A Book and Details

He followed the ‘guide’ who could not have been more military if he tried.  When they arrived at her office he threw a salute at the guide and grinned as it was instinctively answered.

She watched from inside and sighed to herself.  “Come in.  I am quite busy as you no doubt know.”

“Yes, maintaining a decent cover as well as following the main mission can be difficult.  Almost doubles the workload right off the bat.”  Cory stretched and looked about the room.  “Not bad, but you still need to work on the details.”

“Details?”  She leaned forward and bridged her fingers.

“Little things that people notice, even if they do not know what they are seeing.  Look, I can offer you a contract to make your cover far more convincing but that we can negotiate another time, if you wish.  Today I came to talk to you about Azariah.”

“Who?”

“Madam.  If you plan on playing the fool do it with someone who does NOT know who and what you are.  If you insist on that sort of game then I will leave you to your chase and the frustrations that go with it.”

She grimaced and nodded.  “Very well.  I do know who we are speaking about but what I don’t know is your involvement.”

“I represent a group that facilitate matters.  We do not answer to any specific government nor allegiance.  We specialize in more quiet operations, unlike your fiasco on Cat.  We make sure that what is to be delivered is in the box, unlike your teams failure at the Hotel Cinnabar.”

She winced as the barbs hit home.  “What can you offer us, then?”

“You do not just want Azariah dead.  That much is obvious.  Tell me what it is you DO want and we will arrange that to come to pass.  Or you can continue marching from one bad attempt to another.  Your people seem quite good at marching.”

“And killing.”  She said slowly and distinctly, looking him in the eye.

He smiled.  Compared to Free this woman was a kitten when it came to threatening.  The worst she would do is kill him.  “Yes, I am sure you have people willing to do that for you, what you lack is people able to do what my organization can do.  Now, here is my comm contact.  If you decide you wish a quote for our services then give me a call.  I can supply a separate quote for the ‘details’ if you wish to blend in better than you have, so far.”  He stood.

“A book.”

“Pardon me?”

“He has, in his possession or stored somewhere, a book.  We want it before it is made public.”

Cory sat once more.  “Describe the book?”  She did and he took notes on his comm, nodding and making sure he would know it if he saw it.  ‘I will investigate and see what can be done and what it will cost.  Is his death a part of this or was he just considered collateral damage.”

She made a moue.  “He has irritated me but it is the book.”

“I will be in touch.”

“Wait, what sort of details?”

“I will put that package together under a new file and forward it to you by the end of the day.  Don’t bother calling the Lt.  I know my way out.”

**********************************************************************

Lessons

Not much Eve but I have been needing to move this plot bit forward for a while.

Make sure you have your skill queue well stocked for the patch.

see you on the other side

m

White Power

“You remember me telling you about the questions I was asking of the CSM?”  Mike pulled a chair over to the table where Scotty was sitting with Ev.

“You did say you would get back to me if anybody answered.”  Scotty nodded.

“What this be about, eh?”

“Mike is trying to see if he can make changes or suggestions to the CSM even if nobody ever votes for him.”  Scotty laughed and waved a hand.  “So he writes to all thirteen of the CSM elected and asks them questions.  Last time he asked about the first weeks, this time he is focussing on the White Paper.”

“What be a White Paper, den?”  Ev’s Minmatar heritage was never far from the surface, even if he had been born and bred Gallente.  “Sounds fishy ta me.”

Mike fielded the question.  “It is a combination historical document and . . . well, a constitution, I suppose.  It sets out the reasoning for the existence of the CSM as well as basic ground rules for them to follow in their deliberations.  Thing is, it was written a long time ago and has not been kept up to date.”

“How you supposed to keep a historical document up ta date, then.  If you change it . . . it no be historical.”

“Good point . . . maybe they need to lay this one down and almost start over.  But since I did not want to try writing one just for them too laugh at I decided  to try and work with the  document at hand as a jumping off point and I sent a question or two to each member of the CSM.”

“Any of them willin ta give you the time o’ day?”

“Yes, but not as many as last time, sadly.  But the last to answer last time was the very first to answer this time, Kelduum.”

“He’s that ‘Eve Uni’ guy, right?”  Ev asked. 

“Right, I asked him . . .

