Thats what we are trying to stop. The insta freebie shotgun shot or knife

If we remove the damp bonus it nerfs everything but the GAL scout. Then no scout has much of an option against prototype scanners and cal scout. There is no balance there, there are no counters. ITS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE UNSEEN. Thats also IMO should be the final counter; to be unseen. All other scouts would need to completely nerf their fit just so they aren't seen on the radar. Seeing other people on the radar is a huge benefit. HUGE. Its why there is so much damn complaining about the scanner changes and how scouts are "OP"

Remove the Cloak bonus and you get a whole host of other problems. It would actually be nice if they could modify the bonus to apply as the shimmer does (the more speed the more profile) but that is probably unlikely, but perhaps the best solution. You get a "scanned message" you cloak and stop moving until timer expires, something else CCP needs to add, a timer for "being scanned" or hud information to that effect.

Scouts:
To throw out some numbers, without the profile bonus all other scouts (w/o damp) besides GAL will be passively seen with a CAL scout without any precision mods. A Cal scout with 1 cPE will be able to see all scouts (w/o damp) To combat this, Gal scout will need to fit at least a basic damp and all other scouts will need to fit at least two damps. A CAL scout with 3 cPE is pretty much uncounterable except by using 4 damps or a 2 damp GAL scout.

Med Frames:
Can fit 2cPE and pick up nonGAL scouts without damps.

Scanners:
nonGAL would need to fit at least 2 damps to avoid GAL-logi proto scans and 4 damps to avoid focused GALlogi scans.

So TL:DR on removing damp bonus
-Creates another "permascanned" environment for nonGALscouts.
-Makes the GAL scout even more powerful (unseen > seeing) (has no "real" impact on GAL scouts)
-Ruins the counter/counter environment for healthy balance
-The problem with cloak is being able to fire before fully visible.
-Elephant in the room is the GAL scout (w/cloak and single damp its impossible to scan)

Im a cal scout, so go ahead and advocate for removal of the damp bonus, I will have a freaking hayday with all of the scouts not running >3 damps, as you simply won't have a counter to avoid the passive scans

Shayz makes some good points on both sides, but his argument isn't cloaks vs cloaking removal, it's how to nerf cloaks more or less which means people are starting to recognize that cloaks are a easy button. They are low risk, high reward, no drawback equipment slot (but logi don't have a bonus to it) that rewards bad gameplay, and doesn't punish a scouts mistakes.

I am not saying there are no reasonable points made by people, why doesn't a flux remove a cloak. Seems to be a no brainer. Shouldn't a certain damage% remove the cloaking feature, would make sense. Shouldn't cloaks last less time, or have longer cool downs, i don't know about that.

Someone mentioned that scouts were better slayers than logi's now - I'm not sure about that, I can make a pretty damn good brick tank logi, all that CPU/PG and 4 or 5 lows means speed, stamina, high eHP. Sure it means you will be seen, but except for a Gal scout most scouts (Amarr maybe not at Proto) are being seen. Cal Proto and adv are being seen because they have two low slots so double dampening might not be an option, especially when they are using 3-4 hi's on enhancers. Min scouts are also not in the stealth game because 2 lows at adv and 3 lows at Proto seriously hurt their speed game. This is particularity a problem at adv, and a massive problem when equipping a high PG weapon like NK (no reduction skill, high PG in kin cats and cloaks as well).

Scouts are not the problem, the cloaks are. And yes, there are things you can do to nerf them but why not outright remove them? It's just a bunch of "elite" players who don't want to see their crutch go and the return to a high risk, high reward class based in skill and strategy and not easy button mode. At the same time, the middle of the road player who are struggling with being a scout have found their lack of skill doesn't apply here, and are fighting even harder to keep their **** gameplay relevant. From their mediocrity, cloaks have given these players the tool (singular) necessary to be a constant top 3 threat, given them the ability to slay all foes big or small, and given them the easy mode required so they are not punished for their many many mistakes.

Lets for the sake of argument just highlight the fact that cloaked scout is impossible for most new players to use due to the high SO requirements of max'ing out the scout (2.8m SP) to get reduction bonuses.