OK, that would explain that. But wasn't it at least possible to switch allegiance? I seem to recall hearing that happened.
I don't remember. Might be so.
Perhaps it has gone too far away from team-play?
Well, I think that's probably true, at least in some cases. I think that the dev team's vision has gotten too scattered, and we need to refocus our efforts and the direction of the game; I also think that the guidance of Tom and the dev team has changed the culture quite a bit.
I think that some of the change was necessary, but yes, it's gone too far to remain fun especially for newbies who don't know what they're getting into.
