lol. Yep.
In a perfect merge, you want an almost straight head-on pass. Naturally, any good pilot should initially set up for this. If the other guy maneuvers off to the side, or otherwise doesn't bring his nose in my direction, I'm in no danger of being shot by him. Guess what?
I am going to pull the trigger.
And why wouldn't I? You're not morally superior to me if you presented a head-on guns-solution to me and did nothing about it, you're just dead.
I suppose this is the difference between guys who play this as a test of skill and guys who play this to kill other fella's.
If you blast the other guy in the face on the merge, and he dies, you have only got to kill 1 more or get a proxy before the name in lights and the wtg's.
I have started playing like Shida is suggesting, and consider everyone is a HOer. By the same token you should consider that every single player, will attempt to wait until you are engaged, and then pick you off.
Unless you are in the same area as the Nippon guys, then they will all ho, pick, run and fly in exactly the way you or me would fly in RL, ,as in, whatever disgraceful, low down, dastardly way you could to kill the other guy and survive, to maybe, if you were lucky, not have to pay to lose your virginity

My point being, I have tried to spend my time flying carefully and not diving in, but I have limited time to play and it simply bores me to tears.