I hop on a server, have a fun time.. most of the time.

Sometimes i get taken out, woppdido, if it was on purpose, ill get fustrated and get over it, if the fella is a smartass or acting silly, i may report, or just forget about him and pass him later on and leave him for dead. Sometimes i even take out afew people on accident, no problem.

But the frustrating part, and the meaning of this thread.

If someone takes out someone, or specifically, me, the person will tend to cop, "You stupid noob, thats bullsh*t!", "Learn to drive".. and you think to yourself, hang on.. isnt that some form of harassment and insult. and you think, report the bloke, get him banned.. and you refrain, and just simply try to talk to the guy and sort it out. You then later watch the replay and find out you didnt hit him, someone else did.

Earlier today, (YES IM SICK) i was on Race 1 and lights went green, i was at the back of the grid and slowed down alot, out of no where i sneeze, and the wheel goes everywhere, i t-bone a driver and he gets taken out. I feel bad, no excuses, i took him out, my fault 100%. I apologize and let him through and he smiles meaning its all good, i explained my incident even though there was no need to as i was still at fault.

5sec later i cop a, "you bloddy noob, cant i get through t1 without having a noob from the 7th row take me out". Not knowing anything, i said look, sorry, i didnt know i hit you too.. And i realized to myself, this is my first race on this server since i connected, my first turn and mistake.. how am i a noob for making an error? Why do i deserve to cop bull crap from a better driver (if not), driver just because i made an error. Is Senna a noob? No!

I said those words roughly to him, and that i feel like reporting him as i felt offended and insulted. I told him im going to watch the replay, turns out, someone else took him out. After i said report, its as if he went from agro, to nice and sorry telling me he is in the wrong, which he is. I wasn't threatening him and i wouldn't report him, he seems like a regular and im not that kind of person unless it gets out of hand, i also understand why he overreacted and had a go at me. Im taken out by randoms all the time for no reason.

Still, thats just one example, i cop it alot and i have been threatened to be banned from people in the BNJ servers. I took one person out one time and coped a USE YOUR BRAKES YOU NOOB.. and apologized, he said "happens again, i'l report you." Once again, i was hit in the rear and went flying into the same guy. He went off his nut ready to report me. He said he will and hes going to watch the replay to make sure everything is for sure. He came back on saying "ok i wont ban you, because it was once."

I think there is way too much aggression on the servers these days, this ain't million dollar F1 if you crash it will cost. If there isn't noobs, theres people who name you one. I don't want to start reports, but it gets very frustrating, and i want to next time it happens.

Is this a form of harassment or insult? Or do i have to shut up and quit whining?

Thanks.

We want the CTRA servers to be clean, fun and friendly but it doesn't seem to work out this way. A lot of people could benefit from pausing for 5 seconds and thinking "was that deliberate, a mistake, or not even the fault of the guy who hit me?"

As you say, even the best make mistakes. Can you imagine Kimi, last weekend in the pit lane, shouting in his helmet "OMG!? You N000b! WTF!!? Bernie BAN! BANHAMMER Nowz! lolZ0r" ?

If you behave as you describe (i.e. apologise for your mistakes, etc.) then you have nothing to worry about from reports. We watch the replays for every report, so even if someone rear-ends you and you then take someone else out this will be seen.

If you feel that somone is being overly agressive in chat then raise a report so that we can have a quiet word with them. I keep the link to the Reporting Guide in my sig, and it's in the FAQ sticky - have a read if you want to make sure you're raising good reports.

Quote from Christofire :

As you say, even the best make mistakes. Can you imagine Kimi, last weekend in the pit lane, shouting in his helmet "OMG!? You N000b! WTF!!? Bernie BAN! BANHAMMER Nowz! lolZ0r" ?

....he only kept quiet because the week before he wrecked Sutil


rest of the reply I agree with 100%

^

Agreed, though, and personally I think more attention should be drawn to the note on conduct in servers on RA.com, or possibly more harsh punishments dealt to those who can't control their tempers.

It's a little more reasonable in real life, when an outburst can just happen, but when you have to actually take the time to type it out and send it, it becomes a bit more premeditated... The reason it happens more online than in reality is because you can't earn yourself a punch in the face over the Internet, whereas you might in the pit lane. I think the CTRA admins should deliver that metaphorical punch in the face where necessary

Sam

If only CTRA had the one feature of iRacing that i really love the idea of. The safety rating.

I don't know if it would even be possible to implement something like this in the future, but it sure would cause a complete shift in the attitudes of some racers. Everyone might drive with a little more respect for others on the lower servers if a system like that were introduced.

+1 mate!

