Once a Cheater Always a Cheater?

I have a confession to make. I used to cheat when playing Red Alert back in the day when it was on Playstation one. I used to use the money cheat so I could build my perfect army then destroy my competition, so did I actually win? I wasn't playing by the rules so I don't think so. I did use the cheat as a self help tool when I first started playing. However I was only playing against the console and no one else so I wasn't dsrupting anyones game. Was I really cheating if no one knew and no one's game was being disruped? Was I cheating myself? I think perhaps I was but as a result learnt to play the game better, and then stopped using cheats. To be honest I just wanted to get better than my twin so I could beat her.

What about players online who use cheats to see though walls? They are also playing by thier own rules. The major difference being that they are in a space where the rules are outlined for everyone, and presumably everyone else is playing by those set rules. They are disrrupting the game for the others. Some people even enter into games with aimbots that shoot to kill with perfect accturacy. Its considered cheating by many for much the same reason of game disruption. I've stopped cheating as it's just not as much fun for me, and I'd feel guilty if I was cheating in a mulitplayer game like Call of Duty.

Cheaters are playing thier own game and it's not fair on other users. Other people can use game glitches to thier advantage, but is this cheating? I'm not so sure. Glitch 'hunting' can become a game in itself with forums devoted to listing various glitches in games and how they can be used to your advantage. What is the difference between cheating and freeform play? To me, as long as your not disrupting another persons game then all is fair in love and war.