Rate the accuracy of the following statement for games you have participated in (whether as player or DM/GM/etc.):
"If the players thought they could get away with it, they would cheat and/or exploit the rules."
Should you have participated in many games, consider it a sort of average across all the games you've played/run: in general, which rating would describe the groups you'd been in?
If you simply cannot choose just one answer, I've allowed up to 3, for example if you find that the answer is totally game and/or group dependent (e.g. players are more willing to do these things in D&D but less willing to do them in 13th Age, or whatever.)
Sorry, I had to pick the "I'm too Extra" option.
Right now, I play and run private games. We've all known each other for 5-30+ years regardless of the group. No one is going to cheat. And the only exploiting I've seen is knowing the style of the various DMs and playing towards is. For example, one DM will have a bundle of action for the day with no options for short rests - it feels it doesn't fit the pacing most of the time. So people don't often player Warlocks or other short-rest focused characters. But really, is that even an exploit?
We had one person who pushed harder, but was also a great roleplayer and a good guy. Some other issue came up and he no longer plays with us, but I could see him getting into exploit territory just to see how far he could push it.
I've played in both paid D&D clubs and at FLGS. There I would often see the style of gamer who wants to push as far as they can go. I prefer a certain level of system mastery, but things like coffeelocks were exploitative. And yes, some people who cheated.
I've played and run at conventions. Never AL or anything you brought your own character. Exploits are harder to pull off but cheating happened. I would avoid those players if I could.
Going further back, in ye olde times of AD&D 2nd I played with a good friend who would regularly cheat, would read the module to see what's coming up and where treasure was hidden, and the like. We talked to him, but kept playing with him. He was a friend, and he was very entertaining as well as one of the best roleplayers I've met. So there's times we'd put up with it.