Ta is gone and ibis is no longer ranked. The ns2 player base is the lowest it has ever been. Four months ago being the highest it was in years. Uwe in an attempt to solve "server balance problems" has destroyed many of the games biggest communities. With ibis gone the "normal ns2 community" will be exposed to the rookie wave that ibis helps alleviate from the other servers. I do think that this will be fun to watch the game crash and burn in the next few weeks.
edit tldr the devs are cracking down on reserved slots and the game is on its way out.