This is true no matter what control you use. Sniper rifles should be more like marksman rifles 75 starting damage double ammo capacity 15 round magazine without the huge headshot multiplier

lot's of stuff

I agree with this. People have been confusing snipers with marksmen in video games for years. A sniper is someone who takes out unsuspecting high-value personnel from like a mile away while completely hidden. A combat marksman or sharpshooter is someone who supports their team by taking out targets with accurate fire while in battle. Most video games don't really have a sniper role per se.

I haven't used them much, but maybe a tactical assault rifle is closer to a marksman weapon? Doesn't it have longer range, more damage and fire semi-auto?

Well, I wanted to respond to your post at-length but the forum thought I was using too many quotes, so I'll be more succinct. Probably better for everyone this way.

First, I'd like to say that I don't believe "realism" when dealing with clearly science fiction material is a valid reason for this to be any particular way.

...

So, in short, I'd really like it if you could rewrite your opposition to my suggestions without referring to "realism", or the notion of how snipers "should be", or other points along those lines. Do you really believe snipers are fine from a purely gameplay perspective? Do you think their power is in-line with their ease-of-use? Do they make the game more enjoyable for people overall?

its surprising to hear someone say snipers have it easy on mice.

Speaking of special equipment, though, why not do that? Why not have a sensor that can be deployed which eventually locates snipers on the map? It can look for players that stay still for too long. Or how about a deployable shield that is weak or ineffective against close-range weapons but repels sniper fire great?

Don't nerf the sniper any more than is necessary to bring it in line with realism. Make a better counter to it, as a galactic supercorporation would!

I'm just as annoyed as anyone else when I die without warning or explanation and see my name to the right of some sniper rifle. But if that suddenly went away, a little voice in my head would start asking, "Why does this never happen?" It's part of the reality of the game. Same thing goes for the kind of nerfs being discussed. I'd wonder why nobody bothered to build a better rifle.

I have to say I am genuinely pretty surprised that there hasn't been more of an outcry about sniping. Maybe once the hit detection is fixed, and you guys get to see what we're really capable of...

Well, it could be that only the Basic tier of sniper rifles might need toning down. As I said, I'm okay with someone using expensive gear fighting someone using militia stuff being able to flatten them in one hit. The stuff you buy should remain worth the cost. But Basic sniper rifles one-shotting Basic dropsuits with body shots? Not a fan of that.

Most 'over-powered' weapons/vehicles problems I've heard of can easily be countered with teamwork.

I'd say not easily, no, but even if that were true, is that a good thing?

Should a sniper require coordinated people to effectively dislodge from some crevice in some corner of the map?

But what are we trading for the benefit of being so demanding for people to deal with?

This, really, is the problem. We're getting all these massive perks -- firepower and safety, low ISK and SP demands -- for free. We're not laying anything on the line, unlike someone in a tank or whatever. There is no great loss even if someone, your coordinated team of enemies, manages to kill you. Few thousand ISK down, but how many people have you killed? How many more will you kill before another team is mustered to deal with you? We're paying dimes and we get to be gods.

If a sniper takes you down, tell your team's sniper(s) and they will look for him and take him out. Sounds easy enough to me.

Quite frankly, yes. Part of a sniper's job is to find a relatively safe place from which to report enemy movement and provide cover for his team. Those who just shoot at random targets attract attention and get themselves killed. And teamwork is an important part of success in Dust. When the game launches, people who refuse to be part of a team will have trouble finding work.

Fair enough. But, instead of reducing a weapon's effectiveness, why not make the weapon more expensive? That's what they did with HAVs and dropships, and now you see a lot less of them on the battlefield. Then when incompetent snipers keep getting killed by competent players, they'll move on to the next fad.
I would like to add that most of your argument hangs on the assumption that everyone finds sniping (especially with a mouse) to be as easy as you do. From my experience this does not seem to be the case. Granted, I don't know what equipment they use, but most of the snipers I encounter range from average to mediocre. The lack of a flood of expert marksmen indicates that a crappy sniper is a crappy sniper, regardless of the controls they use.

And oh my god did I kill so many snipers. Most of the idiots stand ON TOP of things. ON TOP!