y u post if u no care

But what if you have loads of players on your roster already? Who decides who the main players are? I think being able to contact an admin to use an emergency extra merc for a single situation should be possible too, just as there is leeway in replacing a great part of your roster.

How about making the merc rule the same as the roster hijack rule? If you need to use more than 2 mercs, contact an admin beforehand. If opponent team agrees, if admin can empathize with the circumstances, then what should be the problem? This is especially true during the catchup week where rosters are locked and wildcards disabled.

[...] I will counter this with pointing towards the hijack rule that does not allow to replace the majority of your team anyway. If you are so short on players that you need 4 new players you are not allowed to add them due to the hijack rule (or should at least consult an admin first to get the roster changes approved, like Crack Clan did, for example).

As I stressed a TF2 team has to field 6 players, not only more than 1! I am not sure if it makes much sense to add highlander to this discussion as so far nobody complained that he is only allowed to use max 3 mercs but you are right that the decision is ultimately arbitrary. I think the "more than half" argument is stronger than the "anything more than 2 is a team" argument :)

I am against a complete punishment catalogue though because a) we can not write down any possible offense and b) I do not want teams to calculate with punishments. The aim should be to play by the rules and be a good sport and not to break a rule if you can afford it without serious consequences.

Also, we can not always take circumstances into account because we always need to expect that teams use a case where we took the circumstances into account as a precedent to justify their violation.

There are even few cases where we consider all facts, e.g. the hijack rule is not blindly applied but teams have to consult the staff. Most of these request have been answered positively, by the way.

I guess this is the first valid complaint against increasing the possible mercs amount. My counter argument is that, outside of the catch-up week, any player can be added to the roster 24 hours in advance, and not count as a merc. Added players like Brego and Luzzu never pcw'd with us at all, how are they more part of the team?

But ultimately it's just as arbitrary. More than 1 person is semantically a team, at least half the players makes a team, etc. Actually ETF2L proves how arbitrary it is, because "more than half of the players" would mean that: max mercs for highlander is 4. It is currently 3.

My point is that when a rule is undocumented, don't hand out a punishment without looking at the circumstances. ... If you want to blindly punish a team for breaking a rule, do so by pointing to a set-in-stone rulebook. This brings me back to the start: this is why I am asking for both more rule/punishment clarification, and a change of the merc rule.

[...]Using a lineup that greatly differs from the one you used before DOES influence the other teams as well, I would say. You perform different with different players and may win or lose a map you would not have won or lost with your other lineup (which is also what the hijack rule is for to prevent, to have equal premises for all teams that are playing you).

Concerning the maximum number of mercs we have to draw a line somewhere. The most convincing argument for the 4 merc proposal I read in here was "everything with more than 1 player is a team" but teams in TF2 consist of 6 players. The best supporting argument for the current merc rule in my opinion is that a "team" should be considered a "team" if more than half of the players are on the roster which I personally find more convincing.

And now for some offtopic: You claim that the PL - decerto case is a "victimless crime". Now if two teams agreed to play with sv_cheats 1, would that be a victimless crime as well? The league rules are not only to protect from abuse but also to ensure equal premises for all teams. That is why you can not edit the config or switch maps or play with cheaters, even if both teams agree. If you are allowed to modify a rule it is mentioned, by the way. For example you may allow up to two mercs or you may reschedule, if both teams agree.

True, a rulebreak usually warrants punishment. However, like I stated before, nowhere do the rules say that "type of rulebreak: 3 mercs with both parties agreeing = default loss for the party using 3 mercs". It only says that 3 mercs are not allowed, and, like stated above, according to the current rules the only thing it should warrant is a minor warning.

True, a rulebreak usually warrants punishment. However, like I stated before, nowhere do the rules say that "type of rulebreak: 3 mercs with both parties agreeing = default loss for the party using 3 mercs". It only says that 3 mercs are not allowed, and, like stated above, according to the current rules the only thing it should warrant is a minor warning.