Grey area with engine usage

First of all, I have explictly not done this as I wasn't sure if I was edging on breaking the rules.

If you are in a situation where you are playing a game and you are going through lines at is in the game in progress that is still within various database games.

You are looking along lines in GM games and you do an engine analysis on the database game so you can note possible lines that are several moves ahead of your actual game, but in the DB game. Is this breaking the rules? After all, you aren't calculating on your current game actively at the current move. I am presuming it would be against the rules because in the process of calculating the DB game, you would have incite into what moves to make in your current game.

The grey area could be that you are playing various games in a certain opening, and away from RHP you could be calculating various database games with that opening, yet you could still remember the results from this when you come back to RHP.

I certainly have done engine analysis on games I have completed, along with the DB games, but not during the game.

In any case, you can't use any present-tense analysis,
but all forms of past-tense data (that which already exists) are fine.

In short:
Articles/Databases/Books - yay
Engines/Coaching - nay

Here's a question though...
What if you was watching a video tutorial about, say an opening for example,
and the person giving the tutorial uses engine assistance,
would this be against site rules?

My understanding is that anything published and publicly accessible is allowed.

So, if a GM presents some topic assisted by engine analysis on the Internet, then it is available to your opponent too, and therefore legitimate.

However, if your girlfriend sitting next to you runs an engine analysis on your game and you happen to see it, that's cheating.

Originally posted by @moonbus
My understanding is that anything published and publicly accessible is allowed.

So, if a GM presents some topic assisted by engine analysis on the Internet, then it is available to your opponent too, and therefore legitimate.

However, if your girlfriend sitting next to you runs an engine analysis on your game and you happen to see it, that's cheating.

Er, I meant that in a sense which would embrace either a girlfriend or a boyfriend or friend who might tick the 'other' gender-box on a form.

If anyone here claimed to have a girlfriend who was remotely interested in chess,
then I would be very suspicious!

I tried once to get our lass interested......... might as well have tried teaching my left shoe 😵

My wifemate beats the tar out of me at backgammon.

That's funny right there, 64 Squares. Occasionally over dinner my wife will ask how my games are going. If I give her more than a ten-second answer her eyes will start to glaze over and I know it's time to change the subject. In short, no help there ...

A rule is only a rule if it is enforced. Engine users run rife here, with no fear of reprisal. So, there isn't really any "grey area"...

What evidence do you have to assert this claim? As has been stated before in these forums, engine use may be prevalent among the highest ratings (but no proof is offered), but at lower levels, what would be the point?