In the white paper it suggests that things that are being considered will be labelled ‘marked for consideration’ This way the voting population can weigh in and comment or argue their cases further.

Should this idea be removed from the white paper or better enforced within the CSM and CCP communications

“See, in the old days you knew what the CSM and CCP were talking abot and you could put your own opinion forward to try to sway the council to see things your way.  Now it is all in the election then we know bugger all about what happens the rest of the time until changes are announced.  Not what you call a lot of opportunity for input from the voting public.  Keld answered . . . “

It would be nice for the CSM to be able to provide a list of topics being covered with CCP at any point, however there will likely be some NDA issues (discussing changes to mechanic X, which influences players expecting specific changes), and the amount of work documenting all the topics covered could easily be a full-time job, so it will likely be one of the elements which is updated significantly.

Obviously its a very fine line between providing information, and providing NDA’d material, and I’m sure as time goes on, the newer CSM members (such as myself) will find the appropriate balance.

“So what is this NDA, then?”

“Secrecy act . . . keep the CSM from spilling beans before their time.  The philosopher Paul Barnett once said that if you even hint at a change there will be barbarians at your gates tomorrow demanding it be released right now and complaining each day that they are denied their inaliable right to whatever they think they heard you think wishfully about.  He’s right.  You Have to keep some secrets becuase a lot of the pilot population is prone to overreact.”

“Next Dovinian answered.  I tweeked him about not running a high profile campaign and he was a it rueful about it . . . but hey, he DID get alected.”

“Unlike some folks we know”  Scotty muttered.

“Right, well him I asked . . . “

In the paper the method for measuring CSM participation was attendence to meetings. How should the measure be taken with the new CSM format?

There are talkers and there are workers. So far (excluding yourself) who has done the most work?

“If there are no frmal meetings or minutes then how are we supposed to know who did what, if anything.  The last election had a fair share of name calling and accusations but no numbers to back any of those accusations up.  Dovi answered . . . “

With the CSM having a constant conversation and ability to contact CCP Devs 24/7 (or when they’re around) it’d be very difficult to measure activity in that sense. Through the Skype chats, it’s also very easy to grab a Dev privately and bring your concern up wiht them that way — sometimes that’s a better approach in a few cases.

We have some collaborative tools that we use to work on papers and ideas together, those are really nice because it shows who has made what edits/additions.

He declined to say who worked the least, but that is not what I asked.  He DID say that the veteran members . . .

The people who have been contributing the most are the CSM6 veterans by far though from what I’ve noticed. They’ve really been the heavy hitters this time around.

Mike grinned.  “I like that guy.  He takes pride in what he has done and really seems to care.”  Sighing Mike went on.  “The next question was the hardest for me to ask but it did impinge directly on phrases in the White Paper . . . and how they affected the Mittani.”

“Uh oh”

“Yeah.  See the Mittani was dropped from the CSM becaue of a TOS breach.  To quote the legal findings . . .

Following a thorough internal review CCP has decided to respond to this clear violation of our Terms of Service

The White Paper was very explicit on matters like this.  It says . . .

Breach of the EULA or TOS by a CSM representative is grounds for dismissal and permanent exclusion from all pending and future participation in the council’. There are no exceptions

So I had to ask someone about this and Two-Step drew the short straw.  His response was . . .

 

Is The Mittani taking part in the alumni skype channel?

Not at the moment. One thing that I would point out is that techincally, the EULA/TOS breach wasn’t considered to have happened while he was on the CSM, which is why he is allowed to run for CSM 8.

Looking forward to going back?

Yes. The only summit I have been to was the emergency summit. I’m looking forward to the chance to do less damage control and more real feedback and brainstorming. Of coruse, I am also looking forward to more Bacon subs from Nonnis..

Scotty whistled.  “He is walking the fine line there.”

Mike nodded.  “I wasn’t out to vilify or flog a dead horse further, just pointing out that they may want to remove the ‘No Exceptions’ if they plan on making any.”

“Next up was Aleks Karrde, leader of NOIR.”

“He and his did great work in Jita.”  Ev said grinning.  “Considering the numbers arrayed on each side they were fantastic.”

“Agreed.  Him I asked . . . . “

Given that you guys have altered the meeting format to now a rolling conversation, as opposed to formal meetings,

Do you think that there needs to be some method put inot place to keep players up to date as to what is going on?

