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You'd probably see a lot more antistacking in PUGs if that was introduced (not that I'm serioulsy suggesting it is).

Are you crazy? That would make ACE double in size to some other squads. /mrgreen.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="mrgreen.gif" />
As an example, last ACE vs XT game. 10 XT - two people under 15 rank vs 10 ACE , only two over 15 rank. But yeah, I can see it already, those damned ACE top player stealers. /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> Ah spidey, I am glad your sense of humor is finally back. /mrgreen.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="mrgreen.gif" />

Anyway, someone said it best. Players choose teams, so you are knocking on wrong doors here. Unfortunately, people will stack squads as they stack teams, so there's no surprise at some of the choices there. But don't worry, all squads puff up then run out of steam sooner or later. It happened to many squads from the past and the present and IMO it's quite normal.

I am not saying the problem does not exist (you are not...that...crazy), but what you mentioned could only be fixed over time by the influx of new players. However, since every once in a while, people who get the idea to actively promote Allegiance, get shot down by the usual "it's not the right time!" folks, I don't see it happening yet. Of course, "the right time", has been comming for like 5 or 6 years now. Not to mention how concerned are some of them about "quality of the game if a huge newbie influx happens" (god forbids!) and all that while they are stacking the living @#(! out of pickup games. Anyhow, the smaller influx of new players the smaller (and longer) will be the change in squad strenghts.

Speaking of the newbie influx, I've been collecting data from the leaderboard for a few weeks now and we're getting about 10 brand new players sign up each day on average. Wish is a lot really, about half our regular player community each month. Though the newbie retention must be low.

I'm currently working on a new leaderboard just for a bit of fun which I'll have up in probably a few weeks. Should have a few interesting stats based over time and we can see just how many newbies are retained.

Anyway sry spidey, back on topic....

Raveen wrote:QUOTE (Raveen @ Jun 26 2008, 03:36 AM) But now you guys have clawed your way back up to being a top squad and therefore should be on the receiving end of the player drift. So it's not a completely static situation.

Well in the last couple of weeks we have had a very large surge in people interested in joining us. I know a key reason we reject many of them is not because they are unskilled but if everyone joins us from other squads we end up with about 3 good squad games and the rest will be mediocre. I guess we enjoy tough squad games with amazing teamwork win or lose (I will never forget the 3 hour squad game we lost against @ACE - amazingly fun) and we just hope that eventually all squads will be relatively equal

ACE has done the same thing too. Right now, we're sitting 6-8 people for most SGs. No fun watching all chat for 70 minutes.

I agree, we seriously need to do our best to keep the squad skill levels as even as possible. I hate hearing people talk trash about my squad just because it's doing somewhat poorly at the moment. It's that kind of trash talk that makes me want to be unsquadded sometimes . I'm sure those stereotypes (true or not) make players stay away from the lesser squads. I joined SF simply because at that time I flew with some outstanding SF pilots, and they would actually recruit me.

If I'm going to be considered a bad player, I want it to be because I am a bad player, not because my squad is in a losing rut.

Snack wrote:QUOTE (Snack @ Jun 26 2008, 11:14 AM) Are you crazy? That would make ACE double in size to some other squads. /mrgreen.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="mrgreen.gif" />
As an example, last ACE vs XT game. 10 XT - two people under 15 rank vs 10 ACE , only two over 15 rank. But yeah, I can see it already, those damned ACE top player stealers. /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> Ah spidey, I am glad your sense of humor is finally back. /mrgreen.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="mrgreen.gif" />

LOL Then your more altruistic and noble members, (such as yourself) would have their behaviour rewarded because your more umm, yeah, them. Well, they would be able to play in squad games too. Basically, your ying would compensate for their yang, and they can continue to claim their bogus anti-stacker credentials off of the back of your hard work.

Where as a team of self confessed rakish n'er-do-well stackers like XT, will be able to field Weed, Night, and well, nobody else probably. You see we haven't got the solid good guys (like yourself) to counterbalance the *#$@s (our entire membership). Although not having to run a constant campaign of spin in order to cover up our problem children (LOL as if such a thing were possible...) is good for our souls, it bothers us that others may have usurped our ultimate nastiness title by nefarious means, and taken the lazy mans way to glory.

Disclaimer, this isn't particularly aimed at ANYBODY, especially those who have left XT, whom I love, it is merely an example of the fabled smack talk.

Disclaimer #2: Unless you find it offensive, in which case. $#@! YOU, you stacking piece of hypocritical @#(!.

I am offended by your lack of desire to offend.

And you call yourself an @XT

I've seen Duck antistacking a lot recently too. I think XT should kick him for ruining their hard won reputation. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

We have been struggling with this ever since we got big enough to always field a full team. In the end, if we turn down a good pilot because we would prefer to see them stay or go to one of the weaker squads they end up with PK, XT, or SysX... every time.