[jgunnip]

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Is it really? (serious question)

When I play in a sat event I take it easy on the shorties if I am going to make it...unless they where a-holes earlier or appear to have no idea what they are doing. But good players I take it easy on...is this wrong? I find myself of high moral character and dont see this as wrong...I would NEVER blatantly cheat....

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Why are you doing this? Players at your table don't belong to some sort of brotherhood with you, that players at other tables don't. A bustout at your table is as good as one at a different table.

If anything, you should be trying to get bad players to qualify, not good ones, so that in the target tournament competition is softer.

If I'm short-stacked on the bubble of a satellite at a different table and see a big stack folding to a shorty when it's an obvious shove/call/whatever, I get mighty POed and suspicious.

In this case you told your buddy to take it easy on betgo (whom I personally like as a poster here, and was rooting for) specifically. It is borderline collusion. There should be no "rooting" as it affects decision at the poker tables. Other shorties shouldn't be discriminated against on the basis of belonging to some forum/club/etc. I don't know how easy/mandatory calling with AQs in the hand you described is, so I won't pass judgement on that, but the very intention is aggravating to me.

PS. I had no other "rooting" interests in that tournament, FWIW.

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I have to say I disagree with the notion that big stacks have an obligation to call a short all in if the big stack already has the seat locked up. And I probably would have done the same thing in the AQ spot. It is one thing if two players are actively colluding with each other, for example if the shorty raises all in minus one chip and the big stack calls and then folds the flop for one more. Obviously, that is an extreame example. However, as a big stack with a guaranteed seat there is no reason to play a hand other than for the notion that time is money.

Picking and choosing who you try to take out isn't explicit collusion and I don't see it as cheating or wrong really. Obv it sucks for other shortstacks but it isn't their right to have big stack risk his chips in order for the shortstacks to have a better shot at qualifying.