Of course you can use the tunnels. The only thing we have in the rules against using them (in public servers) is that you can't walk them if there are hogs available and no threat at the base. If you want to take the tunnels every time, go for it. Admins can't warn you for doing it, but as you know, admins and guests alike might suggest/insist you go a better way.
They should not steal the hog though, guests should not and admins should know better. If that really happened, I apologize.
So it's not a rule, you can do it if you want, but it's not always best to go through the tunnels. Sometimes it's safer and in those cases, definitely use the tunnels. But that's good strategy. Going through the tunnels separates you from the enemy, and if you can't kill them, you might not win. Race is a contact game, it's necessary to get kills and getting killed is part of the game too. Avoiding and delaying action is not part of it and really isn't why people play.
Just an FYI, in our scrims, tunnels can only be used when it's necessary, meaning 1) there's a threat at the base and 2) they need the center nav. If both aren't true, then tunnels can't be used. This is to ensure the game is fair and even for both sides, so that one team isn't hiding in the tunnels every lap.
Scrims are more competitive and the rules a little tighter. I think people would like to see better competition in the public servers, but we'd need everyone on board to make it happen. We can't expect that from every guest as some are new, some are casual players, and some aren't there to play, so we leave it to the scrims.
