Jitter Clicking Discussion

Jittering usually comes with a bit of practice, with a hacked client you don't need that practice.

I do believe people jitter because its a way to play the game. Like myself and many others I find clicking faster better at times due to the chances of hitting someone being greater.

I don't believe jitterclicking should be banned.

I completely understand the reason why people jitter and it's a fair argument that it takes practice to do it.

But I would say jittering blurs the lines between hacking and playing fairly. How does a staff member know if someone is jittering or hacking? Do they assume that if the player is new they are hacking but if they've been around a while they aren't? Do they have to request proof from every player who shoots fast to show that they are actually clicking rather than hacking? It becomes very ambiguous the difference between jittering and hacking.

Even further my personal view is that someone who is in favor of jittering can't be opposed to hacking. Hacking is against the rules because it provides an unfair advantage over other players. Jittering provides the exact same advantage, just a different method. What's the difference between jittering and someone using a client modification thats sole purpose is to shoot faster? I don't see any difference. So to me it seems like you either have to be in favor of both or against both, because they effectively accomplish the same exact thing.

I think the biggest difference is in the morals of the player.

Someone who jitters or butterfly clicks is someone who wants to develop a skill to make themselves better at the game and for the most part, cares about their play style and the game as a whole. A hacker is someone who maybe has no experience in the game, or does not have any reason to care about MCBall and its community. As a previous mod, I've seen that plenty before. Furthermore, someone who feels like adding a macro or client to do the work is okay would be more likely to be okay with an x-ray or minimap mod to add another advantage. Sometimes these hackers are those who have been around a while and have earned people's trust and then choose to switch to an unfair play style, but most of the time it is people who have no regard for the game or how it's played.

I don't think jitter or butterfly clicking should be banned because it's simply a strategy. People who work out and are buff and strong vs people who just use steroids to get to the same place are not the same person. Steroids are banned in competitions because it is illegal, even if the steroid user and the non steroid user have the same results. So if you see a hacker and a skilled player who are getting the same result, it is a responsibility to weed out the hacker because they are not respecting the game. I have more thoughts on this but the post is getting lengthy.

I definitely agree there is a moral difference. But I see that moral difference not in how somebody accomplishes faster shooting, rather in the community's tolerance for hacking. How do you determine the difference between someone using a macro versus someone jittering? Like I said it's a blurred and ambiguous line, it's difficult to define the difference without watching their hand. And even someone who is an established jitter clicker could switch to using a macro without anybody giving it a second glance. To me jitter clicking in some ways promotes subtle use of macros or other modifications.

I think your analogy is very well thought out and makes perfect sense. But I just feel that jitter clicking poses more issues than it's worth.

Essentially my opinions on how jitter clicking negatively affects the game are:
1) It makes the staff's job harder
2) It makes brand new players either so discouraged that they quit
3) It encourages players, both old and new, to find subtle ways to get away with cheating so that they can keep up

I suppose I should clarify my argument is less that jitter clicking should be considered hacking, because I know that it's different. It's more about the negative effects I believe it promotes, which I outlined a few in my last post.

As for your points Xorgon, the argument about rewarding some skills over others is very interesting. I made this post mostly because I have always been fairly opposed to jitter clicking and couldn't think of arguments that in my mind were valid reasons. So I was hoping someone else might have a new perspective. I definitely understand your position and it makes perfect sense.

That being said, I still personally feel that it brings negative side-effects that outweigh the benefits. I feel like it's also a large factor hurting new player retention (that's not to say a huge advertising campaign won't help). Clearly I'm of the unpopular opinion and will catch some flak for this, but I hold by my own beliefs the same way y'all hold to yours.