theres some weird quirks about the tribes ascend community
people get very upset over the automatic weapons/pistols. the game is very floaty so when someone chooses to commit to flying in a striaght line it's almost always a better idea to just land all your automatic shots rather than go for a risky airshot. When you become more accustomed to the flow of fights you can prepare for lands: bring out your explosive projectile weapon and get a quick 800 damage shot off+ bounce him and move back to your automatic.
optimal weapon usage is discouraged by the vast majority. it's to the point where otherwise good players lose easily winnable fights because they're too proud/inept to not go for the 5% chance airshot