Of course I know NOLOCK/READUNCOMMITTED is the same thing 🙂 I wasn't meaning to say that ALL locking happens in the vendors app, I was meaning to say that they attempt to control it within their app - I realize SQL Server does a really good job at handling/escalating locks all by itself, and should be left to do so.

Yes, users are okay with the limitations of the reporting model - I fought for the removal of the locking hints, I lost.

Thanks for the link Sean, I'll keep them handy the next time someone complains about their reports being wrong and I can use it as additional ammo for the "I told you so" conversation.