[shasarak]

This is a point I've already addressed: in terms of the impact on other players, what is the difference between resources being depleted by 'bots and resources being depleted to the same degree by connected players?

Answer: there isn't any difference. Both are equally problematic.

I'm not saying depletion of resources isn't a problem; what I'm saying is that, when it comes to dealing with that problem, focusing on 'botting is a dangerous red herring. If depletion of resources is problematic, you need to focus on a way of preventing resources from being depleted, or on mitigating the impact when they are. It doesn't matter whether that depletion was caused by 'botting or not: it's the depletion itself that is the issue, and that is what needs to be tackled.