View From the Road: Cheaters Sometimes Win

StarSlinger

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Feb 1, 2004
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The technique is called smurfing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smurfing_(online_gaming)

Basically it is often used as a griefing tool in ladder/ranking systems. A player with a big ego loses all hope of winning enough games against qualified gamers to feed said big ego, and so he makes a new identity so he can curb-stomp newbies.

Generally, it is bad for the game in question, as new players can be discouraged from playing if they can't play with people at their own skill level.

In the case of the article, the writer is smurfing by trying to represent himself as less skilled/capable. He is just doing it manually instead of using the ladder system to do it for him.