I've maybe tuned in Channel 200 four or five times in a year-and-a-half. Usually to get word to other side about someone I see very consistently and suspiciously warping (usually turns out to be someone with dial-up.... and my firing tracers seems to cause them to warp.... ....bleh!).
I've also had to squelch 2 or 3 who felt strongly enough to taunt me by PM, when they discovered I wasn't on 200 for them to bother to their satisfaction (luv'd the PT spawner I killed 3 times, he finally hits my engine, I rtb as glider, and he PM's me "you'd better run"....lol...).
Otherwise, why bother. If you like to posture against the enemy, then whatever floats yer canoe. Talk smack all you like. Not me.... the .s works whether I'm tuned in or not to 200. I've got enough to deal with on Help Channel at times to bother with what's on 200 anyways.
As to the HO's. I don't worry about that either. It happens. You have lots of noobs entering this game on 2 week trials, who aim straight for whatever they fixate on. They HO. They grab whatever they think is the fastest plane, with da most cannon, and bore straight in. Field defenders are quick to do it, as they can re-up immediately, while you've got to travel.... which slightly offsets the vulch I suppose.
I'll usually try to avoid a HO on a merge, when practical, but by the same token, I won't leave myself an easy kill to the other guy if he is barreling straight in, expecting me to dodge. Some pilots seem to expect and try to take advantage of this on the initial pass....you avoiding the head-on, they aimed straight for you...... then cry "HO!" if they don't come out ahead on that pass. Whatever.
HO's happen..... is it what I *try* to do? I fly Ki-84 more than anything.... definitely not a HO-fighter..... head-on's not good for health of rice paper planes, and not enough cannons to make it work well. But, it still happens. Are there times I try to? Yep...if I'm in my IL-2 chasing GV's, and enemy fighters try to take me, I do everything I can to keep my nose toward them.
They want to go head-to-head with an IL-2 (or a Mossie) I'll support it.
Same if I'm in a goon. Sometimes when I'm attacking enemy bombers too, try and take out the pilot.
Those that rail against HO's probably raising their blood pressure unnecessarily. It's not much different than the guy who is constantly hopping and jumping around in a FPS like Battlefield 2. Or the one that runs full tilt shooting everything he has through an enemy squad formation to disrupt it until they kill him. Not realistic at all, not showing any real skills, just a way of using the game's features or quirks, to their advantage.