The guidline recommended in the white paper was every other week. Would it be reasonable to ask that we get updates in such a timeframe?

“His response was guarded . . . “

This is a difficult subject because the rolling conversation almost invariably discusses NDA material. In the case of the CSM/CCP joint channel, the entire thing is NDA protected so devs and CSM can interact freely and frequently.

I’m gonna decline to comment on specific solutions till we have an opportunity to sit down with CCP and collaborate on a solution that allows us to be transparent with players while also preserving the benefits of free, open, and constant communication within the CSM itself and between CSM + the development team.

“But since then it HAS been announced that the CSM will be having a town hall meeting so I suppose that is a huge step forward.”

“Especially if more than one person talks.”  Ev grumbled.

“Especially then.  Trebor I asked . . . “

There has been suggested that Real Names be removed from the ballots to add a level of anonymity and allow people to campaign without opening themselves up to Real World harassment.

Water under the bridge, of course, for any candidate who has already run.

Where do you stand on this proposal?

“Trebor did nt disappoint me and was as straight forward and common sense as ever. . . .”

I think CSM candidates should have to reveal their identities to the voters.

We are not voting for toons, we are voting for people to represent us to the company. Who those people are in RL has relevance.

“The last word, I leave to the chairman of the CSM who was very busy on many fronts but he still took them time to reply.  I asked Seleene . . .”

Will the CSM white paper make it onto the table as a subject for dsicussion/revision in the upcoming summit?

Would you be interested in hearing the opinions of non-CSM members as to specific parts of the WP that need attending to?

“He kept the answer brief and to the point.

it will be at least Monday before I can give you a more detailed reply than YES and YES.

“I thanked him for his answer, that was all I really needed and not much more than that.  Now I wish I could listen to the Town Hall meeting live and even ask some question directly but  have other duties.”

“So, is THIS the end f your nagging those poor guys?”

Mike smiled.  “It is, for this month.”

******************************************************************************************

Lessons

Typed on a tablet so forgive me any formatting issues.

I do wish I could hear the Townhall meeting live but I am on the road right now and umnable to get more than chancy coffee shop level connections or ‘one bar’ of network in a motel.

If any of you DO make it.  Ask questions, thank them for what they have done.  TAKE PART

and fly it like you won it

m

Living document

He was hunched over the comm unit,  a cup of coffee going cold beside it.  His finger would follow a line of text and then stab down as though holding something living from escaping.  He would talk and make a memo or send off a short message before moving on.

Scotty watched him from the doorway for a few minutes before nodding to the waitress and ordering fresh coffees and some slices of pie.  He sat down next to the pilot and shoved a plate at him.  “Eat, you look like hell.”

Mike absently dug a fork into the pie and probably did not even taste it anymore than he noticed that his coffee was now hot.  “Been doing research into ancient history.”

“More Talocan stuff?”

“Nope.  CSM history.  The original document at their forming was called the ‘White Paper‘.  Was supposed to lay out who and what.”  Mike suddenly looked at the fork in his hand as though just realizing that it was there.  “So I have been going through it and finding that it is bad need of an address change.”

“Address change?”

“Belongs in a museum.  Most of the rules that were set way back then are no longer applicable or have drifted so far as to only bear a distant resemblance to the original form.”

“So?  Who cares?”

“Me.”  Mike set the fork down and looked Scotty straight in the eye.  “This is supposed to be the framework, the laws.  If we leave it behind then we are flying blind and all controls, checks and balances have been removed.”

“Isn’t that the sort of thing the people who were elected should be looking at?”  Scotty watched to see if the dig hit home.  It didn’t.

“Yup, and I am writing to remind them of the need to make some decisions about it.”

“Who are you writing to, the ones fool enough to answer you last time?”

“Nope, all of them.  Ain’t gonna play favorites.  Each gets questions, I have enough that each actually gets different questions.”

“Then what?”

“Hmm?”

“You do all this work, interview 13 people and collect the answers, if any come.  Then what?”

