I'm not bothered that the topic was started by a member of SDC, it could have been any of us got ticked off enough to start it off. I'm even less bothered by 'them PvP'ers' or 'oh yeah, Open
' comments. Anyone using such observations are expressing their own opinions, we're all allowed to do that here.
I don't accept that 'cheats don't affect my game' though... Look, they don't/won't affect MY game directly, I may never see a cheater in my game-play life (fingers crossed), but they do affect us all, in the end, because every cheat active actually does bring our game closer to the point where playing in Open or PG (think about it...) is no longer viable as any competitive aspect of the game is vulnerable, even subtly, to imbalance. Yes, I know a well built PvP ship is as imbalanced today to us 'ordinairy' folk as a cheat godship would be to them...
Solo, I can't make too many comments on, I've spent a lot of game hours there, it's fine - but really the 'single player' part of ED, apart from the BGS, of course (I can't comment on PP as I have exactly zero experience there) and I'm only recently involved in getting my feet wet with that!
Cheaters can destroy our game, should their numbers grow out of hand, if the Developers cannot detect the code they use effectively, as the game's credibility could be so damaged that the plug is pulled on BGS/PP/Exploration due to an inability to assess if any achievement was gained 'legally'.
My opinion only above, although I have been thinking around each comment raised here (and similar threads) and trying to extrapolate what
could happen.