The Blogging Process
I've discovered something interesting in my very young blogging career: It is hard for me to simply sit at the computer screen and hammer and entry out. Don't get me wrong, it's not hard for me to type at the computer...it's what I do for a living most days of the week in my "real job."
Instead, for this, I grab pen and paper and write before I type. There's something about the tactile sensation of the pen and paper that helps me order my thoughts better than a sterile keyboard does. As such, I write out my entire blog entry in a little notebook, and then transcribe from notebook to keyboard. I do the same thing when writing fiction, both for EVE and for other projects.
Knowing this, we come to...
Question to the People:
For the other bloggers that visit "Wild at Heart", do you have a particular process that you go through when blogging? Can you just sit down at the computer and go, or do you need to follow certain steps, be in a certain room, have something specific to eat, etc...?
CVA Situation – A Clarification
In my previous post, I discussed why I was pleased that CCP reinstated CVA. My comments were in light of the disbanding being the result of a hacked account. Confusion erupted amongst some of my corpmates, with them extrapolating that I was always in favor of CCP stepping in if an alliance or corporation is disbanded through "legal" ways as well. This, my friends, is not the case.
You see, there are large differences between the "spying and infiltration" types of metagaming, and outright hacking. CCP has created this sandbox that we all play with without rules that prohibit spying and infiltration. I'd go so far as to say that, in the past, CCP has encouraged it. We only need to look at the business that the original GHSC heist brought them to see that this is the kind of cutthroat business that CCP encourages within its open-ended game. Moreover spying and infiltration, like the building of an empire, requires meticulous work and planning. You pour your heart and soul into it, and hope that one day your hard work is rewarded. So while I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am "Pro Infiltration", I would say that I believe that it is a very valid and acceptable part of the game. You work within game mechanics to accomplish things, and people have every opportunity to see through you and put an end to it.
Hacking, on the other hand, circumvents game mechanics. You don't have to work your way into a trusted position within the corp. You don't have to be careful about what you say and do. You don't pour any hard work and sweat into the activity. Instead, you fish with keyloggers, crack forums, and send rigged emails. All of these activities occur out of the game, with no one to fight it via the game mechanics.
So let's bring this back to the point: If CVA had been infiltrated, rather than hacked, I would have mourned their loss while applauding those that managed to worm their way through the organization into a position where they could pull off such a thing. For just as people dream about founding, expanding, or taking part in an empire which stands for more than just killboard stats and moon minerals...others dream about the day when such "oppressive" behavior is torn down, and the earth beneath its ruins salted.
As an aside, I do believe that it is a design flaw that a single director in the executor corp can, without warning, disband an alliance completely. To kick a member out of a corp requires a 24 hour stasis period. The fact that there isn't something in place there for an alliance is hopefully something that CCP is quickly working on correcting. In the meantime, there is a reason why the executor corp in our alliance will never have anyone at the Director level.
Question to the People:
If you were the employee at CCP in charge of implementing a "fix" to the alliance-disbanding problem, how would you do it?
Welcome!
My name is Cal, and I wanted to welcome you to my new blog "Wild at Heart." Over the past six years, I've been playing EVE Online, which will be the primary focus of my thought-to-postings here. Comments on the state of the game, in-character (and out) stories, ship fits, and more are what I hope will draw you to continued readership here.
As I was contemplating creating this blog, friends and corpmates quickly (and expectedly) asked, "What does the name 'Wild at Heart' mean?" Rather than give it away, I turned the question back at them to see what they pictured upon hearing the phrase. In response, I got everything from "inner child" to "perpetual troublemaker."
Rather than spoil the fun with a simple explanation, we're going to explore what it means to be "wild at heart" as this blog evolves over time. And with that, I think our introductions come to an end.
CVA - Gone and Back Again
By now, most people have heard what befell the Curatores Veritatis Alliance over the past 36 hours. For those that haven't, a bit of background on the situation: CVA is an Amarrian RP-alliance based in the lower Domain/Providence regions of space that has the stated aim of "bringing Empire to nullsec." Unlike most 0.0 spaceholders, they adhere to a (mostly) strict NRDS (not red, don't shoot) policy...which has turned Providence into many a new player's first "safe" taste of 0.0. As time has progressed, CVA has seeded outposts in many systems in Prov, bringing the comforts of civilization to their "Deliverance" space.
Flash forward to 36 hours ago...CVA mysteriously disbands. Some lept to claim hack, while others speculated that CVA had been "BoB'd." CCP began an investigation, which eventually pointed to a director character in the executor corp indeed having been hacked. The alliance was restored at downtime, and it appears that everything is now back to normal.
When I first heard the news that CVA had been "BoB'd" (as it was explained to me at the time), it was like a punch to the gut. Not that I particularly care for CVA, nor do they care for me. Indeed, my corporation is decidedly red on CVA's standings list. Likewise, Providence has routinely been one of my favorite places to roam for targets, as you are almost always guaranteed a fight.
Instead, I felt bad for CVA as it may have been an end to a dream of something "better" in EVE. You see, CVA is as much an ideal and a dream as it is an alliance. Their steadfast NRDS policy and the openness of their space to neutral and friend alike is something that is incredibly unique in EVE. Like what they have done or abhor it, their vision and determination is something to be admired...and mourned when finally lost. They have acted upon a principle of manifest destiny, and have built a civilization far beyond what other 0.0 alliances have done, where none existed previously.
You see...no one dreams of endless hauls back and forth in protected empire space trying to scratch out a living. No one dreams of killing the same mission rats over and over again. No...people dream of pushing the frontiers back to uncharted space. People dream of founding, expanding, or taking part in an empire which stands for more than just killboard stats and moon minerals. Because of this, I am glad that CCP restored CVA to its pre-hate state so that they can continue to live their dream.
That's all for now. I hope you guys enjoyed the first installment to "Wild at Heart," and that we'll see you back here soon.
o/