I don't think it's something we can implement with the current data available to us. I've heard tell that iR's SR is infallible and that it's never wrong. I'm really impressed that they've successfully been able to calculate responsibility in every instance of panel rubbing, where one car finishes up in the wall.. but if that's what they've done, my hat is off to them.

Quote from SamH :

I don't think it's something we can implement with the current data available to us.

I suspected as much

Not that there's a lot wrong with the way CTRA works at the moment, but anything that introduces even more respectful driving has to be a good thing.

Quote from SamH :

I've heard tell that iR's SR is infallible and that it's never wrong.

I still don't see how that's possible, but the feedback seems positive enough that i don't think it's a huge issue.

I cant say i was enamoured with the idea of a fully automated system though.

Quote from The Moose :

I still don't see how that's possible, but the feedback seems positive enough that i don't think it's a huge issue.

Maybe the beta folk just aren't evil enough to think of all the nasty ways to cause someone else's SR to increase

Example #1: Run someone off the road by just slowly making the gap smaller and smaller, without actually touching him.



Though without having seen it in action, I'm pretty sure the SR doesn't discern between offender and victim. I guess it just works by saying that on average the bad driver will have a worse SR than a good driver, even though the good drivers' SR will be dragged down a little by the incidents with the bad one. Now if you're surrounded by bad drivers...

Quote from NotAnIllusion :

Maybe the beta folk just aren't evil enough to think of all the nasty ways to cause someone else's SR to increase

There's value in that consideration.. it could be an entirely different situation once you have people in there who are paying customers rather than freebied beta testers.

I've lost count of the number of sly shunts I've dealt with on CTRA servers. Most wreckers you deal with aren't hanging out at pit exits waiting for leaders to come through.. they're midfield, and they're sly. They systematically brake late, punt people off on approach to corners and steal their positions, or deliberately lean on other drivers around corners, all the way up the field. Some of them can take a while to find, because they're trying not to BE found.. but you have to have a system where they can be exposed and disposed of, and I'm not, yet, at all convinced that any automated system could do it.

Quote from SamH :

There's value in that consideration.. it could be an entirely different situation once you have people in there who are paying customers rather than freebied beta testers.

I've lost count of the number of sly shunts I've dealt with on CTRA servers. Most wreckers you deal with aren't hanging out at pit exits waiting for leaders to come through.. they're midfield, and they're sly. They systematically brake late, punt people off on approach to corners and steal their positions, or deliberately lean on other drivers around corners, all the way up the field. Some of them can take a while to find, because they're trying not to BE found.. but you have to have a system where they can be exposed and disposed of, and I'm not, yet, at all convinced that any automated system could do it.

I agree But then I would for some strange reason.

I heard that if your are involved in an incident your rating goes down, it doesn't matter who was at fault. But thats rumor because I am not willing to fork out my hard earned cash to try the game out myself.

Aoun, i'm totally with you here. I also find there are some drivers with high ranking licenses that are just plain rude and unfriendly. Some mind you, nearly all of the high ranked drivers i've met on servers are very friendly and mature.

Oddly I also find BnJ to be the worst for insults, I actually had one guy threaten to kill me if I made contact with his car again... what part of bump and jump doesn't he understand?

I used to get into arguements now I just realise what a waste of energy it is. However I do get frustrated when someone knocks you out or causes an incident without a single response, no recognition, nothing. Even worse when they have a lot of points and therefore understand the CTRA system. Yet these days a simple report is filed which removes my frustration because I can let someone else decide how to communicate to that driver.

I'd love to have a look at iRacing, but I just don't have time these days. With a new born son and the travel in my work, even getting on CTRA is hard work.

racing drivers are always highly strung and running on adrenaline. I remember causing an accident in karting once from an "optimistic" overtake, I couldn't see how it was my fault until long after leaving the track. Sometimes adrenaline gets the better of you.

I'm pleased to say I'm usually quite pragmatic about accidents when racing, real and virtual, but in the virtual world I'm far more likely to go check replays than i complain in the real world. I can only remember lodging 1 complaint and 1 appeal to the clerk in all the racing I did, and the driver I complained about did just give me half a dozen or so broken ribs whilst I was lapping him so I think I was allowed to have a moan! I lost the championship and my job too...

@yeager, agreed completely to you too.

Im personally sick of the BNJ server, and thats why i was pro BNJ2 for red licence and up, in the other thread.

Its annoying when you get crashed, and thanks to Gekkibi, alot of people cop it after crashing and ramming you. Ive been taken out stupidly from just a "bump" or a hit, and fustrating, but i hold it, because its allowed completely to bump and certain hits.

Then you think good of yourself that your a clean BNJ racer because you understand the theory of the BNJ server, and take that theory. You bump someone, they spin and they tell you off for not understanding the theroy of the BNJ server. lol!

