Sounds like you provided an excellent lesson in the need for a self-defensive mentality and better situational awareness.

Recently logged in without my backpack somehow (dammit!). Learned very quickly that it's good to keep some important things in your clothes, rather than all in your backpack. Luckily, I'd kept a few things on my person. I now like the idea of maintaining a first and second line, albeit using your backpack as your second line. First line - Can opener, canteen, bit of food, at least an extra magazine, pistol, compass (lost mine in my backpack), some medical supplies, set of handcuffs and keys to go with it. Second line (Backpack) - Any of extra good stuff. This is where I keep the bulk of my extra supplies (additional canteens, lots of food, first aid kit/additional medical supplies, more mags, ammo), and anything I pick up for friends.

Haven't been killed in combat yet, have only been reset a couple of times, and died as a freshie due to starvation (i swear, every single place I hit had been looted beyond belief). Granted, I'm only about a month or two in. Since I've been on this character, I've been involved in a couple of shootings, and one firefight. Nearly died in the firefight. Practice careful movement, and teamwork whenever possible with some buds. Been alive for a couple of weeks now, probably 15, 20 hours.

Bingo. Plus it's an entirely different engine, running completely different architecture. CS was Half-Life, which was Quake. BSP is a radically different format to how Arma formats the game. BSP is excellent for very close, very small maps/spaces. Counterstrike maps were completely enclosed and sealed, and any open outdoor spaces were essentially well-dressed indoor spaces to simulate any kind of depth. Apples and oranges. To name but a drop in the bucket of differences.

Warning shots is an interesting idea. I think the point of it isn't to say "hey, I could totally kill you right now", but more to initiate some kind of action. OP is looking to initiate their escape by shooting at them. This won't always be the case, as people will react very differently to this stimulus. People operating in well-organized groups will react differently to people who just met and happened to team up, will react differently to somebody looting alone, will react differently to someone who is actively hunting and looking for a fight. When used in the right situation, I feel that this is a worthwhile tool in the toolbox if you're not interested in killing people outside of self-defense. One of the guys I run with and I used this, albeit to a completely outcome (teammate on overwatch took some wide shots, and his intended escapee ran directly into my sights thus compromising me, ending him). Personally, whenever someone's been shooting at me, particularly when I'm on the move, I will put down shots in the direction to where I think I'm being shot from, and move to hard cover. If I am able to make it to cover, then I'll reassess and decide if the risk is worth engaging in a firefight. If you can mitigate the worth to the person at whom you are shooting the missing shots of engaging with you, and cause them to flee, then you're in a position to fire those warning shots. If you can't encourage the person to flee rather than to fight (there are a variety of factors here, some of which are in your control, others are not) then this tactic could get you killed. It's really interesting, please continue to post in this thread with your results, I'm curious.

I had a server restart on a friend who was unconscious, was headed his way to sort him out. When we all relogged, he was still unconscious and we brought him back. So server restarts, at least in that specific instance, did not cause him to die while unconscious.

The tone of his posts sound less like someone legitimately trying to scam and more like someone roleplaying as an early 1800's snakeoil salesman.... I mean, potential scam for sure, but the use of good english and clever wording in many cases indicate to me that there's something more to this. Something lulz-worthy. I've never played any games where you have to grind out stuff, and where it would make sense to save time by investing in someone to get stuff for you, and this game certainly isn't one of them. So I don't have experience with any of the other "pay to win" games or their forums where that kind of service would be offered, and as such can't really say for sure if this is in the same vein. In all honesty, I'm just curious as to what the other side of this is. I'm guessing it's induction into some kind of cult, like a creepy Jehova's witness kinda deal except sinister in spirit.

Yeah, I had a guy log in (I think) behind me at the NEAF. Heard some talking, and it wasn't my buddy on overwatch talking at me. He took a shot to scare the dude away, who ran directly into my sights. Shot him down, but I felt kinda bad about it. I don't even think his gun was drawn. Sorry guy. Still pretty new at this, and airfields are terrifying. Hopefully the next time that sort of thing happens, I'll react a little less violently. I'm still breathing, though. So I feel pretty ok about that.

Your response to "I'm geared up now" being "Now I don't have to be careful" was your undoing. By not taking precautions to avoid being killed, you ended up dead. Never let your guard down, especially in high-value looting areas. Additionally, were I in the other players shoes, if I'd made the decision to drop you, a mag dump makes sense. It is at this point the only way to be sure. Not interested in your gear, and every other player represents a potential threat. I've only killed 1 for sure in this game, and I'm reasonably assured it was justified, but he took 15 rounds of .45 to make certain that I was not the one dead and that he'd not be coming back. This is an excellent lesson to others, don't drop your guard, always maintain your security, despite how safe you may feel. With server hopping abound, you never are.

The way to defeat KOS is to avoid being seen, by being better at surviving all things, including encounters with other human beings. If you want to interact with other players, do so in a controlled manner, where you control the outcome. Keep your head on a swivel, always dig your corners, don't risk being seen until you are the one controlling whether or not you are seen. Easier said than done, but taking steps in that direction will increase your lifespan significantly. It's a dangerous world out there.

I think the best way to solve getting killed on sight is to stop being so easy to be spotted... I'm relatively new to the game, only a couple of months in, but I've never been killed on sight. I've seen a good number of other players, and have successfully avoided them and as such avoided being shot. To accomplish this, I pick my routes very carefully into dangerous areas if I must enter into them. I will observe my target insertion carefully before risking crossing the open field required to get to my entry point. I will cover my tracks, closing doors behind me, and will observe as much of my area of responsibility as I can before moving to the next building. When traversing from location to location, alone or in groups, you should cover your movement, observe where you are going, take the route that presents the least likelihood of danger if you want to avoid danger. I will not travel along roads or paths as much as possible, taking the harder route when I can with this goal in mind. TL;DR The way to survive is to protect yourself from death in its variety of forms. The best way to not get shot is to avoid getting shot at. The incentive is having not been killed or even been detected by other players.