@skunk3:
I too think it would be great if there were more people playing unranked games for fun but blaming the people playing ranked for doing what they enjoy is ridiculous. Most active WA players play mostly competitively, it's just the way it is, the game is old and the most competitive players tend to stick around the longest.
I also don't see what's wrong about snooping, would it be so much better if those people were offline, it would not bring any more players, so complaining about them is pointless IMHO. Some people like to have #ag open in the background since it's so easy to do with 3rd party snooper software. To occasionally chat with old buddies and play a game or two. You can also set the snooper to notify you when a certain scheme is hosted or a friend has come online etc., that is real handy if you ask me.
I've never really played much rope schemes, but I understand the appeal of warmers for example, I find it similar to jamming with your band mates in the garage. A lot of people consider roping as a type of an art form, they just love doing it and even watching it and I guess it's a fun way to practice too and get feedback from more experienced players. The large variety of custom maps and randomly generated maps keep it fresh too. Warmer might not be the most suitable name, but a lot of schemes have strange names that have just stuck over the years, like Team17 for example. I personally don't mind it, but for new players it might be confusing.
And finally, the thing I dislike the most is how small the player base is and that a lot of the players are rude haters or salty quitters. Also the sad fact that my favourite game ever is now like 17 years old and no matter how great it has become over the years, it is still lacking in a lot of areas, inevitably getting dated, it's player base getting smaller every year and that there's no sign of a new, improved successor to WA ever coming, even though that should be the main f@#!ing focus of the whole gaming world 
I'm not blaming anyone per se, I'm just complaining about the state of things. What people choose to do or not do is out of my hands, and I guess I just can't help but think of the "good ol' days" when W:A was full of people having fun, talking shit, and playing games just for the sake of playing a game. I also know that I am in the minority when it comes to personal feelings about snooper programs. I 'get' why people use them and consider them convenient. I do. I just hate the fact that I can hop on WormNET and it will show 50+ people in #AG, yet in all actuality, it's more like 10 people, if that. The snooper programs make the game look far more active than it actually is, and that is essentially the basis of my complaint. As I said, I know that I am in the minority here, and that is fine. Just expressing my personal opinion! As far as warmers go, I can totally see why some people would love playing them. Once again, I *personally* don't enjoy them, and consider them to be pointless. *shrug*
As far as your last statement goes, I totally agree. I am hoping that WMD ends up being a satisfying Worms experience, but we will have to wait and see!
@ Anubis - My complaint stems from the fact that a lot of players simply WON'T play a funner. Period. I don't play ranked games anymore because of a few reasons:
1. I don't care about ranks
2. I am too lazy to report games
3. Playing for rank somehow ruins the fun for me, win or lose
4. As stated before, many players rarely if ever play for fun anymore
To more directly address your statement - You are correct in that I like competition, but for the reasons listed above, I do not enjoy playing ranked matches. As far as warmer being pointless, this is just a matter of opinion. If you don't agree with me, that is fine, but I still contend that warmer is about as pointless as it gets unless you're just trying to show off tricks/combos. Some people might consider that a blast, but I don't. There is no concrete objective, and that's where warmer fails as a scheme in my eyes. If people wanted to actually warm up, they could warm up by playing any rope-based scheme. Also, as I said before, people who play warmers a lot tend to be (on the whole) much less consistent ropers than those who aren't trying to get their NLF on.
Ignoring your jab directed at me regarding the status of my mental adulthood, let me just say that I never said that warmer is 'bad,' or that those who enjoy warming/freestyling are 'bad.' I merely expressed my personal opinion about the scheme. If you took some sort of personal offense, that's not really my problem, is it? All I said is that I personally think that warmers are pretty much a pointless waste of time UNLESS you just so happen to enjoy that sort of thing. I don't. Clear enough?
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