Many pirates who began playing relatively close to when the game launched could tell you that the atmosphere has changed dramatically. The good old days as they're commonly referred to is exactly what they were, the times when players had the pirate spirit and held their common manners and courtesy when greeting/interacting with others.
However, the mood switched around a year ago when PvP reached an all time high. When "jumping" was first introduced, the drama and rudeness began. Like some posted on this thread already, the best thing to do is beat them at their own game. Many players began "jumping" me in a PvP match where it'd be 4 on 1.. in retaliation, I took a few Officers with me and stood on Abassa for a short while and sure enough, we got the PvP and beat them at their own game. It seems as though the fame and reputation is high among the younger players, but that doesn't speak for all.
The best thing to do with players who are basically rude is just ignore them, report them, or change servers. Sure you may lose out on a certain spot but it beats the headache of having to deal with someone there who is aggravating. I'm disappointed that Disney took away so many of the quiet servers because it gave space to those who wanted it. But the dramatic and tense atmosphere has seemed to die down, but there's still small extent to which it exists, mainly on the full servers - the closer you are to Abassa, the more essence you'll get.. not implying that everyone who goes to Abassa acts that way
