Shadow of Cerberus EVE Community Forum

Earthquake

I live in earthquake country. I've been on the ground for two major earthquakes (Loma Prieta 1989, Northridge 1994) and a host of more minor ones. So I can tell you with at least a little bit of experience that the longer a fault goes without moving, the worse the quake is when the fault finally starts to move. And how EVE players treat each other is one hell of a big fault that hasn't moved for... well, forever, really. I should have expected an earthquake this big. But I didn't.

I apologize for being one of the catalysts that started this earthquake. But clearly, there's been a very deep river of feeling in the EVE community about the topic of how EVE players treat each other for a long time. Without that, there's no way this situation would have escalated into a threadnaught. I tapped that river without realizing it. That, I'm not going to apologize for. I'm still glad the topic is going to be discussed, and discussed seriously.

Because make no mistake: what Erotica 1 and his cronies do isn't about the scams. I don't have a problem with scams. But by the time his victims are in the bonus room for 10 or 12 minutes, the scam is over: the perpetrators of these despicable things already have the victim's assets and ISK. They've already "won." The other 100+ minutes are about how the victim is treated and what he is made to do and how he is made to humiliate himself. The punishment for "non-compliance" with this humiliation: loss of every in-game asset. But it's the learned helplessness associated with this sick little game that's the problem. That's the part I'm concerned about.

This is why I'm really friendly with EVE players... because they're scary. -- CCP Guard, at the NEO2(1)

Earthquakes do damage because of the strength of the quake of course. But the type of buildings you put on the ground also plays a major part. Stronger buildings can survive and ride through a major shock. Part of the why the EVE community worries me is the kinds of players it tends to draw. We make jokes about EVE being a sociopath simulator. Maybe we should stop. Maybe it's in danger of becoming not-a-joke. In my opinion, CCP needs to draw a firmer line between what is allowed and what is not.

Because every story about a particularly lucrative scam or massive corp theft or a particular way one EVE player treats another drives off one type of potential EVE player... and attracts another type. These things are allowed in the game. And they should continue to be allowed in the game! I do still believe that!

Please do not judge EVE Online community on this tiny ugly sample. This guy appears to be a sociopath and I hope CCP does something to show there are limits to meta-gaming. -- Massively commenter

But over time, the concentration of EVE players that join the game specifically intending to inflict misery on fellow EVE players -- because they can... because this behavior is never punished and in fact seems to be encouraged and in fact rewarded -- only seems to increase. That can't help but have long-term implications on the community and how it is viewed. Skip the rather poor article at Massively and jump straight down to the comments. Read what non-EVE players think about EVE players.

Malcanis and I disagree nearly completely on what should be done about Erotica 1. But we agree on one thing: EVE needs tens of thousands of new players. Are we ever going to get them? And if we do, what sort of new players will they be?

So I seem to have catalyzed an earthquake. I didn't intend for it to be quite this strong. But I'm also not going to say I didn't want to start a discussion. I did want to start a discussion. I think it's about time we have it.


(1) He was joking.(2)
(2) I think.
Source: Earthquake