I think its looked upon with disdain as a tactic because it's perceived that it takes far less talent/knowledge to point your nose at an oncoming plane and spray than it does to maneuver onto an opponent's six or gain another angle for a shootdown.
Clearly it was used with regularity irl ... because those guys weren't generally interested in the 'challenge' of the dogfight or energy fight or angles fight (or whatever) -- they were interested in killing the bad guy before he kilt them.
It's a bit of a conundrum, I know. But it's probably rooted at least partly in the differences with which players approach this game. When the differing schools of thought cross paths, somebody gets pissed off.
Personally, I rarely take the HO shot. I've discovered I generallly suck at it, and I am (almost) always in the plane with a gun package poorly suited for the task. i.e. no cannon, low-calibre mg's, low ammo load, poor hitting power, short convergence, etc. Plus, net lag really messes with my judgment on the shot.
But mostly ... I'm one of those who relishes the 'dogfight' over the 'hit and run.'
What really gets me is the guys who complain about it on ch1, then do it themselves.
Splash1