Mike looked off into the distance.  “Part of me is hoping that asking them questions will make them look and think about the document.  Maybe make it into something that grows and changes over time . . . a living document.  Oh I will let people know who answered and who did not, who responds to the public and who is ‘too busy’ to do so.  Mainly though, this is my way of helping or trying to help.  Of making the Council relevant and connecting to them.”

“Eat your pie.”

***********************************************************************

Lessons

Last time I had a decent response, more than half the CSM answered.  This time the last person to respond was the first and very nice about it too.  Thanks Kelduum.

I doubt many of you have read the Paper.  Very academic for the first part but it had lots of fodder for changes and questions of application.

I’ll give the council some time to answer before I let you know what I asked and who and how the responses were

fly it like you can still afford to

m

 

 

 

 

Conversion Costs

The CO took a deep breath and went over his notes one more time.  The whole team had discussed this and come to the conclusion that there were few choices left.  If they wanted to consider themselves competitive in todays changing market then upgrades would be required.  Being good was not enough, you had to be able to compete with the latest and greatest or be left behind . . . in the Dust.

They had worked too long and too hard to be considered old news or unskilled/unable to adapt.  But keeping up with the times took a big investment, more than the team could put together.  They had looked at the options but nobody wanted to become a corporate entity, answering to faceless bosses up some ‘suit’ chain of command.  It had been Boomer, of all people, who suggested they ask their one previous hire who was NOT a corp.

So here he was, looking to ask one man to invest in his team when they had failed to keep him whole the last time they went out.  Not the best bargaining position to start from.  He sighed and went into the cafe where he had been told to meet.  With a practiced eye he scanned the room for targets and or hazards.  Most of the customers seemed mid level dock workers and minding their own business.  They only glanced at him curiously.  Mike sat at the counter with one other man sipping coffee.  His counter mate laughed at something Mike had said and slapped him on the back.  “OK, den.  I fetch you a few fittins for the paper wrapped flashlight you wanna fly.  Show dem to you later, hey?”

“Sounds good, Ev.”  Mike nodded and then looked and caught the eye of the CO in the doorway.  “And there is my next appointment.”

Ev looked at the man in the doorway with a measuring gaze and then looked about at a few others of the patrons.  The CO recognized the way bodies shifted and knew that the man had just assigned duties and he was now under a lot more scrutiny.  He looked back at Mike who smiled,waving him over, and wondered if the pilot even knew he had a body guard detail.

Mike stood as the officer approached and offered his hand.  ‘I was sort of surprised when you asked to meet me.  There some place you need me to fly your team, commander Walkins?”

The commander sat down and pushed across a comm chip.  “This is our record over the last dozen missions.  We are a solid team and have good ratios.”

Mike did not key in the chip but slid it back.  “I know.  I did my homework before I hired you for that last trip.  But why are you bringing this to me?  I haven’t any need for ground forces at the moment.”

“No, sir, that is not why I came.” The CO paused.  “There is not an easy way to ask this but . . . we need a sponsor.”

“For what?”

It was a relief.  He was listening, not just saying ‘no’.”Modern merc companies are undergoing a sea change.  With newer tech and newer rebirthing facilities the hotspots look to be getting  a lot hotter, soon.  We have a good record but not enough of a war-chest to upgrade the men and equipment.”

Mike nodded.  “That I can understand.  When you mean upgrade you mean the Dust version of pod death and clones, don’t you?”

“Among other things, yes, that is a close approximation.  We also need funding for a proper set of drop materials and the new weapons systems . . . “

Mike held up a hand.  “There is always a better gun but I prefer to bet based on the skill of the man on the other end.  Your team did well by me and got out the scientists.  I have to ask the questions, though.  How much are we talking and what are the guarantees or rates you are thinking?”

Watkins sighed.  This was a good sign that he was willing to talk numbers but these numbers had a lot of zeros in them.  He opened up a file on his own b-comm and slid it across, pointing.  “This is an itemized . . . “

Mike snorted and flicked a finger scrolling to the proverbial bottom line.  “Repayment?”

“Assuming we keep to our record we should be able to clear . . . “

Again the finger flicked to the end of the file and Mike nodded.  “Aggressive repayment scheme.  You want to spend as little time in debt as possible, even if it means cutting corners in the company budget.  No.”

Watkins stomach fell.  “No?”

