MR_SLINDon't look at this situation as them trying to merge with us. Look at it as them trying to develop their own game mode. WE have no right telling them how to do their jobs although we think we do since we have thousands of hours in the game. They've been more than respectful in listening to us but we don't have control over them and we have no right to try to control them. WE still have control if we want it since we're already trying to grow our own grassroots scene (but it's not working).
Your last line is a huge contradiction to the rest of the paragraph. We will have 0 control. At most we're just beta testers for their latest experiment. I also think it's incorrect to stay that most people are trying to grow the TF2 community; most people have accepted that it's going to be in the same place or worse, and have for the last few years. Our version of the game is a "finished" game mode developed over years of refining and testing out unlocks, class limits, maps, etc. If they push a new mode, it will almost certainly disrupt the current community because people are going to drain to the "official" mode (since it's getting official support). It is 100% valve's duty at this point if they want to push something new over what the community has worked on for years. They should get feedback from their base because the new base is what's going to grow the game, not us.
bl4nkI don't think you guys realize how bumping OW is getting.
Overwatch has the benefit of developers having some focus on competitive from the start. Whether or not OW will last the test of time is one thing, but it's going to be way bigger than anything valve will offer for at least a year or two. There's really little point in coming back right now to a community that's been stagnant for years vs a popular hot game that's already been working with players in the comp scene. Valve is at least 7 years late.