Getting people to stay in matches requires the carrot, not the stick.

I agree with the first part of your post. The second part is one of the more ridiculous ideas that I've read on this particular forum. Do you actually understand what you're suggesting?

What you think of as legitimate reasons for quitting is irrelevant. Any reason for quitting a match is legitimate. You don't get to define legitimacy.

I don't think you understand what freedom of choice means. Maybe you should go look that up before posting asinine nonsense about how you think everyone should do things your way? There is nothing in the terms we agree to that states you must finish a game you join. Do you know why there is nothing in those terms? Because it's absolutely UNENFORCEABLE. As a result your "opinion" on people's freedom to choose who, how, when and if they play and finish a game is irrelevant. If you don't like it, then don't play. Simple as that.

Because there is nothing in the terms and conditions of the game that states I have to finish a game, then a PUNISHMENT for me not finishing a particular match of any kind is unreasonable and will just lead to people quitting the game. So instead of unbalanced matches, you'll trade that for much longer queue's to potentially no matches as the numbers in this game are already close to rock-bottom according to other posts with verifiable figures on eve-offline.

Let me put this in a way you can (hopefully) understand: This is not a job. I have one job and I don't want another one. This is a game. I play this to have fun. If I'm not having fun, then I'm going to leave. It's got nothing to do with me wanting to ruin your game specifically, it's because I want to have fun which leads me to the following equation:

My Fun's Importance > Your Fun's Importance

If it comes right down to it, then to hell with your fun. Now note, that there's nothing personal there, but if I'm not having fun then I'm not going to waste my already precious free time. That doesn't mean I'll auto-quit if I'm losing, some of the best matches I've played have been losses, but they've been tense, they've been exciting, they've been enjoyable. If I'm just getting stomped the moment I spawn with no opportunity to defend myself? There's nothing fun in that, I'll just leave as per my above.

Punishing people for staying in a game where they are already not having fun, is even less fun. In a game where you have nothing to lose, a la halo some people might stay, because they have nothing to lose. This isn't that game. People have potentially a lot of isk that they will lose by staying and I'll post up another variant of the equation for you below:

My ISK's Importance > Your ISK's importance.

Thirdly, I'm not a child. You can't punish me because I don't want to play the game the way you think I should play the game (I'll refer you back to my freedom of choice spiel further up). If we want people to stay in a game where (and here's the crucial point again) they have something to lose, then they have to be incentivised as others have said.

If you go the punitive route, people will just stop playing so it must be incentivised. You say ISK would be unbalanced, so go a combination of ISK and Skill Point Multipliers, Warbarge Components, Salvaged weapons and items. Something that would offset the massive losses and lack of fun that would be involved in staying in these matches, but using a stick will just stop people playing. It's the wrong way to go all around.

You still don't get it clearly. My fun is more important than anyone elses fun that I happen to be online with. That's the way people play games in an online setting. I don't know you and I couldn't care less about you or your fun. If I'M not having fun, then to hell with your fun. If people aren't having fun then what you are suggesting is happening will continue to happen.

If you implement your moronic suggestion then *I* guarantee you that the players who are more casual will just stop playing the game entirely and you'll be left with nothing but the hardcore dedicated people like yourself who seem to feel that complete strangers somehow *owe* them something.

I don't owe you anything you arrogant individual and the fact that you seem to think otherwise is the biggest problem with your suggestion. Any reason someone leaves is legitimate. They don't owe you anything, least of all an explanation for why they left a game. The fact is that you're stomping your feet like a petulant child because they have the "audacity" to want to have fun, or whatever other reason they leave, and are doing the equivalent of complaining to your parents. What you are asking is unenforceable and will lead to this game simply dying. No other game ever has attempted to punish its players for leaving games, no MMO, no online FPS, RTS or Grand Strategy because to do so would be complete suicide for that game.

What makes sense in terms in-game is irrelevant, like I tried to explain to you, if people aren't having fun, they will stop playing. You seem to think that they owe you their time. I don't think so.