You would generally choose a server based on ping and population (many of which had custom maps or rule sets - like no sniper rifles in CS 1.6) then choose a team, but only if they had equal players otherwise you had to go to the one with fewer. In the servers I played at least, the better players were generally expected to swap teams if it got too one-sided. Otherwise people just get annoyed and go to another server. Admins would enforce rules around server culture just as readily as anything else.
Persistent servers mean they can have distinct cultures and you get your favourite servers and start to notice the regular players. This doesn't happen with matchmaking so much.
And I think the point about the 50% win rate is important - I am a person and my mood and skill varies day by day, but ranking stats are measuring the account not the player. Some days I wanted to stomp noobs, some days I wanted a challenge, and some days I wanted to turn my brain off and run fy_iceworld. You could also change your name at will if you were worried about your reputation due to any of the above.
Persistent servers mean they can have distinct cultures and you get your favourite servers and start to notice the regular players. This doesn't happen with matchmaking so much.
And I think the point about the 50% win rate is important - I am a person and my mood and skill varies day by day, but ranking stats are measuring the account not the player. Some days I wanted to stomp noobs, some days I wanted a challenge, and some days I wanted to turn my brain off and run fy_iceworld. You could also change your name at will if you were worried about your reputation due to any of the above.