Commlink Response and You, What actually affects System Options

[Sombranox]

Since the Unwired Questions thread is eternally locked into a discussion about program degradation, I'm just moving this question out to its own thread. Sorry to anyone this annoys.


Silly question I just ran into in my first really close readthrough (as opposed to the four skim reads I've done before it):

Do artificial response decreases limit System and thereby program ratings? Specifically, the response halving (which it doesn't say to round up or down, but that's another issue) from geostationary satlinks and the effect of a response-targetted Nuke program.

Initially, it seems stupid to even ask, but we know from FAQ that response decrease from slowdown of running too many progs doesn't drop system to avoid the death spiral effect.

Nuke's description gives targets of Response or System/Pilot and only when you freeze up both do you lock someone up, which gives me the impression that reducing Response doesn't reduce System as well (otherwise why ever target System?)

Given those two things, I'm almost wondering if _any_ artificial response degradation can affect what programs you can run. It seems more like programs are tied to the response hardware, not the running processing power remaining. In other words, hacking through a geostationary satlink makes your initiative slower and makes you more prone to getting hit, but you can still run your stealth 6 program despite the lag.

Thoughts?