Is there anything wrong with...

[Animeniax]

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to win. What's questionable here is that you're switching sides partway through a team. It's one thing to pick strong team members who give you better odds of winning, while it's another to quit your own team partway through to ride on the success of the other team.

You mention that you're "middle of the pack or higher" so you're carrying your weight (and ?therefore should deserve to win), but the other team must also have lousy members who are being kept afloat as well.

In the end, the problem can be summarised as Double Dipping, and the fact that you're working against the idea of team-balancing does earn a frown from me.

I get pissed off in games too when our team sucks too much (mostly at BF4's Team Balance not being perfect), but I consider swapping to a new server as being a "fair, random allocation" as opposed to jumping onto a team that you know is mowing down the other.

I do find your "desire to win" here strange given that you're happy with using subpar weapons that can cost you performance in order to complete assignments.

Yeah team balance in BF4 is almost all about numbers, not actual skill level.

I use the subpar weapons as a test of personal skill and to complete assignments, so I'm not exactly happy to use them, but I am happy to still do well despite using them. No matter how awesome I am with a particular weapon, it's still not possible to win a game on your own and without your team doing their part. I don't switch teams late in the game, I look to switch early on when I can readily tell the team I'm on isn't serious about winning. Of course, that's usually done by looking at the score, but I also see from the mini map where people are and what class they've picked.

[enkoujin]

I've been switching to the winning team in matches on BF4 when my team sucks and doesn't go for objectives. Usually my score and contributions are middle of the pack or higher, so it's not like I'm not carrying my weight. But I get really pissed seeing tanks sit back and snipe instead of leading the charge to capture points, or seeing everyone play recon when we need AA and support players. I do feel kind of like a heel for switching teams to the winning side, and one time I even switched off my platoon's team and on to the other team because my platoon sucks apparently.

Is there anything wrong with wanting to win?

No, but games are no fun if it's not challenging.

[Animeniax]

No, but games are no fun if it's not challenging.

Sure, but there's a difference between a good challenge and getting owned because your team sucks and doesn't do what it is supposed to in order to win.

[KrayZ33]

what pisses me off about team switching is if I'm topping the score and the server decides to switch me to the losing team, I wish you could use the serverbrowser to filter servers with certain tools or "3rd party settings"

leaving your own friends/platoon to join the winning team is really low btw

I'm happy to say that I'm the type of player that is able to turns things around, however mostly because I never play alone or with less than 2-3 players i know. I wouldn't be able to handle the random blue-tacos sniping out of spawn otherwise

[Animeniax]

I've rarely seen that happen where one of the top scorers is switched to the other team. Mostly team balancing on BF4 is about equal numbers, not skill level (from what I've seen) though some servers may have other tools to balance by skill like you said.

It's not like I'm that involved with my platoon. I got an invite to join from someone I don't know, so I joined. Since then, I've only played in one match via the platoon server page. I'd quit just to change my clan tag back to what it was, instead of the platoon tag it is now.

I like being a guy who can turn a game around, and I've led the charge a few times. But I need help most of the time too, and I don't play with anyone I know.

[Animeniax]

So this discussion will be outside what a lot of the younger posters deal with, but here goes:

I buy high quality stuff whether its electronics, housewares, foodstuffs, etc. All my cookware is slowly moving to All-Clad stainless steel, products from which you'll get a lifetime of cooking satisfaction. Usually these products cost a lot, like $150+ for a 12 inch fry pan, or $130 for a 2 qt pot. All-Clad is currently having a "factory seconds" sale of products with minor dings, scratches, and blemishes for a significant price reduction (as much as 50%). If the point is to have high-quality cookware, then it shouldn't be a problem to buy these products on sale, as the minor issues do not affect performance. But it does feel like a bit of a dodge to buy high-end products at discount prices, like you're a poseur or a phony.

Is there anything wrong with buying high-end items with small imperfections at a discounted price?

[shinta|hikari]

No, it is a good deal. If anything, thinking that not spending more can be something bad sounds more like a poser to me.

[Kraco]

It's a win-win situation for both parties: You pay less for the same functionality, the manufacturer still gets something and doesn't need to scrap the items. You'll only become a poser if you fill your house with such discount products and then try to let people understand they were super expensive. If somebody asks and you tell them you got a bloody excellent deal, nobody sane would think you are trying to show off.

[Buffalobiian]

.. not picking up the $20 bill.

