Well, what is your opinion of that guy... the one that jumped in an already outnumbered fight for the red guy to steal the kill... the OP wanted you to discuss picking.... please don't say "it was my own fault"... we'd rather know how you really feel about what that guy did and what you think of that type of play... 'I see a familiar name' you say, so you know he's not new, and I sense you know he is known for doing this... what is your opinion on a vet who always seeks out that type of engagement?
He's a good stick. He can and has beat me 1 v 1, so no, I don't think he necessarily
has to pick to get kills. Even though his plane choice is sometimes associated with something other than turn fighting, I doubt very seriously he has a reputation of picking with anyone. Quite the opposite, actually. That was kind of my point in some of my earlier posts. The definition of a "picker" is different for many who've posted. Known ACM knowledge, percentage of kills gotten through picking, etc. are just some of the qualifiers. To me that doesn't matter. A pick is a pick. If you despise the act, why does it matter who's doing it?
Given that I can't control the actions of others (and as we've discussed, sometimes 'picking' is totally in bounds), I think it's on me to develop the skills to counter the numbskullery I'll no doubt encounter. The flying of a few pilots I've seen in my limited time support this. There are those who are so hard to pick as to be nearly impossible. If you so choose to pick them, your timing and angle had better be pretty much perfect. I see no reason why I can't develop my SA/plane control to something that resembles that.
That said, I'm not above rage kicking a puppy when stupid stuff happens. What I've noticed though, is I'm kicking the puppy because I wasn't smarter than the other guy. When I feel like I did everything I could to avoid death but still got towered, I feel remarkably serene. My puppy is then safe.