“Your repayment plan is a recipe for disaster.  Cutting too close to the edge means one bad mission or heavy set of losses and you are deep in the red.”  Mike keyed in some new numbers and frowned for a moment and then slid it back to Watkins.  “Try that.”

Watkins was not the company bookkeeper but he could hum the tune.  “You chopped the interest rate to almost nothing and extended the payment run to three years?”

“Gives you more day to day working capital.  Now in exchange for this I want  . . . “

‘Here it comes’ Watkins thought.

“The right to ask you guys favours, iffen I need a ground force.  You don’t work for me, you ain’t mine but as business folk and friends I ought ta be able ta call you up if needs arise.”

“That’s it?”

“Ayup.  Your team got me and mine out of a tight spot.  I figure I owe you right now.  If the interest rate still looks too high . . . “

“And you saw how much we need?”

“I learned to count the zeros a long while back.  Been to Jita and everything.  We can contact a bank lawyer and set stuff up right now, if you is in a rush.  But there is one thing I’d like your men ta do.  I gots this book written by the guy who first researched immortality.  Issah.  I’d like to know they have thought a bit about what they are getting into.  Taint trying to convert their religion but they should think this ‘upgrade’ all the way through.  If they choose not to read it, that is fine, deal goes through anyhow but if you would let them have a chance to see it?”

***************************************************************

Lessons

How much would it cost to sponsor a team of Dusties.  Will it be something corps/alliances/ or even individuals can do?

A few people and I were discussing the definition of poor.  As you go through the game the meaning changes.  I know one guy who said that his wallet was way to light as he was almost down to 5 billion.

I told him I worry when I get down bellow 100 mill.  We operate on different levels.  But anything above what you spend on a day to day basis is just like a game score.  I think Frfrmpukin said you might as well spin your ship in a hanger and call that your wallet balance, if you are just likeing to see numbers go up.

Given the chance, and assuming I have the financials to do so, yes GBA will sponsor Dusties, if only so we can say we do.  ISK needs to be used, applied, to be worth anything more than a string of digits, like a spin counter.

I have a wolf, around here somewhere, comment and have a chance to make it fly and be used.  I’ll draw within a week

fly it like you won it.

m

 

 

 

 

 

Same old same old

The wormhole flashed once and a moment later a ship twisted into reality and sped through lowsec, heading for high.

Mike grinned as the stars took on familiar patterns and he pointed the ship towards ‘home’.  Opening the channels he searched through the usual news and commentaries. Burn Jita. Hulkageddon, drones adapting, Sansha changing tactics.  “Same old same old.”  Mike sighed.

He knew he was a member of a minority and a majority, depending on who was counting what.  His actions in the comm channels known as the ‘Forums’ made him part of a select few.  While some thought it was a way of keeping a finger on the pulse of the pilots of New Eden it was more true to say that it was it kept an eye on what the noisy 5.5% of the pilots preferred to yell about.

“A shade over 1 in 20 and we act like they are the voice of reason or of the people.”  He grumbled as he skimmed through a thread and winced at the abuse the poor language took.  “Huh, still arguing about Mittens . . . thought that horse was dead and buried.”

He scrolled back over some files trying to find the quote from Mittens himself, something about taking control of the message if you have a few thousand people all pointed in the same direction.  After a few minutes he stopped trying as prolonged exposure to that sort of information flow always made him want to take some time away from piloting and do something more sedate and calming, like working in a preschool for hyperactive children with Tourette’s syndrome.

“Ah, something non-Goon”  He brightened and read that the new CSM would soon be meeting to discuss new directions for New Eden.  “Time to write the members and ask a few questions.”  He looked over at his incoming message queue and saw that he had finally gotten a belated message from Kelduum.    “Well, it is time to do the research and ask the questions . . . “

**************************************************************

Lessons

Once a month I write the CSM and ask them questions about what is on my mind, hoping some of it makes a dent.

Yes, I am going to write more about Free, soon

I never made it to Jita to see the smoke and flames but I did spend some quality time watching DaOpa’s feed of it.

Why am I not surprised both sides claimed victory and ‘op success’?

With market prices being what they are, maybe I am becoming the only sensible way to get a new ship.  Free one coming connected to the next post.

fly it like you won it

m

Caution, warning ahead

It is funny, Mike reflected, that he felt safer now that he was in a wormhole system with no hint of who else might be about.  He was ‘home’ and flying to the POS wondering when his perceptions had undergone the subtle shift.

