You seemed to totally reject the concept of stealing a kill. This would presumably include out-and-out shooting an airplane someone else has de-winged airplane to get the kill. I consider this up there with vulching a second account as far as foul methods of score-padding go. Then there are less clear situations, but just because things get a bit foggy sometimes doesn't mean there should not be a standard.
Yes, I totally reject the notion that you can somehow steal a kill. There is no ownership therefore there can be no theft.
But then I am a big believer in taking personal responsibility for things. This is how I view it. My goal is to kill the bandit quickly and to kill him dead. If I don't do it quickly enough and someone else does it for me then he should be rewarded for his expeditious flying. If my aim is inaccurate and I do not score rounds into the head of the pilot, causing instant death then I am wide open to another pilot, with better aim, putting rounds on target and that target is ALWAYS the enemy pilot's head.
If you believe that the fact you chased a bandit or put less than lethal fire downrange entitled you to ownership then you are free to feel that way, but that doesn't make it cheating when someone else finishes what you started. Yes, that even includes people that fire on obviously out of control wreckage. There is absolutely no way to rationalize that into "cheating".
My squad trains to neutralize the bandit and then move on to the next target without unnecessarily pursuing a bandit that is going to die. And if someone else dives in on a bandit we have left for dead, more power to them.
And mechanic is right, I was referring to where you derive enjoyment. If the ONLY important or fun part of simulating air combat is credit in the kill buffer then I can understand the frustration one might have with the game. If you can derive fun from the process AND the result or even better the process alone then the game is much more enjoyable.
And I am now laughing at those who post that the DA is meaningless. I have a news update. It is all meaningless beyond the pleasure one derives from it. DA, MA, Events and everything else. No deeper meaning or value to society. If it isn't fun, please don't play the game.