Of all the things that people whine about most, it is the ubiquitous HO, the head on. I want to try to set the record staight as I see it.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING, as ONE PERSON HO'ing ANOTHER.
The fact is, it takes two people to engage in the HO. You get two stubborn players, going nose to nose, neither wants to give. Inexorably, one gets the better of the other, or they collide, and the whining starts. Each one claiming the other of breaking some sacred code of conduct by refusing to yield or get out of the way. (As if one player clearly has the ROW in any particular case)
If it wasn't so annoying to read the banter on 200, it would be hilarious. Think about it, each guy is blaming the other for doing exactly what they were doing themselves.
It is so easy to avoid a HO if you really want to, a slight jink here and there and you are out of harms way. Especially if you have an e-advantage, all you have to do is go up.
Sometimes, I willingly engage in a HO if I feel the odds are in my favor. For example if I have 110 and the other a P51B, you bet I will. Or if I up an IL-2 on a heavily capped base; if anyone is dumb or greedy (or impatient) enuf to HO me, oh yes, you bet.
Anyway, that is my take on it. If I go into an HO situation, I put my odds at about 50/50 of surviving, and 99% chance of taking serious damage. If I get killed, you certainly won't hear me crying about it. If I win, you certainly won't see me gloating about it.