I don't know, I'd have to really think about that, but seeing the character in the CB is certainly easy enough to recognize even from the bleachers and that would, in and of itself constitute a legal shot.
Something to the effect that if the CB doesn't pass the OB there is no foul. If the CB passes the OB it is a foul. On an angle shot, one full stroke of the cue is allowed whether they are kissing or not.
Those are very broad guidelines but they are intended to be. There doesn't seem to be a downside in my mind to adjusting this rule.
In the case of Grady's suggestion, the video in question wouldn't be a foul. Someone just mentioned jacking up would be an allowed technique, that certainly imparts some character to the CB.
On a related note, I've always wondered about this jump ball thing. Being a straight pool lover I've never paid those rules much attention. Anyway, (and it happened in the US Open), if you can't scoop under the CB to jump, then why isn't an accidental miscue under the CB an automatic foul?
The same fine lines of intent could be argued with that situation. I recall seeing a player make a shot accidentally getting under the CB and jumping the CB slightly in doing so, the shot went in, and he continued shooting.
Now for the sake of argument, lets say that in the shot that got scooped, there happened to be another OB that was so close to being in the way that it may or may not have been. Accidental miscue or some jumping move?
That, from a purely technical view was a foul IMO. Not to mention hitting the CB with a part of the cue other than the tip. No one calls that one and I think life on the pool table would be simpler if no one was hovering over the player looking to call double hits.