Idling
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Idling is the term for players who join a Team Fortress 2 server and do nothing. While connected to a TF2 server, players are eligible to recieve items from the item drop system.
History
The early versions of the item drop system distributed items according to the amount of playtime earned. Players were able to boost their hours through several means, such as joining a server and minimising the game to the background. The term idling stems from the idea that the player remains virtually immovable during the game as they wait for the system to deliver items.
The creation of third party programs, particularly 'SteamStats', allowed players to be able to idle without placing difficulty on their PCs or total user time. On September 2, 2009 Valve issued a blog post announcing their zero tolerance against the external applications, and prompty removed all items earned through this method. Players who did not use the programs were awarded the Cheater's Lament.
On April 20, 2010, the drop system was altered significantly to address the issue of long unlucky streaks which prompted idling. An item cap was put in place to prevent excess items being earned through above average playtime.
Methods
In-game
Opening the game, entering a server, then minimising the game to the background was an early method of idling. Servers solely set up to hold idling players are common, however, players can also idle using offline practice mode or via listen server (accessed through "Create a server" in the main menu), provided that they can maintain a connection to Steam
An alternate method of in-game idling makes use of the developer launch parameter -textmode, which loads the game in a Template:W-like window.
External applications
'SteamStats' was one of the earliest third-party idling applications. The program mimicked the game's engine and connected players to idling servers, serving as a hassle free method. As of September 2, 2009, players who use it or any other third-party external program will result in the loss of all their items.