...never pick up a $20 bill they see on the ground, because their eyes must be playing tricks on them because someone should have already picked it up before them.

I wouldn't pick it up because I'd be suspecting why no one else had picked it up and about the possible outcomes from doing so (video-taped, ridiculed etc). At my highschool there was a 50c coin superglued to the stop of the staircase for this purpose.

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In other news, I passed a hitch-hiker while I drove between cities the other week. He appeared to be in need and the trip would have been 4hrs by car. Public transport would have costed $60 which he didn't look like he'd have.

In principle I would have liked to pick him up, and have others do the same for me when I'm in need, but in practice the fear of getting mugged tips the scales. However I don't think that line of thinking is ideal either.

[Kraco]

.. not picking up the $20 bill.



I wouldn't pick it up because I'd be suspecting why no one else had picked it up and about the possible outcomes from doing so (video-taped, ridiculed etc). At my highschool there was a 50c coin superglued to the stop of the staircase for this purpose.

You fear candid camera, or some little kids' prank, so much? It's a sign of a great man that he can laugh at himself, you know.

[Buffalobiian]

You fear candid camera, or some little kids' prank, so much? It's a sign of a great man that he can laugh at himself, you know.

The way I'd put it is that $20 is not worth risking my pride and dignity.

[Animeniax]

The way I'd put it is that $20 is not worth risking my pride and dignity.

I don't see falling for such a prank as hurtful to your pride or dignity, if it was a prank at all. Of course that's easier said than living it, but I think I would try to pick up the $20. Would you pick it up if it was $100?

For the hitchhiker, I also think of offering a ride but never do, and fear of getting mugged isn't the reason (I have a firearm in the car). Generally hitchhikers are unkempt and filthy, and I don't want them making my car seats dirty or having to smell them for the whole trip.

[Buffalobiian]

I don't see falling for such a prank as hurtful to your pride or dignity, if it was a prank at all. Of course that's easier said than living it, but I think I would try to pick up the $20. Would you pick it up if it was $100?

Still no. I can get by without $100. I'll get by worse if I was caught out on it.

[Animeniax]

Still no. I can get by without $100. I'll get by worse if I was caught out on it.

Caught out on what exactly? Falling for a prank, or looking like you're destitute and in need of some money?

[Buffalobiian]

Caught out on what exactly? Falling for a prank, or looking like you're destitute and in need of some money?

All of the above. "Dishonestly handling money", you could say.

I have often debated to myself about these type of situations. Even if my intention was the pick up the money and report it to authorities or police, there is the possibility that the action could be interpreted as taking it for personal gain. I would leave it and act as if I never saw it, assuming this was a public space that I was not in charge of.

[shinta|hikari]

I would pick it up. I would not attribute taking something that can likely never return to its owner anyway as something that would damage my pride.

If it was a prank, I would look down on the pranksters instead for such an uninspired joke, then still keep the money. They dropped it intentionally to the floor, effectively throwing it away, after all.

[Kraco]

All of the above. "Dishonestly handling money", you could say.

I have often debated to myself about these type of situations. Even if my intention was the pick up the money and report it to authorities or police, there is the possibility that the action could be interpreted as taking it for personal gain. I would leave it and act as if I never saw it, assuming this was a public space that I was not in charge of.

You have a law in Australia that forbids picking up lost items from public streets, or something? Must be really nice for people who dropped their wallet or something else, as there would be zilch hope of getting the items back.

[Buffalobiian]

No law as such that I know of.

[enkoujin]

Chances of it being a prank are extremely low, though, unless those Aussies are notorious for pranking average blokes. According to my personal risk-reward ratio/assessment, I'd pick it up, but I can respect your decision not to.

[Kraco]

No law as such that I know of.

If there's no such law, then there's zero reasons to be afraid anybody would think you are stealing it. Generally speaking money lying on the (public) ground is lost property or a prank. The more nefarious version of a prank would be counterfeit money, which is why I'd view bills lying on the ground with suspicion and would check them the best I could. I suppose if it's all for your inherent pride of not accepting donations even from the world itself, that is, luck, then you'd need to carry the money to the police, which could be a bother depending how far away the station was. So, you could leave the decision to the next person. I wouldn't bother to take a 20 dollars (or euros) bill to the police, though. In fact the law over here says that stuff worth 20 euros at max whose owner would be hard to identify or that wouldn't have a specific functional, sentimental, or historical value to the owner is finders, keepers.