I mostly agree with cmc.
cmc wrote:I guess I am still somewhat undecided on where I stand on the issue of spectating. I can certainly appreciate both sides...
On one hand, you can think of route finding/strategies for a map as an integral part of the game itself; just as important as anything else. In that regard, knowingly spectating someone just to understand the route for yourself or others would be going against the spirit of the game, which is competitive. That makes a strong case for not allowing people to see you play.
On the other hand, playing defrag (especially on MDD servers) is, in part, community-centered. Discouraging players from spectating you certainly detracts from the community aspect, in my opinion. I can understand it if you have had your routes stolen from an individual in the past, but I am sure most specs (myself included) are not watching just to take an idea and copy it. Disallowing people to spectate also inhibits growth in some cases; which may be the intended result--but goes against the spirit of the community.
I guess ideally, people would assume positive intent (innocent until proven guilty), and be more permissive. I don't expect it to happen across-the-board, but it is my hope. I certainly don't care for the trend of people becoming more and more secretive as time passes. I think it's harming the DF community. If you really want to be secret, play offline.
Lastly -- who gives a damn who/what Valia is? It's not like you're going to meet up IRL, so why is this still being talked about?
I'm adding a few thoughts.
People can occasionally ask, as a form of courtesy, not to be spectated. But I don't see how, in public servers, people can feel entitled to have any sort of 'privacy'. You guys are putting cheating, spamming and spectating almost on the same level.
Want privacy? Here's a practical solution:
1) add a 'demo upload' option to the q3df.org website;
2) play offline or in some private server;
3) upload your demo to q3df.org;
4) enjoy yourself as your shiny new record is made available for everyone to see.
This would be sad as it kinda defeats the purpose of online gaming, which I think is, uh, having fun playing together. But this way you have the convenience and privacy of playing offline and the gratification of showing your times to the community. You keep your cake and eat it, too.
Sounds low and lame to me, though.
As a final note, I should point out that I don't really care about this whole issue. I'm not into competitive gaming and I don't have enough skill to even care about routes anyway. It's just depressing to see the community going crazy like this.
... which proves that every crazy idea has its benefits 
