Is using a game guide cheating? Interesting arguments.

Confession: I played and finally finished a game called "Final Fantasy XII." Sometimes I had to peek when stuck. There is a lot of "gamespeak" in the following- It was clipped from a gaming forum. Although it's not a debate on "solving world hunger," I found it interesting that there's a gulf of difference between those who favor using hints, and purists who don't. Something about a freaking treasure chest randomizer that lets you get the 'holy grail weapon' 1/100 of the time. So it's geeky, but even out of the context, I enjoy a well-reasoned argument as much (maybe more) than the next guy. What we're saying here is that on these games it's not cheating to cheat under certain circumstances. - Cagey :P
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"There are no clues. I don't consider using a guide cheating, but I can see how someone else might. I think it's all about how you use a guide; if you can't play a game without it, and you've got it at your side for constant reference while pushing through the primary game/plot, I think you can do better for yourself. If you check it out for things like enemy drops, hidden chests, rare enemies and steals, etc., it's hard to consider it cheating. That kind of content has always promoted the use of guides, and not all of us have the time, or are willing to take what free time we have, to experiment with the game until we figure these things out for ourselves - in most cases, particularly post-PSX era, that would take far too much time. Guides aren't cheat codes, they just cut down on time. You still have to win fights, manage your team, etc. If you want to call someone who tries to cut their time spent on a game down a cheater, that's cool - I'll be out working to pay rent, you can stay home all day and steal 100 times from a single enemy and take note of their drop rates in a notebook.