Maugrim McFiriba's Eve Online Journal

In an earlier blog entry I detonated an F bomb (uncharacteristically so) after referencing three of the candidates for the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in Eve Online. A few comments later I've had a chance to wonder why I effectively blasted the candidates and followed up the paragraph with some colourful language. Really, at the end of the day it was pretty much an gut emotional reponse to an situtation I found personally suspicious, in the context of the CSM being the possible outcome of a real world style democratic process (it's not real world but my sensibilities would prefer otherwise ).

Key term in the introduction is "real world style democratic process". Please interpret the remainder of this blog entry in that context bearing in mind Eve and CCP have no obligation to apply real world rules in any way whatsoever.

In reading the Eve CSM website as mentioned over on Crazy Kinux's blog, I realised it was operated by one of the other CSM candidates, Serenity Steele, dispersing information about all candidates. My immediate gut response was to commence thinking dark thoughts about politicians pulling the strings behind the scenes of the media to throw misinformation and subtle doubts upon their opponents.

In the context of Eve's CSM Elections, I didn't see any reason not to subject it to any further thought. By real world standards, politicians running for office do not control media outlets unless they wish to commit political suicide once the other independent media catch on. But Eve Online is not the real world! So this is neither illegal, illicit, or even worthy of suspicion - like I said I merely reacted to it as a questionable endeavor as any common sense voter in a free and open democracy would.

Perhaps my reaction was an overreaction, but I don't know Serenity Steele or his recommended candidates, so I feel no particular need to take it on faith without question that Eve CSM would never be open to possible massaging of other candidate's facts. Likely? Probably zero chance! But that doesn't comfort my personal sensibilities for real world standards.

Secondly I blasted the existence of the Pro.Capita corporation which will control voting by Yusra (a candidate recommended by the Corporation's financier, Serenity Steele) according to shareholder voting. Pro.Capita is a profit making corporation that aims to make profits using Yusra's seat on the CSM by selling shares so you can cast votes on how Yusra decides issues, and by charging people who want to raise issues to the CSM. Profits are then redistributed as dividends to the shareholders.

Again, bearing in mind Eve and the CSM are not subject to real world rules, this again I felt was a little offensive since it basically boils down to a CSM representative selling their CSM votes and representation for ISK. Back on my real world standards approach, I was wondering if the local Fine Fail party here in Ireland would raise the issue of lower VAT if I paid them a few billion Euros. Maybe . Either way, same problem - it's illegal in a real world democracy so why should I lower the bar personally for the CSM candidates? Heck no.

At this point, while writing the previous CSM entry's summary of all this I dropped an F bomb for emphasis. Two strikes was enough to determine I would not vote for all this silliness or any other candidate supporting such tacky tactics to raise ISK.

Effectively my gut reaction was to interpret the available website information as being created by a related group of three candidates (effectively the stirring of a political party representing 10% of all candidates for a 9 seat CSM - do the probability math) who by turns were intent on either making ISK or proposing chaotic voting anarchy or controlling at least one publicised source of information about all candidates and all of which were hosted (in the absence of any others) on a subsection of the well publicised Eve CSM site.

If a real world political party came remotely close to this, I'd be reading the docket for alternative candidates while the whole party sat in Mount Joy Prison...

Is this an overreaction? I'm 98% sure it is. The other 2% is the niggling voice in my head telling me to tread warily. I do live in a democracy afterall, and we democratic supporters have a sixth sense about such setups I simply cannot overcome entirely by logically repeating over and over that Eve Online is just a game and that the CSM is a relatively actionless player representative to CCP intended as a filter to player thinking (more signal, less noise).

Maybe they should not call it an election and stop bandying words like "democracy" around in relation to it?

Maybe I'm just frakking RPing way too much recently?

Next time... Maugrim drops S and B bombs in another gut reactive entry...