So someone you have come across in online play or someone you know that runs in your own circles accuses you of cheating. You immediately think to yourself “Jesus H. This kid.”. You think to yourself that this person is clearly full of themselves. Is this person mad that I simply beat them or do they genuinely believe that you are cheating (some might say there isn’t a difference)?
Bottom line – if you accuse someone of cheating you BETTER have the hard facts and evidence to back it up.
Now you ask, what evidence could this person possibly have? Do they have recorded video footage? Do they have demos to play back with ESP turned on? Do they have some other proof? Most likely not, but that’s not what the real issue is.
The real issue is how these cheating accusations are perceived by others and how it can start the “witch hunt” or “pitch fork” effect. Spreading inconclusive rumors, lies, and accusations have REAL consequences. Those things can affect someone’s professional life or how they are viewed by others. What if a potential employer does a social media check and finds that someone accused them of cheating in online gaming? Does it sound a little far fetched? Yes – but if you were looking to hire someone and did a social media check and saw that the person you were considering was accused of cheating I bet you would second-guess hiring them to represent your company or brand. What about how it affects their personal relationships? Cheating accusations may have an affect on how that persons other friends and inner circle view that person. All because someone was faster than you or was smarter than you and beat you in an online competitive game.
These things carry REAL WEIGHT and REAL EFFECTS to those in the real world, especially if you know each other beyond just in front of the computer screen. Do you REALLY want to accuse that person of cheating you or are you really just upset that they beat you? Because if it’s only salt, you do nothing but create a headache for that person and that makes you a huge asshole and shows you lack real integrity. Am I guilty of this? YES, but I learned the hard way of how it affects people in real life.
TLDR – Have real proof before you decide to shoot your mouth off. It can have consequences beyond your immediate need for vengeance.
