me->p_flags |= PFOBSERV; /* future clients may understand this */ I think it's pretty clear that it was added so clients could note observers in the player list and otherwise handle being in observer mode better. I know why it isn't sent or always set and can fix it. COW handles this pretty well. It will display the torp count and kills of the person observed in the dashboard (for dashboard != LAB). It looks like someone intended to sort the player list too: * TODO: * * Sort observers separatly: opserver if (pl->p_flags & PFOBSERV) is true.