Apparently the definition is becoming pretty blurred.
Prior to the release of unused display names last November-February, a few other friends and I had already been collecting display names some time. What we would do is add random words/names like 'Melt', 'Muk', 'Silence', etc., to our ignore lists and when we found one that had changed its name, we would keep it added. When we noticed it either lost its name-change icon or the owner changed their name to something else, we'd take the previous name if it was still available. Never did we refer to this as 'sniping'. In fact, there really wasn't any way to 'snipe' a name back then; you pretty much just had to get lucky and catch the name if you happened to notice it became available.
However, after the releases, the term 'sniping' started to get thrown around as both a form of scamming and a regular means of obtaining a display name. Generally, when I take a new display name, I don't say I "sniped" it, because I myself associate the word with scamming (for the record, I think if you steal a display name you know is being transferred/sold, that should be considered a form of scamming, regardless of what the internet defines it as). Every name I've never taken was either systematically released by Jagex, or entirely disowned by the previous owner.
To "snipe" is to literally hide and wait to take down a target; you're expecting the target, and know the precise moment it will enter your cross-heirs. During the name releases, although you could know the order in which names were going to be released, there was no way of knowing for sure when it was going to be released (sometimes Jagex would pause for a couple minutes or up to a few hours) or if it was going to be released at all (some names would be randomly skipped). Again, you had to get lucky to get the name before anyone else did. I could understand why this could be considered sniping. However, Jagex hasn't released a single name in over 5 months, so the only "sniping" that can be done is on names being sold/transferred.
That's what I feel separates "name sniping" from regular name taking, especially in terms of Name Sales. If you watch a name being sold with the intent of stealing it, and successfully do so, you should be banned. You didn't just casually notice it was available; you had every intent to steal a name you knew was being sold or transferred from owner-to-owner.
tl;dr Sniping should = stealing, which should = ban.
Prior to the release of unused display names last November-February, a few other friends and I had already been collecting display names some time. What we would do is add random words/names like 'Melt', 'Muk', 'Silence', etc., to our ignore lists and when we found one that had changed its name, we would keep it added. When we noticed it either lost its name-change icon or the owner changed their name to something else, we'd take the previous name if it was still available. Never did we refer to this as 'sniping'. In fact, there really wasn't any way to 'snipe' a name back then; you pretty much just had to get lucky and catch the name if you happened to notice it became available.
However, after the releases, the term 'sniping' started to get thrown around as both a form of scamming and a regular means of obtaining a display name. Generally, when I take a new display name, I don't say I "sniped" it, because I myself associate the word with scamming (for the record, I think if you steal a display name you know is being transferred/sold, that should be considered a form of scamming, regardless of what the internet defines it as). Every name I've never taken was either systematically released by Jagex, or entirely disowned by the previous owner.
To "snipe" is to literally hide and wait to take down a target; you're expecting the target, and know the precise moment it will enter your cross-heirs. During the name releases, although you could know the order in which names were going to be released, there was no way of knowing for sure when it was going to be released (sometimes Jagex would pause for a couple minutes or up to a few hours) or if it was going to be released at all (some names would be randomly skipped). Again, you had to get lucky to get the name before anyone else did. I could understand why this could be considered sniping. However, Jagex hasn't released a single name in over 5 months, so the only "sniping" that can be done is on names being sold/transferred.
That's what I feel separates "name sniping" from regular name taking, especially in terms of Name Sales. If you watch a name being sold with the intent of stealing it, and successfully do so, you should be banned. You didn't just casually notice it was available; you had every intent to steal a name you knew was being sold or transferred from owner-to-owner.
tl;dr Sniping should = stealing, which should = ban.
