Sad a guy who lost 120 lums to a starbase

It's far worse in Sins.  There's no 'automatch', so you're forced to join random games and hope for the best.  In most RTS', you can just grab 1 or 2 of your friends and have the server assign you opponents based on rank (or 1v1 of course).  People can smurf still, yes, but once your rank increases enough you won't run into new/low level accounts (ie often smurfs) nearly as often.  Not to mention there's less incentive to smurf in the first place, since people who aren't assholes actually WANT to play at their level of skill; not stomp newbs.

From my long experience in online RTS play, custom/non-ladder/unranked whatever you want to call it always ends up being a cesspool of fail.  The behaviour you see in Sins (rampant smurfing, trolling, elitism, etc.) is what all the unranked player communities degenerate into.  You'd think people would be more easygoing there, but the reverse actually ends up being true.  Shunmaha is correct here; if you didn't like what you see, get out now.  I'll play Sins online with friends, but the experience I've had with random ICO players makes me want to kick puppies.  It will never improve.

Internet anonomity is a dangerous thing. http://sc.tri-bit.com/John_Gabriel%27s_Greater_Internet_Fuckwad_Theory

It's easier to be a jerk if you smurf, but who would honestly want to live like that.

I hate to say it, but this game is chock full of assholes on MP.  It has been since day one - I know because I was around on day one.  There are a bazillion threads on this subject if you care to find them.  I have played strategy games for years, but have never run across assholes like I see with this game's MP, neither in quantity nor quality.  This game, for whatever reason, attracted scores of assholes to its multiplayer.  Why that happened is certainly an interesting circumstance to ponder.

The very first game I ever played MP (which was the first day the game released), I noticed that 4 of the players (all on the same team) had [LoS] all at the front of their names.  I was like "what's that all about?" and scratched my head.  A few minutes into the game, when I was still trying to have a look at the map, figure out what units to build, etc. (it was my first day!), I received a coordinated attack from all 4 of these [LoS] assholes all at once, with all their capships to boot, but that wasn't the bad part.  The bad part was watching the reams of text from all 4 of them fly across my screen - stuff like "Fucking newb!  Ha ha!  You fucking suck!  Just fucking quit you fucking loser!  Ha ha ha!" and worse.  At this point I just laughed, shook my head, and I sent a text to my teammates and said "Uhhh... these are a bunch of guys who apparently played in the beta and know what they are doing and who know this particular map, and they are rehearsed in their team play.  I just received a coordinated attack from all of them.  This explains the [LoS] in front of their names.  Expect the same in short order."

The bottom line is that the rest of the players received the same treatment I did.  They all said they wouldn't play online again and quit.  Sure enough I never saw any of them again.  I said I wouldn't play online again either, and I didn't for many months after.  I did, however, take the time to research these [LoS] assholes, and found out it was a clan called "Lords of Sin."  They are now defunct I guess, and apparently didn't last too long in Sins, but they were sure operating the first day the game was out, and several months into it.

The assholery and elitism and arrogance never got any better.  The only thing that changed was that the community shrank and continues to.  One thing you can console yourself with is, I doubt seriously that any of these people have ever had any pussy in their lives, and I doubt seriously that any of them ever will, so really the only way they can ever "screw" anyone is to be the biggest dick possible in an online game.  Meanwhile, one of my red hot girlfriends just left this morning, and I have a date with a different one tonight, and a date with yet another on saturday.  I get a break on sunday (and I will need it), but I'm booked up with a fourth on Monday (my "primary" - it's her day off).  You see, this game is what I do when I'm not banging red hot chicks.  It's what I do in my "off time."  It's not what I do because I don't have any and can't get any.  Console yourself with this fact.

I really think these claims about the game being chock-full of assholes are inaccurate and overblown.  Yes, there are a couple asses out there, but there are also many good-natured, polite adult players, too, and I think the good Sins citizens outnumber the asshats by a large multiple.  Many experienced players welcome new players and offer them advice and encouragement.

I actually find the asshole to reasonable player ratio to be worse than 1:1.  The people on my personal "ban list" far exceed the people who aren't, so it's far more difficult for me to get games than the average guy (and it's tough for the average guy!).

I always thought the 5v5 was bizzare too.  It was obvious to me after just playing a few of these things that the odds of somebody having a crash, a desynch, or saying "sorry, dinner!" and just quitting the game and ruining it for everyone - the odds of this type thing go up the more players you have in the game.  Its a no-brainer.  But it's all anyone will play, even with the odds of mishaps being nearly 100%, and even if it takes all day long to fill a game up to 10 players.  God forbid you try to play a 3v3 or 4v4 - people will demand to open slots or make the game bigger.  I never quite "got it," but I guess your theory as to why (cheese spam builds) is as good as any.

I always stick to this motion, if you dont like something, do something else.

I am quite a nice guy mostly online, but ranting about arrogant players on the forums is not needed. if you dont like the players on the game, find new players to play with. if you still dont like the game online, play single player or with friends. if you still hate it, unistall and try to return it back to the shop.

I had tons of abuse when I started off in sins, I stuck with it, and I got better. If you stick with it, you will become better, and beleive me, you will get cocky once you start playing, and 90% oof new players who become good will become arrogant.

Most of you will deny it, but I seen many people who moan about arrogant players, and once they get good, they turn even more arrogant.

These claims about the game being chock full of asses are very overblown.  If you're going to say stuff like that, please name names.