Sniper Rifles and the use of the term "Sniper"

snip·er
A skilled military shooter detailed to spot and pick off enemy soldiers from a concealed place.
One who shoots at other people from a concealed place.
A sniper rifle by definition is a rifle used by a skilled military shooter or by someone from a concealed position to shoot at people.
It gripes me to no end to hear some one ask "What's a good "SNIPER" rifle?" You have to ask yourself; "What the hell are they planning on doing?" Three scenarios come to mind. The first: they are in swat or the military; the second: they are planning on going on a shooting rampage; the third: they want an accurate rifle that is capable of hitting its target at a great distance with a great deal of precision and accuracy.
The First is absurd and no swat or spec ops member would flounder around on the internet asking a bunch non profesionals for advice in their career field. The Second is somewhat remote as such shootings are typically rare but do occur occasionally. The third is the more obvious choice as many commercial rifles can fit the description with minor add ons and some minor customizing.
So we have established that the person is not a military spec ops member and he is not a would be assassin wanting to be the next DC Sniper. So why then does he use the term "SNIPER" when asking about a precision rifle? Could it be his ego, or his wanting to sound cool amongst his peers or feeling like he has something of great desire? Maybe that's all he's ever heard those type of rifles called and just follows what he's been incorrectly taught.
If the person is looking for a platform in which to build a highly precision rifle capable of great accuracy at great distances then that is what they should ask for. We as gun owners should encourage this type of thinking.
Consider all the legislation that has been introduced to ban guns. It is more likely to pass with unquestioned support from the masses if a bill is written to ban highly precision SNIPER and SNIPER CAPABLE weapons which are not needed for self defense and are only owned by crazy anti government nutjobs who own guns and talk about SHTF sceanarios and shoooting cops should they come to confiscate their guns.
Now there are times when one could ask about a sniper rifle without running up my ire. One could ask what rifle does the military use for sniper rifles? or "Are there any historic sniper rifles for sale?" or "I just bought a reproduction of a soviet WW2 era sniper rifle."
Just don't go asking "How can I build a cheap sniper rifle?" If you want a presicion rifle with high powered optics with some great accuracy then that's what you should ask for!