the jump from casual tf2 to 6s is a difficult transition, and one thing contributing to the difficulty is that new players have to use the same ruleset as invite. imagine you're teaching a first grader basketball and you're making him shoot on a 10" rim with the 3pt line pushed way back. no shot dude, you want that kid able to actually play within his abilities. then as he grows up, he gets better, the rules change.

here are some ways we could "lower the rim" for beginners:
[list]
[*] more restricted whitelist
[*] decrease spawn timers
[*] increase round time
[*] players start the round at 2nd, rather than last
[/list]

most of these are pretty simple. don't make new players have to learn counterplay for spoon/demoknight/banners/etc. make mistakes less punishing with a slightly decreased spawn time. teams are slower, so give them more opportunities to break last holds. hell, you could even have engis build slower. my more contentious proposal is having rounds start in the first forward spawn. rollouts are tough for new players and if any player messes one up badly, mid can be over before it starts. rolling out from 2nd lowers that barrier to entry without diminishing how important jumping is the rest of the game.

what do you think? what other rule changes would make it easier for new players getting into 6s?