To the rest of the world wormhole space was the most dangerous, no local to let you know if enemies were about, no Concord to punish.  Death could be swift and brutal and yet . . . it was home.  He had alliance mates and neighbors who kept a watch up.  People he could depend on to fly with.  Home.

*So*  His comm crackled.  *How was life outside?*

He grinned and responded.  “You have been listening to me beg for a route home for a week and you have to ask?  It is the same as always which is kind of surprising.”

*How so?  How can always the same be a surprise?*

“Well, there are all the things coming up and only a few rich folk seem to be paying any attention to them.  The Burn Jita, Hulkageddon, the markets are jumping and folks seem to be just ignoring it.  I started a few conversations about it and half the people would either not care or didn’t have a clue as to what was coming up.”

*Newbs*

“Newbs don’t fly 3.5 billion Lokis.  No, it is something more than that.  It is insulation and isolation.  People only want to do what they are doing and don’t care about the world around them.”

*That is going to catch up with them, eventually.*

“Eventually is coming damn soon.  Ya know, when I was coming back home it occurred to me that Concord could and should take a hand in this.”

*What, like post their ships at belts and all the celestials?*

“Hell, no.  I am not looking to punish, I am more in favor of education.  You know when you make the jump into a wormhole you get a warning that you are taking a risk?  And if you undock while there are still killrights against you you get the same sort of thing?”

*I turned most of those messages off long ago.*

“But they exist.  I think if you are undocking into a free fire zone or trying to jump into a system that is tidi’d or experiencing far in excess of normal levels of combat there could be a similar warning.  Oh, not for systems like Anamake because for them, that IS the normal level of violence. But say there was a spike in kills exceeding 50% of the norms.  Concord simply places a warning as a courtesy to those who don’t follow the news.  It is the equivalent of ‘Slippery Road Ahead’.  People are still free to ignore them or even turn the warnings off but then when they do . . . “

*It becomes their fault.*

“Exactly.”

***********************************************************************

Lessons

I am surprised how few folks keep track of little ‘Player Events” that can and will have an impact on their gameplay.

fly it like you won it

m

 

Chatting with the Council CSM

“So I wrote the council members to congratulate them on their wins and ask a few questions.”  Mike said grabbing the sugar to ‘fix’ his coffee.

“Yeah, you told me that a week ago.  Anybody bother to answer?”

“Ayup, but most in the first three days.  I waited a while before mentioning it because I kept hoping someone else would answer as well.  But it looks like it is fast or not at all.”

“Older mail gets lost/buried.” Scotty agreed.  “So what did you find out?”"Well, let’s start with the Chairman, Seleene.  I asked . . .”

I know a skype channel is used. is there more than one? One for the csm and another for csm/ccp?

Is it more text or do folks hang out on voice hoping someone else is about to shoot the breeze with

Last term there was only one meeting (aside from the ones in Iceland) that produced minutes. Will that number be met, passed or are meetings with minutes a thing of the past?

Do you plan on doing any Fireside Chats or is that an Alex thing?

“Huh, you didn’t ask anything about the former Chair?”

“Water under the bridge, a dead horse, whatever you want to call it.  No, I did not think that needs digging up except as to how it might impact the current council.  He was quick to reply.”

We have a CSM Private channel for just the CSM 7 members and one for CSM 7 and CCP to mingle and discuss things. We also have a CSM Alumni channel which has several members from CSM 6 in it so that we don’t lose touch with them as well.

Text dominates, but we go to voice sometimes for matters of particular importance.

I think the old days of getting together and holding ‘votes’ is dead. However, CSM 7 as a whole is committed to improving communication as much as possible and we’ll be looking at ways to evolve the old processes into something that more accurately reflects our current methods while still providing some measure of accountability.

We are actively discussing / planning a few “Town Hall” meetings.  The aim is to make them as accessible as possible, have an overall theme for each one and get CCP’s support (and possibly presense) as well. There should be some information coming out about this in the next couple of weeks.

Mike grinned, “So what do you take away from that?”

“They are letting ‘alumni’ into the channels?  Does that mean that the Mitani has just ‘moved behind the curtains or throne’ and continues to rule?”

