They don't do any teamwork by necessity.  They don't know each other, and they've never played with each other before.  Teamwork takes practice - something you clans work on together.  A bunch of random people online by definition have not practiced together, therefore there is little to no teamwork.

I don't think "enjoy" is the word.  I'm guessing it's the only thing available.

A pet peeve of mine that's been building for a while but I've never said anything before... the use of the word "skilled" by everyone.  I think the word is used incorrectly.  Skill to me connotes some kind of physical ability that one is good at.  With a strat game, you might say that some pro has great skill with the hotkeys and mouse, where as some newb doesn't.  However, there are newbs that could be quite skilled with hands and fingers, and yet totally suck at the game (their strats and tactics suck, etc), and there could be pros who are good at the game yet don't have great skill with mouse and keys.  I think people should quit using the word "skilled" and just use the word "good" because that's what they really mean when they say "skilled."

Whatever affords the best learning opportunity, and whatever results in the most even odds for the game.  Since I've never seen pros agree to a game with significant odds they might lose, I'm guessing that has to be mixed teams.

i dont know i find them fun at times where you might lose like when i was still part of the [_] i almost got crushed by one of these games

This is actually good for the 5 player team, because they get an AI....which is probably better than the guy who just rage quit.

May you smoke a turd in *HELL* for this blasphemy!

That's qute sentiment, however does not work in practice.  Nothing will wreck a game more than a noob in the pocket that doesn't econ.  You could have 2 teams 1 vet and 2 newbies on each.  But on Team A the vet is in pocket, on team B the vet is on the edge and is forced to go military.  That game is pretty much over for team B if the guy in the middle screws up going econ.  This is why good players are hesitant to play with newbies ont heir teams.  If you get a good player on front he may kill 1 guy, but a good player in middle will win the game.

i'm with Cykur. i'd rather have the veteran on the front-line so he can actually use his superior aggression and combat micro skills to make a difference. how hard is it to tell the noob in the pocket to spam trade-ports and give the money to his allies? can train a chimp to econ-boom. 

Yeah, that was a classic example of my least favorite possible start.  I was in the pocket, with one green player next to me and another totally surrounded by you guys.  Siddy was next to me, he rushed and had no econ, so once the first beginner folded he couldn't fight a 2v1.  I fed somewhat but ultimately had to make a fleet to beat you back because you were crushing the beginner next to me and I couldn't see how giving him all my resources was going to slow you down much.  Perfect example why I would rather be on the frontline and pray that the new guy can feed a bit of cash to me.

They were too green to be good feeders....but they might have survived long enough to get their fleets into the battle.

I say just play.  Nothing like taking a good beating once in a while

I think the whole "skilled" term comes from knowing what to build vs what.  I've been playing Sins offline since it was released because I had pirated it (I know I know) and played every now and then but the AI bored me so I finally bought it and was hooked on MP.  However, while playing offline I came accross the damage chart on the forums and learned what to use to counter.  This leads to being able to beat at least 30% of the people that play online....because I know what units counter.  I also constantly scout so I know what my opponents fleet consists of and I build accordingly.  I typically always have a backbone of 5 carriers and adjust those numbers accordingly (I'll still have 5 if my adversary is flak spamming).  A flak fleet is pretty nasty though...it takes a lot of work to take down a TEC flak/hoshinko fleet.

It's not really a special skill, its just knowledge of the game and using it to your advantage.  And then come Micro'ing, teamwork and strategic skills.  There are quite a few variables that make a good player and that's why I like Sins...its never just a clickfest.

I like having mixed teams and don't mind playing with noobs as long as they listen and I can coach them on what units counter what.  Nothing kills me more than someone spamming LRM's against a carriers fleet and he continues to spam LRM's for the sake of building units........just pause your production, tech carriers and begin to trench in.  If you are a noob, just listen and learn from your allies.  If you are a "skilled" player, coach your teammates.

I might be able to add something to this.

I have played Sins a lot, but not online at all (originally due to a slow rig that lagged horribly - I got booted pre-game for major lagging even on low settings when I tried, now due to a bad internet connection that hopefully will soon be sorted out).  I generally play for the fun of it ie spend half my time putting on cinematic mode and zooming round battles instead of sorting out my empire, so I suspect I would get hammered online (or at least forced to take the game more seriously).

If I was in an online game though, I would hate to be on the front line against skilled players.  I mean, it may be useful to have cannon fodder in front of you as a buffer, but its not so much fun for them.  IMHO the skilled players should be on the front line so the noobs can get themselves going rather than being at the receiving end of a lot of space bashing.

I may make a foray onto online soon (when that stupid router is fixed) so I'll see for myself.

You said you played on both sides. How did the other side play?