It's funny. I have a friend, and I have shown him some of the speed runs from this site. I don't pretend that they were done by a person sitting in front of a tv or nything; I flat out tell him: yes, slowdowns were used, and save states were used. Then he proceeds to get upset by something that is humanly impossible. The best example of this was when he was viewing on of the metroid runs. The author killed Kraid with the blaster, shotting him so fast that he was frozen. My friend started yelling about how cheap that was and the like.
My point is, I dont see why people get upset. It's not like anyone is pretending to do something they are not. I have always felt that the purpose of tool-assisted runs was to find the fastest completion of a game allowed by the game its self. The slowness of the human hand is a setback. Besides, if I were to see someone play metroid, on an NES, and beat the game in about 15 minutes, I would be far, far more impressed then with the tool assisted run of 13:31.
People just need to stop putting speed runs and time attacks into the same catagory. Time attacks should be respected for their artistry and visual appeal. Speed runs should be respected for their proof of amazing human accomplishment.
Yes, I realize I havent added anything new to this conversation. But I hope I emphasized some arguments.