Slash, I think it is Krusty1 -- but anyhoo --
Have to say I agree with Krusty to an extent. The whole choosing a side thing excludes the occasional / casual flyer to the extent that there is no reason to "just show up" in the arena anymore.
Me, for instance. You will not find that I have flown at all this tour. It isn't because I haven't tried to show up, it is because when I have visited the AvA, I have not managed to exit the tower. I show up, ask what I can do to help, and am met with chirping crickets. One helpful soul the last time told me to ask Oaktree. I sent him a PM asking what I could do, since an answer on country was not forthcoming from him -- he must have either been busy or AFK, because he didn't reply to any of my PMs, either.
Not to be deterred, I decided I would just up and head for the nearest Dar Bar, only to find ABSOLUTELY NO PLANES AVAILABLE within two sectors of the single red dar bar. I could have sat in a field gun and hoped an enemy showed up, I suppose, but that isn't exactly an exciting time for me.
Don't get me wrong, I understand there are quite a few people who like the current set up . . . but since my playing time has always been more limited than most of the regulars, and the fact I have always tried to switch to the lowest side in the AvA, "picking a side" and getting involved in the "war" as it is just does not interest me. Moreover, because there is no "pick-up-game" per se, there is really no reason for me to go in at all anymore.
Not that anyone cares what I think, but thought I would throw in my $0.02 anyway.