Hello Hipkat, thank you for posting about this and finding a good approach for this question. I can understand how it can cause confusion for players in examples like this, so I am glad we are getting to discuss it.
I apologize if those questions came off as passive aggressive, but these additional details do help and do somewhat matter.
And before I continue I just want to make a side note to all of our players that if you ever feel like an admin is not doing their part to maintain a fair and fun environment (ex: not balancing teams or making an effort to do so, etc etc), please always feel welcome to contact us through Contact Us, file a server complaint through Server Complaints, or submit a Admin Abuse Report for more substantial or reoccurring manners (all with proper proof/info ofc). I don't just say this for the sake of disciplinary matters, but more for ensuring that we can maintain a high level of quality on our servers. For example, on jay1 I have seen a fair amount of players who think that posting about anything on these forums is damn near pointless, and granted some of those people are just lazy and like to complain, but there are players who do feel that way, and I wish that was different because this is stuff that should be brought up.
Now, as per our =F|A= Wiki : "Trial and clan members should be the first to move to even teams. We expect members to move at least once every 2-3 maps. Also not all members have good enough skill level, to make difference or actually resolve unbalance issue, so if that's the case, asking/moving regulars/skilled player is best thing to do."
We are not as heavy on the 2-3 map switching because it is typically not a issue as long as teams are fair/balanced. Unless there is too little time remaining for it to matter (usually 5 mins depending on map and progress) or other similar factors, the BOTTOM LINE is that if you are wearing tags and playing, you are expected to move first and balance the teams. When there are multiple admins playing, they are expected to be the first to move to balance the teams. Sure, it is totally fine if teams are called and another players moved first anyways, admin afk, they do nothing once or twice, whatever. However, when a team goes -3 and an admin is deliberately not upholding the bare-minimum and very basic commitment to keeping teams balanced, that is just absolutely piss poor lazy and only hurts the quality of gameplay. Although I believe that ET somewhat requires the combined efforts of all players in this day and age, if an admin will not take initiative, nobody will. Well, maybe some, but definitely not a lot 😂
I did not even consider any names throughout this post, nor is it directed towards anyone in particular, but I hope this is able to give you/everyone a more definitive answer as to where the lines should stand in these situations.
If you have any more questions or concerns about this, always feel free to reach out to us