All great points really. cept one thing:
Its all about the pilot, not the plane.
When complaining about running, one must take into account the pilot, not the plane. I will pick on TJ for illustration purposes. I would never call him a runner no matter what plane he's in because he can fly any plane in the DA and win 95% of the fights slow or fast against 99% of the players of this game (if hes not rusty, etc etc etc). There is a giant group of pilots in this category, active or not active and to call them runners is laughable and dweebish.
The acid test for openly accusing someone of running should be as follows: (Please verify the validity of this test with good sticks, TJ, CMEX, JUNKY, KAPPA etc.) Here goes:
Before calling someone in any plane a runner, ask yourself this question:
"If I go to the DA with this person in the plane he's flying, will I get crushed?" If the answer is yes, please say nothing because chances are we will make fun of you for trying to make fun of someone that pwns you. If the answer is no, then follow up with the next test question:
"If I fly other planes in the DA against him will I get crushed?" (removing the statistical outlier for accuracy). If the answer is yes, please fold your hand. If the answer is no, please troll this person on 200 unmercifully for being a runner. If you don't know if you can beat him, you best have a thick skin and take your best shot.
Now you know why some people shade. So that they can get ridiculed on 200 and then go pound arse in the DA. Simple stuff