Characters

Those damn cheaters and maphackers in your ladder. Yes, they have everything, but who said they earned it in a fair single-player game? And their characters are level 99, right?

Maphackers in the ladder? Lol :D Fair single-player in the ladder? Also lol. I farmed with Freezing Orb and Smiting until I reached level 99, so don't tell me how long it takes. I cleared every quest and dungeon, Mephisto, Diablo, Baal, Uber Tristram, everything to the end. There aren't many actual cheats in the game, maphack doesn't really decide anything, I didn't even use it. And runes and gear definitely take a long time and effort to collect. By the way, I got my Phase Blade with Blade of Death legitimately, and I geared up myself and with the help of friends, without cheats. So, everything is possible if you want it.

Versions later than 1.09 are garbage, I didn't play them and don't want to.

That's your choice, I think there are pros and cons in both. Before 1.10, there were no synergies, which gave more room for builds, and I, as an honest role-player, really like that. Versions 1.10 and later significantly complicated things, yes, they killed many builds, some skills became useless, but I, as a hardcore player, like that.

What's this all of a sudden? A new rule?

No, this is a very old rule for duels.