Aug 312014
 

csm9

CSM 9, like CSM’s 7 & 8 before us will be continuing to hold regular Town Hall meetings where you the public can ask questions live to your CSM representatives.

The second Town Hall of CSM 9’s term will be held on Sunday September 7th 2014 from 19.00 UTC. This Town Hall will be a little over a week before seven of my comrades depart for the Summer Summit in Iceland.

As normal, the town hall will be held on the EVE University Public Mumble and broadcast live by EVE Radio.

You will be able to ask questions live on the night via the in game channel “CSM Townhall”, or if you are unable to attend you can post questions in the Town Hall thread on EVEO and we will ensure our moderator on the day asks them of us.

We look forward to seeing many people attend this Town Hall.

(Yes, we understand that this is AT Finals day, however this is the best available day for all the attending CSM before Summit prep truly kicks in. If you cannot make it, then at least listen in between matches).

Jul 012014
 

Those of you who joined in the first CSM 9 Town Hall back on June 22nd will have heard me say that I wished to run a project relating to any potential future corporation/alliance revamp, and how such a thing could benefit the numerous social groups in EVE.

Well here I am.

First up what do I mean by “social groups”. Usually these are 2 or more individuals with a shared interest coming together to undertake that interest outside of other ties, familial or employment related. Borrowing from wikipedia (I know, I know), I found this list of definitions which works even better:

Common motives and goals
An accepted division of labor, i.e. roles
Established status (social rank, dominance) relationships
Accepted norms and values with reference to matters relevant to the group
Development of accepted sanctions (praise and punishment) if and when norms were respected or violated

In EVE terms, the following are what I would class as the prime examples of social groups:

  1. Incursion communities such as Warp to Me, Incursion Shiny Network or The Ditanian Fleet and many many more.
  2. NPSI / Open Roam groups like RvB Ganked, Spectre Fleet, Redemption Roams or Stille Gewalt
  3. Groups from outside communities that wish to enjoy EVE’s content together without leaving the potentially disparate corporations they are in. Examples being the SIG’s famous in the CFC, forum based groups like those in the Teamminmatar channel, shared language communities and so on.

For those interested in my current thoughts on the issue have moved beyond simply allowing the creation of truly public fleets. Currently I would love to see social groups/communities in EVE be more than a chat channel and potentially a mailing list. This could be done by merging both of those as the key systems the group coalesces around, with membership of one granting immediate access to the other. Combine this with greater granularity of roles for those assigned them by the community. Roles that potentially allow some people to moderate the chat, some to moderate the mail systems, or others to form fleets that any members of that community can access just like they would a corporation fleet, fleets that can inherit standings from their FCs, that have built in kill logs, allows some people to post operations in a group calendar (rather than relying on outside sites and tools) and so on and so on. Effectively a corporation without the shared assets, hangars, taxes, and all the other useful aspects that cause people to come together under a corporate banner.

This is where I need feedback. I have my own ideas, some of which I have wrote about above and in the past on my weekly Crossing Zebras column, but the larger the level of feedback the better.

When providing feedback try to use concise explanations, with plenty of obvious keywords, this will make it easier to scan and get that feedback centralised for when and if the time comes. 

NB: Feedback is welcome either in the comments on this blog, or in the matching thread on EVEO.

 

Apr 072014
 

csm9

It is that time of year again when EVE goes to polls to vote for the Council of Stellar Management. And like last year I have sat down and looked over the quite considerable candidate list and have selected those I think deserve to be on your ballots this year.  Obviously I have included myself as I am running for a place on CSM 9.

As with last year you will be able to list up to 14 candidates on your ballot, and if a candidate at the top of the list gets in before your vote is counted, it will move to the next in the list and so on until 14 candidates are elected.

So without further ado here are the 14 candidates I feel will make for the best possible 9th Council of Stellar Management. Please note they are in no particular order, I will provide a couple of recommended ways to order them at the end of this post:

Mangala Solaris

I feel the work of CSM 8 is unfinished and would like to see that through to the end, while continuing to try my best to represent all of you in my interactions with CCP and my fellow CSM delegates.

Jayne Fillon:

Jayne is amazingly knowledgeable about the game, especially when it comes to pvp. I feel that he would do a great job on the CSM on that basis alone, however his work with the social communities within EVE including Spectre Fleet and Ganked has demonstrated excellent abilities as an enabler and CCP needs the input of such individuals when it comes to future content additions.

Ali Aras

Ali is the star of CSM 8. She has worked tirelessly to represent the vast majority of the playerbase and has been at the forefront of all the CSM’s activities and discussions with the developers – good and bad. She has worked tirelessly on the duties of Secretary. She very much deserves a place on your ballots for CSM 9 to continue on this good work.

Xander Phoena:

Xander is a true gent. As someone with immense community presence, I feel that he will bring the perspective of the community to the CSM in their interactions with CCP, which is especially invaluable with a community that does like to break out the pitch forks regularly! As well as his proven community focus, he knows what he does not know about EVE and is always willing to reach out to those who have that knowledge, something that is invaluable in a CSM member.

Mike Azariah

Mike ran for CSM over and over until finally winning a seat on CSM 8.  After a year of working alongside him I have to admit that had I known the sort of man he was before I would have voted for him on every other occasion he ran!  Mike is a tremendous communicator, with a wide depth of knowledge about EVE and a totally steadfast advocate for the casual player regardless of where they call home.

