or does not know what he/she is doing, help them out. Tell them about the minimap and tell them to ask questions. Give them tips on what to do with their res or where to go or who to follow, etc. Having patience and guiding these players may not win you the current round but may eventually result in a new, intelligent, and useful member of the TG/TGNS community.
- Warn first-time offenders: If someone is being abusive and/or breaking the rules of the server, warn them about it the first time.
- Kick or ban repeat offenders: If they continue to be abusive, belligerent, and/or break rules of the server, have no qualms about kicking them. Recall that all supporting members and veteran members with more than 10,000 points have access to the gb command, which allows you to kick any player who has not registered on the forums (i.e.: they have a ? next to their name). Removing players who are unwilling, uninterested, or too brain-dead to follow the rules that establish the TG/TGNS playstyle improves the atmosphere for those who do.
If you have no power to do anything about abusive players, report the person to an admin. Empty threats against rule-breakers don't help.
- Learn to differentiate the good from the bad: As people who believe in the TG/TGNS playstyle, we have to have be able to differentiate those who can adapt to our preferred style of play and those who cannot. Those who cannot should be immediately removed if they cannot or are clearly unwilling to play in our environment. Those who can should be nurtured and taught how to improve. Just as it is to easy to lose one's temper at all the new players (without distinguishing), it is just as easy not to administrate and not to kick players who should have been kicked.
As usual this posts reflects my personal opinion, but I don't think I've said anything out of line here. I'm just asking that we be both more discerning and more tolerant regarding new players since there are a lot more of them these days.
Oh, and here are some related links:
