A published move list can just be a url pointer or could even be hosted on MARP depending on interest. i.e. it doesn't have to be actually shipped with the inp. I understand that move lists are considered suitable to be put into the history.dat file (hope it gets fixed soon in MAME).(posted 9309 days ago)Word of mouth isn't always reliable. I played bubble bobble for 2 years before I saw someone enter the powerup cheat and started asking questions. It's not something anyone can just 'work out for themselves'. The same goes for secret moves although you are probably more likely to see them executed by watching others play.
I just like to see everyone get a fair chance and secret moves and characters seems to be a move away from that. In all of my uploaded inp's I always explain any special tricks that I used in the game.
I would question a move that I had never seen done after playing a game for several months. If you watched Guile pull out a hand grenade and lob it at his opponent I'd be surprised if you didn't ask some questions too :-) Just because the player is legitimate doesn't mean the players moves are.
Your point about only allowing characters that were meant to be used from a characters perspective is a good one and might form a basis a general rule for which characters can be played in any given game.