The best servers, racers, personalities on LFS, CTRA!

At the same time, the worst. (IMO)

@Rose, shame that happened. Heh, can you still say.. "Thats racing!"?

Quote from aoun :

I hop on a server, have a fun time.. most of the time.

Earlier today, (YES IM SICK) i was on Race 1 and lights went green, i was at the back of the grid and slowed down alot, out of no where i sneeze, and the wheel goes everywhere, i t-bone a driver and he gets taken out. I feel bad, no excuses, i took him out, my fault 100%. I apologize and let him through and he smiles meaning its all good, i explained my incident even though there was no need to as i was still at fault.

I was in the same race and I had one eye on the lively banter following the accident, and I so nearly nearly parked up and joined in, because the guy in question who was doing the flaming, in the previous race, had inserted his car very quickly into an impossibly small and closing gap, sending me into the sky and two or three others as well. Pot, kettle and black came to mind. Still, it's only a game.

Report, or it didn't happen

Sam, I think that's the same legal grounds I'm using whenever I get into a court case with you

Yeah! In fact I was gonna sue you, but then I heard you'd been Gemma'd

I have never in my years in LFS have seen any skilfull or respectworthy driver seen using the word NOOB. So do not take offence of anyone using it.

Yes from what I've seen so far, those who use such terms tend to be parked vertically at the roadside round the next corner anyway. More bothersome is the kind of thing that happened to me tonight when an experienced team racer drives his already damaged car into my rear end and then tells me I should go and practice offline. Yes there does seem to be a lot of frustration and aggression on the servers.

The real problem, I find, is not new drivers cocking up - do this too badly too often and they're not around for long, and you can easily outpace them anyway - but experienced drivers becoming arrogant and belligerent.

I find, countless times, that the Silver drivers in Race 3 have a nicer attitude than some of the Gold or Platinum racers. This is not a generalisation against higher-licenced drivers, some of the most gentlemanly racers I know hold Platinum licences or even Titanium. What I am saying, though, is that a driver who is being particularly impatient or aggressive seems to be likely to hold a higher licence.

It's not a lack of skill, in most cases quite the reverse, but perhaps an unwillingness to remember that not everybody drives a GTR car, not everybody has done hundreds of laps of the circuit, and therefore not everybody can be as fast. I know how frustrating it is to be stuck behind someone when you know you could be cutting further up the field if they'd just get out of your way, but that doesn't give you licence to make an overly aggressive move or push them too hard and too close.

Sure, we can all make mistakes when following someone, and maybe even take them out as a result. It happens. The problem I find with some more experienced drivers is the apparent belief that because the slower driver was holding them up, it's the slower driver's fault the incident occured. This is probably fuelled by the desire for more points, as they get harder to come by and less meaningful higher up the licence tiers, but it's simply not true.

However, I can never accuse the CTRA admins of any bias due to licence status: the understanding that however many points you have, you can still do stupid things, is definitely there in the report handling process.

Just my thoughts.

Sam

Quote from Dark Elite :

It's not a lack of skill, in most cases quite the reverse, but perhaps an unwillingness to remember that not everybody drives a GTR car, not everybody has done hundreds of laps of the circuit, and therefore not everybody can be as fast. I know how frustrating it is to be stuck behind someone when you know you could be cutting further up the field if they'd just get out of your way, but that doesn't give you licence to make an overly aggressive move or push them too hard and too close.

Sure, we can all make mistakes when following someone, and maybe even take them out as a result. It happens. The problem I find with some more experienced drivers is the apparent belief that because the slower driver was holding them up, it's the slower driver's fault the incident occured. This is probably fuelled by the desire for more points, as they get harder to come by and less meaningful higher up the licence tiers, but it's simply not true.

However, I can never accuse the CTRA admins of any bias due to licence status: the understanding that however many points you have, you can still do stupid things, is definitely there in the report handling process.

Sam

Yes, i agree with you.

I think, that possibly every driver make mistakes on track, with or without consequences.
Sure, some drivers will never learn to loose or say "that was my bad/mistake/vault" or SIMPLY "Sorry".
For myself, i leave them alone.....

BUT:
The most important thing is that you and the other drivers on track have FUN!

Greetings

Quote from yeager :

I also find there are some drivers with high ranking licenses that are just plain rude and unfriendly.

For some reason I can read between the lines here..

I don't like you, that's no secret. I may be straightforward and to the point whenever I have something to say. But rude and unfriendly?
Haven't heard that from anyone else. Ever.

Quote from Joris :

I have never in my years in LFS have seen any skilfull or respectworthy driver seen using the word NOOB. So do not take offence of anyone using it.

Poor [noobs]