Thread: Who's friend is this?

I've heard this said a few times... seen it in lobbies when someone joins that isn't "one of the regulars". And I never really paid much attention to it, though I thought it a bit rude.

And make no mistake, this isn't prompted by my having seen/heard it just now or earlier this week even. Just that I've heard it and I realized something.

The L4D2 Meetup group is public. That means anyone at all can join it. They'll get the group invite all the same even if they aren't someone's friend. Now obviously they are going to have to have a friend in a lobby in order to get into that lobby, but there's the problem.

Are we not accepting invites from people that join the group? If someone joins the group they might not post here, but still want to game. I don't know about you, but I'll accept any and all friend requests in steam until I know they are asshats and drop them from my list. It's the only way someone that joins the group is going to start playing with us outside of getting an actual invite to the group/friends list.

And we shouldn't be so rude as to ask "who's friend is ________?" Who care's who's friend it is? They are there to play the game. If they are asshats they'll be taken care of and you can remove them from your friends list. If the goal is to get new players, making them feel an inch tall by asking who the hell they are probably isn't the best idea.

The same goes for asking them if they have a mic and suggesting they leave if they don't. If they don't have a mic then suggest they get one but don't turn them away. Take that into account and keep an eye on their health.

We might start seeing some people coming in from the left4deadforums.com soon. I've made a few invites... I've had a couple people friend me... And I don't want to see them turned away because they aren't "one of the regs" and someone doesn't know them.

Just an observation I had... Munch on it a bit...

Here here

I think you may be blowing the question out of proportion. I ask the question if someone joins up that I don't know, so I can verify that they have a mic, and that they use it. No other reason than that. I don't mind playing with someone I've never played with before, but after a couple of experiences playing with people with no mics, this is the question I ask to verify. You NEED a mic to play this game as a team. No rudeness intended at all.

I ask it more out of curiosity rather than who to pin as the scoundrel that brought in a "non regular".

Originally Posted by Pimp Trizkit

I think you may be blowing the question out of proportion. I ask the question if someone joins up that I don't know, so I can verify that they have a mic, and that they use it. No other reason than that. I don't mind playing with someone I've never played with before, but after a couple of experiences playing with people with no mics, this is the question I ask to verify. No rudeness intended at all.

Thats a good point actually. Id rather the person that brought in the person we dont know make sure that he has a mic and understands the gentleman rules that we have in place than have it coming from someone he doesnt know.

I ask both just as an ice breaker, and to also state TPG style a bit.

"Hey XXXX, sup? Do you have a mic?"
"Yes,"
"Oh awesome, we communicate a lot here, and it's team play based, so having a mic is needed"

OR

"Hey, XXX, sup? Do you have a mic?"
"I don't use it,"
"Well, if you could plug it in and use it, it'd be helpful to your teammates, we like to be very verbal here, since it's a team play based community"


"So how'd you hear about us?"
"I'm YY's friend"
"Ah, cool, welcome to TPG"


That's how I do it really.

I'm not blowing anything into or out of any proportion. Just an observation I made. I couldn't give you a name of anyone that's asked the question if you threatened to waterboard me. I just know it's happened and to ME at least it seemed a bit rude.

I understand that we would LIKE to play with someone that has a mic all the time. But I don't think we should turn anyone away if they don't. We've got a whole new community of players that might be heading our direction and we want to make them feel at home. If they don't have a mic we ask that they get one soon... and play the game. No biggie.

Yup Kanati, I totally agree with you, I was stating how I do it. xD

I can name some TPG regs who play CSS and L4D2 with us, with no mics, but it's cool, we have fun, it's a video game!

Originally Posted by SenSeiFAR

I ask both just as an ice breaker, and to also state TPG style a bit.

"Hey XXXX, sup? Do you have a mic?"
"Yes,"
"Oh awesome, we communicate a lot here, and it's team play based, so having a mic is needed"

OR

"Hey, XXX, sup? Do you have a mic?"
"I don't use it,"
"Well, if you could plug it in and use it, it'd be helpful to your teammates, we like to be very verbal here, since it's a team play based community"


"So how'd you hear about us?"
"I'm YY's friend"
"Ah, cool, welcome to TPG"


That's how I do it really.

Most people do the same Sens. I know that on ONE occasion I saw someone literally go "Who the fuck is this guy?" and when he didn't get a response it was something along the lines of "Hey so-and-so? Who's friend are you?" And I've HEARD at least of someone that just kicked people from their lobby if they didn't have a mic. Lobbies aren't our domain and that's just fine if someone wants to run a lobby like that, but... douchey move really.

I'm NOT going to expound on this. I just started seeing people from the other community starting to warm up to us a bit over there and just wanted to put out a warning flag that we might be seeing new faces in lobbies. Not chomping on anyone's fingers or toes. I'm not wanting to start an argument or anything. Just a friendly "hey... new peeps in the house. Don't kick em in the nuts TOO hard."

If you and 6 others want to play with a guy without a mic, then feel free. I don't. I've tried, but the team is simply way too dragged down by silence. Communication is paramount in this game and, if you can't do it via mic, then you're a detriment to the team. Simple as that. I'm not going to waste an hour or more of my time dealing with that.