Steve Ronuken:

Last Steve was the “little fish” who no one knew much about, however over the past year Steve has upped his profile and demonstrated a grasp of many aspects of EVE that has surprised many people. He has also not wavered from his core focus on greater support for third party developers, and given the tools he has provided to the community this past year I am a convert and now share his views on this issue.

Sugar Kyle:

Lowsec needs a CSM representative, not just on CSM 9 but on all CSM’s going forward. I am of the belief that Sugar is an excellent start to a new lowsec legacy on the CSM. She is incredibly knowledgeable about issues as diverse as industry, pvp and the new player experience, and how they all can contribute to a better lowsec for all. 

Psianh Auvyander:

Psianh has a background in community management, and as we keep seeing communication between the players, CSM and CCP is very important, therefore on this alone Psianh will make an excellent member of CSM 9. However this is not solely why I chose to recommend him. He has a solid footing in small gang pvp across many areas of EVE, understands that EVE needs an active merc community, and after a long chat with him he has strong ideas on new players and how best to ensure they advance in EVE.

Matias Otero:

The founder and spiritual leader of Brave Newbies. Matias has overseen the creation of a major entity within EVE in under a year, something that requires the drive and focus needed to be a successful CSM member. He is deeply interested in the retention of new players and has a sweeping vision for improving the sandbox like no other.

Mynnna:

Mynnna is easily the most knowledgeable of the current CSM when it comes to issues like industry, economics and nullsec mechanics.  Combine this knowledge with what he has learned about the CSM process during his stellar term on CSM 8, and this makes him an obvious pick for CSM 9.

Corbexx:

Possibly the strongest wormhole candidate since Two Step. Is known to nearly everyone in that community, has forgotten more about wormholes and wormhole mechanics than I have ever learned and of course in what seems to be a banner year for industry he has some interesting thoughts there too.  He could probably beat me in a RL fight too. 

DJ Funkybacon:

Another lowsec candidate, however Funky is very much the lowsec pvp candidate with a huge focus on Faction Warfare and the betterment of it. If you have any interest at all in FW, then Funky needs your support.  Additionally as with some of the other candidates above, Funky thanks in part to his EVE Radio presence is a very well known guy in the community, and as I have said for others such individuals are needed on the CSM both for the benefit of CCP and for your benefit as well.

James Arget:

As with last year I have found myself supporting multiple wormhole candidates. I have worked with James for the duration of the 8th CSM and he has been a very hard worker indeed, and one who always put the concerns of his wormhole constituents at the forefront of his dealings with CCP and the CSM. He will no doubt continue this going into CSM 9.

Progodlegend:

Like many others I originally considered Progodlegend to be running purely for the fun of it. However I was wrong. During the latter half of CSM 8s term, he has demonstrated a level of knowledge about the game beyond his apparent nullsec focus that made me sit up and pay attention. On top of this his activities in providing content for his coalition members and their enemies make him a must recommend by someone like me.

As I said towards the top of this post, I am providing a couple of slates (suggested ballot orders using my favoured candidates) for you to follow when voting opens tomorrow.

I am happy to be able to provide magic links for each slate that – once you have logged into the voting page – you should click the one you agree with. This will then highlight the relevant candidates and allow you to drag & drop them onto your ballot. All you then need to do is click submit vote. The magic links are beneath the slates found below. Choose ONE that suits and use that.

 

“People wot I like and think you should like too”:

All of them are massively well qualified for the job and I really would relish working with them for the betterment of EVE during CSM 9. If I could order them in another way, everyone bar myself would be at #2.

  1. Mangala Solaris
  2. Jayne Fillon
  3. Ali Aras
  4. Xander Phoena
  5. Mike Azariah
  6. Steve Ronuken
  7. Sugar Kyle
  8. Psianh Auvyander
  9. Matias Otero
  10. Mynnna
  11. Corbexx
  12. DJ Funkybacon
  13. James Arget
  14. Progodlegend

 Click this as per the above instructions:

http://bit.ly/1lIB3TZ

 

“Wisdom of the ages”:

This slate consists of CSM 8 incumbents – who all have been excellent during their terms and like myself feel they have both things they wish to see through and experience and knowledge to impart as part of CSM 9; My other recommendations from the candidate pool that have a range of experience across activities in EVE that will be useful for the CSM going forward.

  1. Mangala Solaris
  2. Ali Aras
  3. Xander Phoena
  4. Mike Azariah
  5. Sugar Kyle
  6. Mynnna
  7. Jayne Fillon
  8. James Arget
  9. Progodlegend
  10. Steve Ronuken
  11. Psianh Auvyander
  12. DJ Funkybacon
  13. Corbexx
  14. Matias Otero

Click this as per the above instructions:

http://bit.ly/Q0tn49

 

“Pee Vee Pee”:

Many, if not all, of my recommendations pvp in one way or another. If you are a solid pvp fanatic that loves the thrill of the kill, flying with your buddies or everyone ever, beyond anything else EVE has to offer then this slate is very much for you. 

  1. Mangala Solaris
  2. Jayne Fillon
  3. Psianh Auvyander
  4. Corbexx
  5. DJ Funkybacon
  6. Sugar Kyle
  7. Matias Otero
  8. Ali Aras
  9. Progodlegend
  10. James Arget
  11. Mike Azariah
  12. Mynnna
  13. Xander Phoena
  14. Steve Ronuken

Click this as per the above instructions:

http://bit.ly/1kHxITP