Cheating

I've begun to call out people for cheating online, mostly as part of my writing provocatively endeavors. I do it because they are cheating and if I call them on it then maybe they'll realize it, stop, and have more fun.

Cheating is when you don't follow the expectations of the other players. I think this goes along with the Lumpley Principle that everything that you do at the table is system. The other players expect that you will use the system. If you don't use it, if you break the rules, in a broadened more encompassing sense of the word, then you are cheating. If you roll dice behind a DM screen and lie about the result to get the outcome you want, then you are cheating. If your game has detailed social interaction rules and decide to instead 'roleplay it out', then you are cheating. If you say you are playing purely game style and aren't trying to win, then you are cheating. If you are playing Star Trek and magically transport everyone to the Star Wars universe, then you are cheating.

This doesn't mean you can't do the things I described, but you have to be upfront about it. If you want to change the rules, do so, but don't pretend that you are still playing the same game, you are not. As for fudging, ask why you are doing this. Let's assume you are playing both well and correctly, if you fudge then your system is failing you and isn't worth playing. I say it isn't worth playing because you aren't anymore, you're fudging, you're changing the system, you're already playing a different game. You should be honest about this and be open about what game you are actually playing. Maybe everyone is down for the GM occasionally fiating some rolls to suit what everyone wants. More likely, I would say, is that another ruleset would be of better use to the group.