Moral Paradox, or "Why E-Honour Is Important"

EVE is a moral paradox, and there are days where I don't understand how this game can function on a social level with so much conflict and divisiveness. I also believe the game would be boring to the point of falling apart if everyone got along.

No, this post wasn't just an excuse to use the ducky pic.

Morality is necessary to EVE, but not in the way most people would think. Read on to find out why.

PSA (Warning: Kind of Sappy)

I had a couple of different versions of a post lined up that included some long-winded, philosophical ramblings about respect and values and such in the world of internet spaceships. The reason mostly comes from some in-game behaviours I've seen recently that are getting under my skin. One of my alts joined a major nullsec alliance - I won't say which, and if you already know I'd appreciate it being kept quiet - and... well, I'll just say that the culture is different than I'm used to, and adjusting to it is more difficult than I thought it would be. (I'll go into more detail about that in a later post.)

As grumpy as I was, though, I've also seen some incredible acts of generosity today. A corpmate helped me out of some dire straits - I won't post his name publicly, but you know who you are, and it means more to me than I really know how to express. Such generosity has, naturally, made me feel like a horrible person for not doing more to help others around me. I was looking for a way that I could pay it forward as well as back, and Twitter was kind enough to provide me with the answer, which brings me to the actual PSA.

For those that aren't aware, Sindel Pellion has this awesome thing she's doing called The Angel Project. Please check it out and consider giving her a hand.

Shameless Plug: EVE Altruist's "Know Your Enemy: Combat Cruisers"

In the spirit of promoting generally good info, giving props to a fellow Tusker and not having to generate my own content (ha!), I'd like to point everyone to the Combat Cruisers edition of Know Your Enemy, over at Azual Skoll's EVE Altruist. Azual posts this kind of thing because he's a reallyniceguy (maybe a little too nice, in his own estimation), and frankly, is modest enough that he hates plugging his own blog. So, I'm going to do it for him.

(Seriously, folks, read his stuff. It's awesome, and I'm not saying that just because he's a corpmate.)

Guest Post: Valgore Meurte

Greetings all! Since I'm sure all of my readers (all three of you) have been wondering why I haven't made any posts lately, well, it's a long story and a lot less exciting than internet spaceships. In lieu of my own post, however, today I bring you a guest post by a fellow Tusker, Valgore Meurte. In it he gives an account of a tooth-achingly exciting duo engagement and an important window into the mindset of a lowsec pirate. Read on, and enjoy! (No, Val, I didn't edit this. It's all you, buddy.)

So I want to talk about piracy and the way I view it. It is simple really, I gank people for isk. Good fights are fine, solid fleets are fine. But to me the best thing is when I tackle that Faction Fit Navy Dominix and hold it long enough till a mate shows up so we can take it down. That is where I find the most enjoyment in this game. The stalking of the prey, the rush of the nab, and the thrill I get from seeing the shiny bit of loot in my cargo-hold. Then there is the tears I sometimes get that make it even better. But those are only the things I get when everything goes smoothly.

Mostly for posterity/my own amusement.

Something I noticed on a battle report that DP linked me:

Schrödinger's Scorpion, anyone?

The Tuskers Frigate Free-For-All II - Saturday 5 January 2013

Fantastic artwork (c) Rixx Javix.

Remember that frigate FFA we held back in October? Well, we had so darn much fun that we're doing it again. Click here to see the details on the Tuskers' public forums. We look forward to having you join us while we once again kill ALL the things.

That was in the span of 4h. We're going two hours longer this time...

Buried Alive in the Sandbox

Note: I had originally planned this post as part of Blog Banter 42, but I kept getting dragged away from writing a review of EVE and into more of a review of the community. I figured I'd put it up anyway for people to read, and may still end up doing a BB42 entry.

Note 2: Apparently, Stan thinks that this should go into the Blog Banter anyway. Thanks Stan, you're a sweetheart!

Every time I see any sort of opportunity for the playerbase to review EVE, I immediately think I'm supposed to go into Bittervet Mode, as if there's an expectation of a long-standing "CCP vs. the players" antagonism. Instead, it comes out more like this XKCD comic.

Ever since the epic backpedalling following the Walking in Stations debacle, I've been pleased to note that at least in the broad strokes, CCP seems to be addressing concerns that players bring up. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely - but I'm not convinced that it's CCP's responsibility to make it happen.