These life lessons are not from me, but I want to share these as someone who left a cult lol:
1. You don't have to have a dream. Focusing too far in the future causes you to devalue the present. Comparing yourself to a future you will only make you miserable. Short-term goals and grateful living>>>>
2. Don't chase happiness. Eternal bliss does not exist, and why would you deserve such a thing?
3. Remember, it's all luck. You are lucky to born, not part of a "chosen" people (or baptized into a "chosen" people).
4. Exercise. You only get one body. Your body will not be resurrected, reincarnated, or made perfect after you die. Confront pain and learn to deal with it productively (prayer doesn't work my brother in Christ). The feelings the Spirit give you are just chemicals in your brain. The last thing that can be trusted are your feelings.
5. Be hard on your opinions. Your parents were wrong. You are wrong. You will be wrong. Study up on biases, and learn to avoid them.
6. Be a teacher.
7. Define yourself by what you love. Express it too. Be pro-stuff, not just anti-stuff like a sad-sack.
8. Respect people with less power than you. Palestinians in Gaza literally have no power. Develop critical thinking skills to see past sensationalized media and propaganda that takes advantage of your biased thinking and the way your parents raised you. You gotta cut the tether/umbilical cord and stop thinking you owe your parents your brain.
9. Don't rush. Enjoy your present company. Show them appreciation, and don't fantasize about a cool, new friend group that doesn't exist. That makes you a social climber who will lose all their friends. Nuns literally fantasize about Jesus 24/7 only to get cucked for a whole lifetime.

Stop rationalizing obvious atrocities.

yo, after getting 2nd, we want to win adv

Combo: Tacocat
Flank: ?
Roamer: Taylor
Pocket: Rapscallion
Demo: Denisavich
Medic: ?

Qualities we look for
- Not a nightmare blunt rotation malder
- Strong dm/mechanics
- Willing to learn and communicate constructively

I prefer you message me on Discord --> Taylor (Number 1 Fan)#1094

I beat cancer :)

great player, seems like he will climb invite in the next couple of seasons

Combo: Tacocat
Flank: Illya
Roamer: ?
Pocket: MogulSoap
Demo: Denisavich
Medic: ?

After a few seasons of dicking around and dying irl, we're looking to take S13 seriously in Main and potentially play in Adv the next season.

Looking for a roamer and a medic with good mechanics that wants to continue to improve with us.

:{|}

Since I joined RGL, I have been so fortunate to meet so many amazing people working hard to build and improve the competitive TF2 experience.

Unfortunately, I have been met with a surprise kidney cancer diagnosis. We caught it early, so I am very, very lucky. Still, the effects have prevented me from being able to work consistently in the last couple of months, and because good health is a prerequisite for big projects like RGL, it is best I pass the reins on. I will focus on my recovery.

Luckily, the choice of who should own RGL was natural–Arcadia!

Having gotten to know Arcadia well, I learned that he is sensible, thoughtful, and productive as well as a good friend to many. He has a great vision of what TF2’s future can be, and his technical background in software engineering only puts RGL in better hands.

Arcadia has been an integral member of the community for a while now. I have seen him:

- Coach dozens of new players
- Connect RGL with community developers
- Work closely with a talented developer to create a public API and therefore support community development even further
- Act as a peacemaker and improve relationships
- Stay up late to strategize, support, and ensure projects get done
- And much, much more

Needless to say, I really respect Arcadia, and I am excited RGL will be under his direction.

Send good thoughts, and thank you all!

Ok true lol. I really like the idea WildRumpus mentioned: a curated resources page that has common tags you can select like 'pocket soldier' that would then bring up guides, vods, etc. In addition, there could be a global search bar if you want to look something up like "Snakewater Map Guide."

Flare, WildRumpus, and I will be working together on this stuff soon.

Discord invite to Newbie Mixes

In all honesty, there's not a lack of new players that want to play in Newbie Mixes and TF2CC (can always be more ofc); really, there's a lack of coaches. For players that have a genuine desire to build the community, go sign up to be a coach. Identifying outstanding newcomer players that can lead teams is an immensely rewarding experience, and they have power to bring more players and friends in. RGL also gives free seasons to Newbie Mixes coaches.

https://www.teamfortress.tv/62591/day-4-rgl-new-player-experience

This thread is on point with the solutions RGL is tackling right now--making the UX experience and pathing more obvious for new players, centralizing resources, and emphasizing sustainability. We're creating a new landing page that is MUCH more clear for new players and will offer a myriad of other solutions for age-old problems mentioned in the article I linked.

However, we shouldn't discount how powerful TF2CC and Newbie Mixes are for new player onboarding. RGL's goal for the newcomer division this season was 15 teams (compared to usual 10 new teams), and we have almost 30--the most we've had since the height of the covid bump. Gotta give huge thanks to those two orgs.

Looking forward to showing the community what we come up with.

Ok, it's back up B)

Hi all,

Sorry about the RGL site being down temporarily. Our hosting service contacted us to apologize for the situation. They're working on fixing it now.

Thanks for your patience.

Send thanks Aad, Virgil, and Exa's way! The final decision was last second, and they were able to make the logistics work.

We care very much. Because of the emotional complexity of situation like this, it makes sense why--whatever the result--there's persisting issues and frustrations. It can be mentally taxing, and I'm grateful for those that can do it level-headed. We're doing our best to look into it and make good decisions.

Thanks for your patience.

a sniper who actually gets picks. super chill too

Sounds like it. Hopefully that RMA form works out.

I'm sure you've already tried this too, but odd computer settings could cause adaptive brightness:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/fix-screen-dims-when-playing-games-on-full-screen

That would be my last idea besides what you've already done. Good luck