About the burn out thing. Obviously, if you do any one thing long enough you are going to get bored and disenchanted. What makes AH great is the fact that there are so many things to do and ways to appoach the game. I avoid burnout, specifically that associated with gameplay issues, by adapting. That is to say, when a particular behavior by the majority leaves you wondering if you should play anymore instead of quitting, adapt a strategy to counter the abhorent behavior.
This is the whole reason I made it my personal mission to become as proficient as possible with the Ostwind. I grew disgusted at the prevalence of the gang-horde and vulch routine. In an aircraft flying into 30 planes I had the ability to take out 3-5 in 15-30 minutes and survive if I was very carefull, but in an Ostwind I could take out 5-15 in a couple of minutes. Then not only that, I made what I had learned from diligent practice and experience public, so everyone in the MA could potentially, somewhat replicate my performance in the Ostwind. The end result is, while not ending gang-horde vulching by any means, it has sure made it a less appealing prospect overall. People fear Ostwinds now and will refrain from establishing 'tight' CAP over an enemy field to stay out of the range of defending Ostwinds, allowing defending planes to instead get airborne, therefore increasing the net amount of actual quality fighting that occurs in the MA.
The point is, rather than let a particular trait of the current MA population drive you from the game, adapt to it. Find its weakness and exploit it. Make whatever behavior you don't care for as painfull as possible for them. That unto itself, knowing you are in your small part of the MA transforming the game to how you think it should be, breathes new life into it.
We are all empowered. Everytime you take-off in a plane or vehicle you help to determine everyone's experience in the game. Depending on how much effort you put into it and your raw skill & talent the impact you have can be very great. Don't just fly around and complain how everyone else is flying while all the while playing into 'their' game, that actually makes you become part of the problem. Be pro-active force them to play 'your' game, that will make you part of the solution. If enough people with a healthy vision of what AH should be did that, guess what, it will become that. AH is a very open-ended game so we are really the masters of our own virtually simulated destiny.
Zazen
