This is not a pick

[Steve]

Seems like some old definitions are getting skewed a bit. The traditional, generally accepted definition of a pick is when you kill someone who is already engaged in a 1v1 or even fight. Even then, to be a pick in it's pure sense, the kill would be when neither your target or your teammate has a clear advantage.
Still, shooting someone off a friendly's 6 in a 1v1 is considered a pick by some. My personal opinion is that this is a pick but perhaps a warranted one.. YMMV and that's ok. 

Getting bounced, while un-engaged, without another enemy icon in range, in a sector you have decisive air superiority is in no way a pick. I've seen this, or close to it,  quite a bit lately. It's a bounce, not a pick. The target has a momentary lapse of SA(we all do this) and gets shot down. Bummer... but not a pick. 

Tazz is a good guy, and he hails from a great squad, but I happened to save this film last night so I'm using it as my example.   





Neither is this, from the same pass:

[gpwurzel]

Personally, cant see anything wrong with that, at all. Nice job in my opinion.

<S>

Wurzel

[Gixer]

Clearing a bunch of cons off a friendlies six is one thing. But diving in to a fight that is obviously 1v1 or when more then one friendly on a single con and you come in as the third or fourth attacker is just a pick.

If you come across a friendly in trouble and they ask for help fine, if not learn some ACM and find your own fight.

Defending squaddies is the only exception in my book.

Flying a low eny ride and still needing picks for kills/score is about as lame and dweeb as it gets.


<S>...-Gixer

[ink]

Steve i have killed nme cons when i was only friendly in area fighting multiple cons, yes i had alt, but was accused of "picking" them. i got quite the laugh off of that one.

[Kermit de frog]

If I were the guy whom was shot down by steve after this, I would have let him know, "thank you for the excellent fight"  "it was truely fun for the both of us, wish I could have fights like this all the time"

".s steve"

 

[Bruv119]

Agree with Steve far too many guys cry pick when it blatantly isn't.

If someone is above you and ready to kill you that is your fault.  If you don't see them and move out of the way that is your fault.   If they kill you its YOUR fault.  Don't resort to calling out poop to save face.   

Picking is all about getting another guy when he is fighting someone else. 

[BoSoxFan]

What it is, is sometime over the years people started to think any kill where you had alt and dove in was a pick. Iv had people say after killing me while I was on someone wasn't a pick because we were co alt.

[Charge]

It seems that when people think there are some kind of "rules of engagement" some people, in their frustration, tend to find fault in other people on that basis -not to mention all kinds of curious interpretations of those said "rules" that happen to fit their state of mind at that moment.

I have never expected anybody to hold fire because I was engaged with the target. If the target is not dead by the time the faster and better positioned attacker gets there I expect him to kill it. Its my own fault if I could not kill the target in due time.

-C+

[FLOTSOM]

Well Steve seeing as you brought up this topic maybe you could clear something up for me.

So what is it called when your wingman **cough (jetsom) cough** has painted "SHOOT HERE" and a big "BULLSEYE" on your plane?

Then your wingman **cough (jetsom) cough** insists that you get the glory of being the first to drop down from alt and engage the enemy, not by shooting at them (firing your guns before your wingman is in position is forbidden), but by dropping into the horde, dumping all your E and getting the gaggle (because your wingman only sends you into groups of 3 or more, and not usually less than 5) to slow turn fight with you?

Is it considered to be picking when this aforementioned wingman **cough (jetsom) cough** booms in and repeatedly shoots down the slow tuning planes chasing and attempting to kill you, the slow turning pilot that first dropped into the horde (adoringly nicknamed BAIT by his wingman)?

Would those enemy pilots being shot down be justified in saying they were "picked"? does that scenario constitute a picking party?

Is this a bad wingman tactic?

Jetsom swears by it, is he wrong?

FLOTSOM

[Ghosth]

Well flotsom the easy way to get him to stop it is to not go down and rescue him. 

Personally I'd call it wingman tactics, or flying bait, and let it go at that.
Sucks when someone else does it to you, but its a valid tactic IMO.

[LYNX]

Picking or as once known as Cherry Picking is, shooting a con already engaged in a fight then returning to the perch to rins repeat on the next ENGAGED con.  It is not to be confused with "drag and bag".  A situation where a friendly or wingman deliberately drags a con on his six to be shot.

How the ego conceals it's embarrassment is to wrongly claim the disadvantage.  An overall excuse to express to others, who don't care anyway, that some how the odds were stacked overwhelming against them and the outcome inevitable.

As I said to some geezer the other day....they wouldn't know a pick if it came out their nose.  His argument was I came in 10k over his fleet and dropped to the deck to kill him.  The fact that we were the only 2 there and I lost an aileron to puffy ack which concluded in a turn fight on the deck for 2 min, was some how derisory to his "picker" claim   

[PFactorDave]

I came in 10k over his fleet and dropped to the deck to kill him. 

That is clearly not a pick.  It is quite obvious to anyone with any sense at all that you are not a picker at all, you are an altitude monkey!  People need to get their terms straight! 

[FLOTSOM]

That is clearly not a pick.  It is quite obvious to anyone with any sense at all that you are not a picker at all, you are an altitude monkey!  People need to get their terms straight! 

You tell him PF!!!
 

[LYNX]

cheeky buggers

[CAP1]

That is clearly not a pick.  It is quite obvious to anyone with any sense at all that you are not a picker at all, you are an altitude monkey!  People need to get their terms straight! 

my understanding of a "pick" was/is that the "picker" comes in high over the fight, and simply waits for someone low in the furball, to make a mistake, or to wander out of the furball, drops, shoots, and goes back up high to await the next mistake.
 if no one makes this mistake for him, then he picks one that seems to be fixated on his target, and blasts through the furball, guns blazing....again returning to the relative safety of his perch.
 i almost want to call it the same if you're dropping in on a 1-1 fight, although that is more of "clearing a countrymans six", depending on the situation. i always ask my countryman if he needs/wants help before going into their fight.

 now, all that being said, i DO realize that if/when i get picked, it's my own fault. it is also very difficult to keep an eye on those pickers when you're in a furball, and already trying to track multiple cons(which i suck at so far). it's a bit easier when you're in a 1-1, though.

 as for those screenshots.......whelp..defi nitly not a pick......more of a boom n zoom tactic it looks like. and yes, it appears as it was their own fault for not looking 'round.  i only WISH i could hit something while doing over 500mph. but then, i tend to not fly the planes that go that fast.