Wed Jul 23, 2003 8:47 am
Analyzation of the verb "cheat", and how it concer
First of all, if administrators or moderators feel this post should be in a different forum, by all means move it.
I've noticed that there seems to be an issue of whether or not "Mods" (shorthand for modifications) are classified as cheats. I've gone to several online dictionaries, and looked up the word "cheat."
Most definitions are very similar:
Those are selected entries from a few sites. I particularly like the last one, because of the words "accepted standards."
Here is my interpretation:
The code in a game can be described as a bunch of rules. *.ini files can be described as rulebooks. They contain information such as "cruise speeds normally have a maximum speed of 300m/s" or "shipA holds two class 2 weapon mounts and a class 3 weapon mount." or "Only the followingships can be purchased/flown by the player: 'Starflier, Startracker, Hawk, Falcon, Eagle, Pirahna, Barracuda, Hammerhead, Patriot, Defender, Rhino, Crusader, Cavalier, Clysedale, Drake, Dragon, Drone, Banshee, Valkryie, Humpback, Dagger, Stiletto, Sabre, Legionaire, Centurion, Titan.' (Yes, I pulled all that off the top of my head.
)"
Those are some of the rules.
When you mod, you change the set of rules that you play by, such as you change cruise speed to 800, or change the ships that can be purchased/flown. This is fine. (As in monopoly: many people change the rules so you may recieve money if one lands on "free parking".)
There is something else. When you join a server, there is an unwritten agreement that you play by the server rules. (Just like if you join a casino game, you play by the casino's rules.) Some of these rules are obvious, such as "No newbie PKing in New York." But this also includes the rules defined in the server's .ini files.
Now, if you connect to your own modded server, you are always playing by your own rules, no matter what you do. There, it is impossible to cheat. If you connect to someone else's server whilst using a different mod set than that server, then you are playing by different rules. You cannot do this (just as you cannot play by your own rules while in a casino). Therefore, when your mods allow you to do something which violates the rules stated in the server's *.ini files (such as a maximum speed of 600, while the server's .ini files say max. speed=300), you are cheating.
That's why I like that quote: "to violate the accepted standards or rules." If you join a server, then you accept to play by their rules. If you violate those accepted rules, then you are cheating.
To put this in layman's terms:
Modding is not cheating, unless you mod in multiplayer. Then modding is cheating.
--------------------------------
Why make your own mistakes when someone else has already made them for you?
-Learn from the skeletons floating in the piranha pool: NO SWIMMING!
Edits: Stupid typos/smileys where I don't want it, etc...
Edited by - Whasp Commander on 23-07-2003 09:49:35
I've noticed that there seems to be an issue of whether or not "Mods" (shorthand for modifications) are classified as cheats. I've gone to several online dictionaries, and looked up the word "cheat."
Most definitions are very similar:
Main Entry: 1cheat
Pronunciation: 'chEt
Date: 1590
intransitive senses
1 a : to practice fraud or trickery b : to violate rules dishonestly (as at cards or on an examination)
-----www.meriam-webster.com----
v. intr.
To violate rules deliberately, as in a game : was accused of cheating at cards.
-----www.dictionary.com-----
cheating [adj. Violating accepted standards or rules; <SYN.> dirty, foul, unsporting, unsportsmanlike.
-----http://ultralingua.net-----
Those are selected entries from a few sites. I particularly like the last one, because of the words "accepted standards."
Here is my interpretation:
The code in a game can be described as a bunch of rules. *.ini files can be described as rulebooks. They contain information such as "cruise speeds normally have a maximum speed of 300m/s" or "shipA holds two class 2 weapon mounts and a class 3 weapon mount." or "Only the followingships can be purchased/flown by the player: 'Starflier, Startracker, Hawk, Falcon, Eagle, Pirahna, Barracuda, Hammerhead, Patriot, Defender, Rhino, Crusader, Cavalier, Clysedale, Drake, Dragon, Drone, Banshee, Valkryie, Humpback, Dagger, Stiletto, Sabre, Legionaire, Centurion, Titan.' (Yes, I pulled all that off the top of my head.
)"
Those are some of the rules.
When you mod, you change the set of rules that you play by, such as you change cruise speed to 800, or change the ships that can be purchased/flown. This is fine. (As in monopoly: many people change the rules so you may recieve money if one lands on "free parking".)
There is something else. When you join a server, there is an unwritten agreement that you play by the server rules. (Just like if you join a casino game, you play by the casino's rules.) Some of these rules are obvious, such as "No newbie PKing in New York." But this also includes the rules defined in the server's .ini files.
Now, if you connect to your own modded server, you are always playing by your own rules, no matter what you do. There, it is impossible to cheat. If you connect to someone else's server whilst using a different mod set than that server, then you are playing by different rules. You cannot do this (just as you cannot play by your own rules while in a casino). Therefore, when your mods allow you to do something which violates the rules stated in the server's *.ini files (such as a maximum speed of 600, while the server's .ini files say max. speed=300), you are cheating.
That's why I like that quote: "to violate the accepted standards or rules." If you join a server, then you accept to play by their rules. If you violate those accepted rules, then you are cheating.
To put this in layman's terms:
Modding is not cheating, unless you mod in multiplayer. Then modding is cheating.
--------------------------------
Why make your own mistakes when someone else has already made them for you?
-Learn from the skeletons floating in the piranha pool: NO SWIMMING!
Edits: Stupid typos/smileys where I don't want it, etc...
Edited by - Whasp Commander on 23-07-2003 09:49:35