This is easily the worst idea I've heard since getting rid of shields. I would like to take this opportunity to scold whoever made this up for forgetting that there are some players who don't live in Europe. Some live in America, where probably 80% of the world's gaming population lives. Some live in Australia, imagine their terrible pings.
This should be undone. It doesn't affect me because at the moment I cannot log in to Freelancer (stupid Vista / McAfee combo), but it is unjust, cruel, and in every way stupid. Have it detect console quits, F1s, and Alt+F4s, don't activate it every time some poor Aussie or West Coaster loses connection because of inconvenient server placement.