“Put your tinfoil hat away and consider the rest of the sentence.  Why only alumni of CSM6?  That is the followup I plan on asking.  Not some vague accusations about specific people.  I am sad to see the meetings and minutes go to the side but glad that they still plan on improving communications.  They seem to be talking well to each other and over the initial speed bumps that the drama llama left.”

“You mean that stuff with Issler and Darius III?”

Mike nodded.  “I asked different questions of Issler.”

I know you have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start. Is this likely to influence the mood of the entire year or will bygones be bygones?

Obviously you are independent. Will you be supporting the one voice initiative Alex started last term or will we see a more opinionated set of council members?

Are you beginning to settle into your new role? How is it different from what you expected for the first weeks?

“I thought you were not going to beat that horse.”

‘This was about the repercussions, not the original fiasco.  Issler was also willing to reply in depth and said that the ‘rocky start’ was probably over blown.  She said . . .”

I feel the CSM should be fine going forward.  The players voted in a very good set of players with a broad range of experiences.  I am sure the CSM 7 will be the best CSM to date!

I will continue to support the idea that individual members need to have their own voice on issues.  A collective position is fine where it is possible but I won’t be a “hive mind” and I’ll be trying to encourage the rest of the CSM to make their individual positions available to the players that elected them.

The current CSM model is a bit like drinking from a firehose.  Many members seem to live on Skype 24/7 and the conversations a a lot of general chatting with the occasional important Eve issue post.  But I’m slowly finding my stride.

“I loved the part about drinking from a firehose as it found it a very telling analogy.  Sometimes finding the balance between all you can have and all that you want is a difficult task.  In this case the Council members are hit with an information glut.  I am very glad that she is finding her place and from what I have heard from other council members in interviews it is a thing of the past and they are all ‘moving forward’ with nobody thro9wn under any interbusses.  Sadly Darius did not choose to answer his questions, I hope it was just lost in the initial transition to CSM7 and not indicative of his level of commitment.”

He took a sip of his coffee and continued.  “Now Two Step was the first to answer and I think that confirms everything I have heard about him as a hard and quick worker.  Him I asked . . . “

How do you expect this CSM7 to differ from CSM6

How limiting do you find the NDA for being able to talk to the electorate?

If people wanted to follow you which is your most common communications form/medium?

“His answers were straight to the point.”

I think the major difference will be because of CCP, not the CSM. Unlike last year, this time around we have CCP’s undivided attention on spaceships.

It is fairly limiting, but I don’t really see an alternative. In general, I (and most other CSMs) urge CCP to make their plans public as soon as possible, which helps avoid this issue.

I try to tweet a lot (@two_step_eve), though my more substantial posts are usually on the eve-o forums.

“Its funny that he is saying that the growth of the process is happening on both sides of the table. It is not just the Council that is changing but also those they work with.”

“A relationship that only changes  lopsidedly usually breaks in the long run.”  Scotty said, nodding.

“Exactly.  Now Hans, him I was impressed that he answered at all, he has been very sick and still he took the effort to respond to my questions.  I didn’t know he was sick when I asked these . . . “

Aside from the drama of the initial shuffling of the chair is the csm what you expected it to be?  How is it different?

How much of an information dump has there been in the first week to bring you up to speed?

Have you set any personal goals for yourself in this term and have any of them run into the brick wall of reality already?

“and his answer (from his sickbed)”

I’ll be happy to get back to you, I’m recovering from pneumonia the last week and barely been able to sit up at my computer, but I’ll get back to you this weekend with a report. I’ll probably turn your questions into a blog post, which is long overdue for me anyways.

“Now he has not written that article yet but I am looking forward to when he does.  Alekseyev Karrde, now with him I did stray a bit into Mittens past due to a comparison I noted.  Both are currently CEO’s though admittedly Mittens of a much larger organization.”

How is the new council shaping up? Any initial impressions?

Have you had a lot of players coming to you, hat in hand, asking for buff this and nerf that?

Mittens talked about a problem with ‘hats’ when you are both a CEO and a csm person. Do you expect any conflicts in this regard?

“He did an excellent job of addressing the points when he wrote back.”

