Hello. So, it turns out as I look back upon my life over the past year that I've spent perhaps an inordinate amount of time playing Hightower in TF2. I started on NY2 early on when the game randomly selected it and then eventually moved to NY1 when it shut down and then to Hightower+. I will occasionally play on some other skial servers like 2fort, but most of my time is spent on Hightower+ now.
In all this time, I've developed an impression of what is okay and what's not, which generally consisted of pretty much anything is okay, but people will probably vote yes for gagging players that mic spam. Conga lines occasionally spontaneously form and die out. Players might attempt to form a giant stack in the canyon and get mad when I shoot the guy at the bottom. All in all, people seem to have fun.
I believe I've seen an admin on the server maybe once before (I usually play weekday evenings, eastern). Last night, two admins came on the server and completely shattered my worldview. They started banning everyone for friendlying, and when a protest formed, they banned even more people who were regulars and play there every night (most of the time normally, occasionally friendly).
I actually assumed that they were trolling us. Why would you ban someone for being friendly? I didn't even know the word 'friendlying' had been invented, much less that it was technically against the rules. By the way, this is not at all obvious to me from the rules, though I have read several threads here explaining that it is included in the 'help advance the team' rule.
So, here I am. My world is shattered. The place I thought I knew is not what it was. Or is it? Is it immoral to spend 10 minutes doing a Conga every once in a while? Or for one guy out of 32 to run around the whole match as a friendly hoovy? We often end up in an extended stalemate, so it hardly seems to be unbalancing the teams. Are these admins justified in their actions?
Friends, please shed light on this issue. Let me understand the truth -- have I chosen a false home? Am I now a hatless transient searching for a new home, unsure whether any place will accept me? Or is the home I thought I once had still my home. Will it accept me? Will it accept the other peoples who's names I know so well lend comfort to me in the dark of the night as they scroll across my screen -- I having repeatedly killed them. Or that I can never kill and at whom I scream, enraged to the point of quitting?
In all this time, I've developed an impression of what is okay and what's not, which generally consisted of pretty much anything is okay, but people will probably vote yes for gagging players that mic spam. Conga lines occasionally spontaneously form and die out. Players might attempt to form a giant stack in the canyon and get mad when I shoot the guy at the bottom. All in all, people seem to have fun.
I believe I've seen an admin on the server maybe once before (I usually play weekday evenings, eastern). Last night, two admins came on the server and completely shattered my worldview. They started banning everyone for friendlying, and when a protest formed, they banned even more people who were regulars and play there every night (most of the time normally, occasionally friendly).
I actually assumed that they were trolling us. Why would you ban someone for being friendly? I didn't even know the word 'friendlying' had been invented, much less that it was technically against the rules. By the way, this is not at all obvious to me from the rules, though I have read several threads here explaining that it is included in the 'help advance the team' rule.
So, here I am. My world is shattered. The place I thought I knew is not what it was. Or is it? Is it immoral to spend 10 minutes doing a Conga every once in a while? Or for one guy out of 32 to run around the whole match as a friendly hoovy? We often end up in an extended stalemate, so it hardly seems to be unbalancing the teams. Are these admins justified in their actions?
Friends, please shed light on this issue. Let me understand the truth -- have I chosen a false home? Am I now a hatless transient searching for a new home, unsure whether any place will accept me? Or is the home I thought I once had still my home. Will it accept me? Will it accept the other peoples who's names I know so well lend comfort to me in the dark of the night as they scroll across my screen -- I having repeatedly killed them. Or that I can never kill and at whom I scream, enraged to the point of quitting?