Independently by the belonging of this topic to the right subforum or not, I think the problem is that generically the game should be as less mechanic as possible.
If you would have the character \"piloted\" by the engine itself, where would be the fun?
That is why you have to move everytime you want to mine. We try to design the game for avoiding this kind of \"auto\" game.
Imagine, for a moment, that your character did not automatically breathe by themselves. For the sake of realism, and to avoid seeing dozens of auto-breathers standing around Hydlaa plaza, you were required to direct your character to inhale and exhale at regular intervals. Failure to maintain a proper rhythm would lead to loss of consciousness and, eventually, character death.
What would this accomplish? For the sake of realism, the game has now sacrificed any opportunity for role-playing. Every character, save those controlled by the fastest typists, has lost the means to communicate. They pass out before getting two sentences out of their mouths. With no communication, there is no community, and hence, no game.
You may be thinking this example is a little extreme, but consider the ease with which a character that has worked his entire life in the mines should be able to swing a pickaxe. To a veteran miner, such a task comes as easily as inhaling the very air around him. There is no longer any requirement for active thought.
What exactly is the goal of such a strict no-automation policy? To avoid a horde of silent robots standing at the mines, obviously. This is a noble goal, but it is simply not practicable through the current Planeshift policies. If you survey the mines today, there is nothing more than a score of silent characters. There may be players behind those keyboards, but they are too preoccupied with getting RSI than actual role-playing.
Where are the miners singing work songs? Where are the miners telling bawdy jokes? Where is the realism? In my opinion, there is no practical difference between a silent automaton that is run by a script and a silent automaton run by a player who is too preoccupied with pressing the right buttons at the right time to actually bring his character to life. Both kill the suspension of disbelief faster than my character can take his next breath.
As players, we are not the characters arms and legs so much as we are their hearts and minds. The keyboard makes a poor interface, and the more bandwidth that is required to extend those muscles, the less that remains to express that spirit. It may seem non-intuitive, but automation is an incredibly useful tool for role-players.
