What you need to do is go find either a well-admined server or a private, where hackers arn't going to be a problem and some quality regulars reside. I probably spent two years in the same pub because it had the admins *and* a bunch of great players.

Meh, I just quit playing CS altogether. It was extremely fun back when it first started out (and Fragmaster was still running Planet Halflife) but I got tired of the laxness in dealing with cheaters in the beginning, subsequentally just burning out and uninstalling CS.

I just like a constant challenge.

I'd rather have full control over my gaming experience.

Eh, you're just too inflexible.

Offline play through bots does offer a consistent challenge, but I wouldn't call it "constant" (you'll eventually master it).

Online challenge is a variable. As are the idiots. And lag. And server changes. It gets tiring.

That's why God invented the ability to log your favorite servers that you know you'll like to play on. You just have to look for them and they're not especially hard to find spending a little time using Google. Unless that amount of initiative violates your complacent nature (for Christsake, you're already sitting in front of a computer, what more do you want?).