How much good sportsmanship is required to not qualify as a d...?

Ectar:   The game is full of variables. The only thing you can carry from one game to the next is you (unless you're platooning then it's you and your friend or friends).  You should always be looking to do your best because *you* know what *you* are capable of.  Sometimes your team mates will have your back and other times they'll die before you do. - That's just the nature of the game. If you want to improve in this game the only way to do that is to keep playing, but you need to play smart. If you're grinding a tank and the going is tough, swap it out every 4 or 5 matches for a tank you love playing.  If you have a loss streak of about 5-6 games, stop and take a break. Surf the web, go for a stroll, watch a TV show or movie, read a book... Basically do something to snap out of the "I must win this battle!" mentality.  Having a loss streak in a game like World of Tanks is liking going "full tilt" in a game of poker.  You start to play reckless and take silly risks as you're obsessed with trying to get a result. What you should be doing is playing smart, patient and not playing into your enemies hands.     Like any game you play, World of Tanks should be fun.  If for any reason you're not having fun then take a break and clear your mind. Playing in a bad mood just builds and builds and then next minute you're cursing at someone in chat for something relatively minor or something that you have zero influence on.  - Don't be that guy.   If you're outnumbered or left alone on a flank, don't get mad.  Give the enemy tanks hell and always ALWAYS go down shooting. Never have a "I give up" attitude and please never deliberately drown yourself if the match looks bad. Damage = credits and exp and you should always be looking to get the most you can from each match.