"wasn't strictly an exploit or a cheat" This is reflective of the general theme I was attempting to describe. Have you ever heard of Natural law and Positive law, the differences and definitions of either term? Natural law references what we as humans know to be morally correct actions. Positive law is simply the written out, formal, reiteration of Natural law. Now if the game mechanics could fit the role of "Natural Law," then "Positive Law" would be the rules laid out by the developers and admins. The style of gameplay which I was attempting to describe has been a consistent style of seeking out the inconsistencies between the game mechanics, and the dev's rules. A strict adherence to this form of positive law limits the subject to following only the rules described, with no compass or guidelines for how one reacts to situations where the devs have not designated specific rules.
It seems to be as if they say to themselves, "This prolly isn't the best thing to do, but noone told me not to, so it's alright!"
Yeah it is hard to change ethos. A damned shame too.