Virtually Cheating

Today we are discussing the topics of cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior, and how they apply various game platforms.
Let us look first at what it means to cheat or display unsportsmanlike behavior. Cheating consists of game play in direct opposition to the rules of the game. Unsportsmanlike behavior is game play not directly forbidden by the game rules, but still devalues the playing of the game.
For instance the rules of tic tac toe explicitly say the board is a 3x3 matrix, and players alternate turns placing their respective mark. Two marks may not occupy the same square and the first player to place 3 marks aligned vertically, horizontally or diagonally wins.
An example of cheating in tic tac toe would be to go twice in a row or to make an additional box outside of the matrix and put your mark there. Whereas an example of unsportsmanlike behavior would be to simply refuse to take your turn when there is no way to prevent defeat.
Some games, Such as Munchkin by Steve Jackson, openly condone cheating in the rules, but this creates a fallacy. If cheating is allowed by the rules then it is no longer opposed to the rules and thus no longer cheating. So then what to call "cheating" in Munchkin? Well let’s take a look at a typical situation. You are allowed no more than 5 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, however you are also allowed to cheat if no one calls you on it. Compare this to a similar mechanic, if you are fighting a monster in the game, you win if your power level is higher; otherwise you roll a dice to see if you can escape. When you have more than 5 cards in your hand, you are in a disadvantageous situation by the rules, but much like escaping from a monster, the game has offered a solution with a lower than average chance of success to prevent this situation from being so dire. Thus in the game where cheating is permitted, cheating is simply another game mechanic with implicit rules.
The rules of a computer game's rules are programmed. In other words, a video game is nothing but a collection of rules that are executed enforced computer perfection. There are occasionally exploits or glitches that arise from errors in the programming of these rules, but the rules themselves remain infallibly enforced. Thus any attempt for a video game, regardless of the number of players, to allow cheating, would have to implicitly write the situations, range, and extent to which cheating is allowed; and at that point, it is simply another game mechanic. Unsportsmanlike behavior however, is a different story. Players will still often mock, jeer, lie to, argue with, and insult other players within a game. It is simply accepted that any game wherein there is a means for the player to express him or herself, there will be unsportsmanlike behavior.