[Russell Sobie]

Interesting video. Let's pretend your youtube example of professional drivers was a replay from a race in AC. The example you posted wouldn't be protested because the guy at fault (Driver A, on the outside) was successfully overtaken by Driver B. Driver B isn't going to report the other dude for preventing the pass because he succeeded. However... had Driver B NOT succeeded in passing Driver A who did not leave space and pushed him off track resulting in a spin/wreck/whatever... you bet it would be a protest-able event. So while I enjoyed the video, I don't think it makes any arguments for you.

Maybe you aren't responding to me directly (although the mention of "boasting about how many reports they file" seems directed at me since I think I might be the only one that has mentioned quantity of protests filed on these forums in the time that I've been here), but if so, let me reitertate what I've been arguing and what I have not been arguing:

I'm not at all arguing that less experienced players should be disallowed from joining. I'm arguing that players should be educated before joining. Experience and knowledge ARE linked, to be fair, but someone who knows how they should be behaving on track yet is not yet skilled to safely behave correctly is certainly better than someone who does not know how to behave. Or worse... specifically does not care to behave in the first place.

As you say: intention is important. If someone is trying to be safe and fails, that's way better than someone that either isn't trying to be safe, or specifically doesn't know/care that they SHOULD be safe. You know who gets a pass from me making a video protest filed against them? Someone who apologizes either in chat or via PM. It's just that easy. Everyone here can fuck up, even if they know exactly what is and isn't considered good behavior. But if you 1) don't know you fucked up or 2) don't care you fucked up, then how would getting warned/suspended/banned be something anyone could argue against?

Your points about the style of racing based on the car are well taken as well. However, since this is the Internet where not everyone has been racing since they were doing karts at 7 years old, and not an actual race track in reality with nothing but professional drivers all around you, it could certainly be argued that "close door to door racing with bumps and taps" should be explicitly in the rules as stuff you shouldn't be doing OR stuff that is permitted within reason. Due to the structure of SRS championship points being penalized by merely coming into contact with another car it could be argued that there are mixed messages there. Are we supposed to avoid contact completely (point deduction) or is it okay (the Regulation page qualifying "abusive contact" being against the rules, rather than just "contact".).

Better rules (not 33 pages... but more than a half of one), and some way to force existing and especially new SRS members to at least glance over them before they register for their next race. That's literally all I'm arguing for.