First a reply to NB..You asked ME/I a question and I answered it with how I feel..I cannot speak for anyone else but me...
I dont see how I can be focused on the RED guy and make sure he is "ENTERTAINED" by me..the only way I entertain them is if they shoot me down..That is the point of the game,among others isnt it?? I am not trying to be obstinate,but in the game,it is kill or be killed..It is defend a base,or have it taken from you,this is on all 3 countrys..
To me this is the essential point that gets missed by so many. This is entertainment. It isn't kill or be killed as we have unlimited lives and planes. The idea of that Community that NB speaks of, is what gets missed with this kind of short sighted thinking.
I'll use tonight as an example. There were some decent fights late night over the middle Isle. I ran into a guy named Strong10 in a K4 a few times. I don't claim to know him at all, but I've encountered him previously and had some good fights. Tonight was the same. I happened to get a lucky shot the first time. He got me after a dizzying rolling scissors the next time. Each time the talk on 200 was respectful and about the fight. Third time we bumped into each other we were in the middle of another knock down drag out fight when one of my 'countrymen', came charging through to pick him. He didn't ask if I needed help, but clearly was looking for the 'kill' without doing any of the work. I pulled out of the fight, typed that the '38G was out" and gave Strong10 a chance to fight evenly.
It seemed a fairly simple thing to do. The entertainment for both of us was a good fight, not a quick kill. As the night went on, more and more old timers showed up and the conversation on 200 grew more about good fights, and less about the horde. Guys started to ask if folks needed help before diving in, and they let folks fight if they asked them to stay out. I can recall a number of different conversations on 200 where folks were talking about great fights, and that was whether they won it or lost it, because the fight had been so worthwhile.
That's the game I like and it involves good people from all the chess pieces. That's the community working, not some horde of self contained large groups that see map conquest and overpowering with numbers as the only reason to play. Certainly base taking, etc is a viable part of the game also, but folks need to not lose sight of how they impact on everyone's entertainment, not just their own.