Anyone have Moomba's Trainer?

[Malakar]

I would have to agree with Thecla and Urza that the answer to most of those questions is that yes, they are in fact cheating. However, whether there exists a thing called "acceptable cheating" is a matter of opinion.

I think this subject contains many shades of grey, and a single shade can be seen darker or lighter by different people. Even things that are technically not cheating may be seen as "cheesy or "cheap" by some, such as twinking out new characters with uber gear found on your high level character.

Diablo was a great game, but public games suffered a rapid descent into absurdity because of hacks and cheats (Diablo II didn't fare much better) -- no better explanation of the vehement hatred of cheats (and the people who ask for them) from anyone who loved the game (like the people here).

I think this does a good job of explaining why some people at the Lounge tend to see the shades of grey rather dark or have a low tolerance for the darker shades, and that's understandable if you ask me.

As for assuming a player asking for a trainer is going to use it to cheat, I think that's reasonable enough since that's what most players do. However, it wouldn't hurt to ask them what they intend to do with it. But I would imagine it would get old asking that question every time someone who intends to cheat asks for a trainer, since there are so many of them. So I can't really blame Lem for not asking.

4. Is it cheating to use hint books or walkthroughs to finish a game?

This is a rather interesting question... I would probably personally define that as cheating technically, though whether it is acceptable or not depends entirely on the situation. Reading a strategy guide is similar. In some situations I would consider it lame, while in others I'd consider it perfectly fine.