I confess to doing a little "ganking" in my PS4 days, mostly using my alt CMDR. I never killed my targets, however (unless they pressed the fight and it was my life vs. theirs). I usually would just bring their hull down to 50% or so and then let them escape. If I took out their thrusters and it seemed clear they didn't know how to reboot, I would send them a comms to explain it to them.
The ganking I did was under the guise of PowerPlay - I chose a power and then hunted players of opposing powers. I also flew very humble ships like an Imperial Eagle or modestly engineered Courier (my alt was an Imperial loyalist). I chose weapons that were "mess with you" weapons, like force shell cannons and scramble spectrum burst lasers. I was basically a cat playing with a mouse but not killing it.
Eventually I stopped this, because it was annoying people, and just annoying people for the sake of annoying people just doesn't sit right with me. These days I pirate for my "prey on the innocent" PvP, which has purpose and is very much Lore-friendly. I fully role play, using comms and stealth tactics rather than brute force. I never kill my target - it's bad for business! Heck, I have used repair limpets more than once on my targets if an inevitable battle goes too poorly for them. I like to think of myself as sort of a Robbin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (me). IMO piracy is way more challenging and rewarding that just "I shoot you, hehehe" Beavis & Butthead ganking.