I hate revisionism from newgen players that weren't around to experience TF2 prior to 2016. I can pinpoint the golden age perfectly: before valve implemented a fundamentally flawed matchmaking system that does not work, and has never worked, since day 1. Back when queueing for a server wasn't a gamble with your free time. Back when I could play with (or against!) as many of my friends whenever I wanted to, and wasn't subject to an awful party system. Back when I could directly join my friends server via adhoc instead of using said party system. Back when we had thriving community servers, of all kinds, that weren't killed off by the matchmaking system. Back when updates were actually exciting, meaningful, instead of Valve dumping piles of lame cosmetics into the game and taking our money, all while ignoring waves of cheating bots for 8 fucking years and muting free to plays, requiring not 1 but 2 massive community outcries to get them to squirt out ONE tweet, and allow a single contractor to deal with the bots 2 years later. Valve killed off player agency, countless communities and their servers, the flow of gameplay, and lost the trust of their players, all for their failed matchmaking experiment to shove TF2 into the esports hole to compete with overwatch. It's failed for 10 years. Leaving the game in indefinite maintenance mode as they milk what's left for tens of millions a year. Yeah, we had a golden era, you missed it. I wish you hadn't so you wouldn't say stupid shit like this. It wasn't perfect, but in comparison to where the game is today? It might as well have been.