The council is shaping very nicely actually. We had a bit of a rocky start with certain members but concerns were addressed, apologies made, and we’re all ready to move forward together. We have an incredible amount and diversity of talent on this CSM. Which is good, because the CSM/CCP communication flow is better than in years past and core elements of the game are going to be fundamentally revamped this year.

Also turns out Hans and I are like bffs. Who knew!

Yes. Comes with the job heh. Depending on what it is sometimes you can turn that conversation toward a useful information-gathering exercise about a particular problem.

I have not yet experienced the hat problem. I think it helps that I’m CEO of a relatively small group that isn’t really aimed at the meta game. Given our line of work I’m sure Noir. has been the impetus for a few players to quit in tears, but that’s a plus for most of the people that voted for me rather than a source of controversy. Besides, it’s not personal; just business.

“On a podcast he did soon after answering this he laughed about how it was almost a surprise that I would see any resemblance at all.  Dovi, on the other hand, surprised me.  I asked him . . . “

Do you hope for a cooperative and unified csm or is dispute a healthy way to find the best solution?

Will you be able to talk to people outside the csm (even in vague terms) to get a read on what might be right when it comes to subjects that you have less experience with?

How do you expect your election to alter your game play?

“He quickly answered with a lot of enthusiasm both asking that I keep in touch and welcoming any more questions.  To the ones I asked he said . . . “

I absolutely hope for a cooperative CSM. Being unified and getting along is the only way we’re going to be able to accomplish anything. Though sometimes dispute and arguments can bring new ideas to the table.

I love talking to people. I have tons of contacts in and out of TEST that I can lean for areas I don’t know the most about, I have friends all over EVE.

I don’t expect it to alter my game play much at all! I’m still doing the things I enjoy in and out of game, it’s important to me that EVE doesn’t become like a job

“From what I have heard in other interviews Dovinian seems to be an enthusiastic and fun-loving member of the council.  I look forward to hearing more of him.  For all that this is serious business it is also important to keep a sense of fun about.”

“Now Greene Lee I did not hear much about during the election.  He campaigned outside my circles and so I was restricted to third hand knowledge, for the most part, which I hate.  I was VERY happy that he answered these questions.”

In your thread it was asked if Language was going to be an issue. Is it?

Do you have a blog or method of communicating with the people who elected you outside of internal alliance forums?

“His answers were very brief and to the point.”

Of course not.

There is strong communication policy consisted both from NDA and internal CSM rules. We will discuss it by CSM. As soon as we done I will settle up topics. Till that evemail is the best way to reach me.

“I hope he will be a bit more forthcoming once the rules of communication, what can and cannot be said are settled.  Meissa . . . wow, longest serving CSM council member there is.  Here I chose to ask questions relating to the long view. . . “

The CSM has changed over the years, do you think it is is still evolving or are we getting close to seeing it as it will be in the years going forward?

How much of the changes to the CSM have been from outside influences rather than from internal restructuring?

What would you say has been the biggest and or the best change over the years and why?

“I was stunned by the quality and length of the answer.  The questions were given a lot of thought and the answers were worthy of almost being an article in and of themselves.”

It is too early to say if this form is close to the final one or not, I personally see it evolving some more. We have gone from an era where CCP didn’t have any clue how to handle the council in the first two terms, to CCP engaging earnestly but mildly with us in 3 to 4, to every CCP employee having the ability to communicate with us in CSM 5 and 6, as well as the CSM getting better visibility on what was actually done within CCP.

The private CSM&CCP forums have devs speaking to us, asking questions, requesting feedback and us bringing things to their attention on a daily basis with a very good signal:noise ratio. What CSM 1 to 5 did mostly correctly was talk to the players, CSM 6 failed in that regard, mostly because of the increased activity with CCP. There is a strong sentiment within CSM 7 that this needs to be improved, so we’ll be working on that while trying to maintain the CSM<->CCP level of interaction.

The Council will keep evolving, mostly in reaction to the development of the game and CCP’s success and mistakes, also based on how much we had available to give feedback on and our part in making those changes a success, or helping CCP understand better when players would react negatively and why. I don’t know where we’ll end up after this term, but I’m fairly confident that the team in place is a good one to make progress happen.

It’s both. [in reference to whether changes are internally or externally driven] The first few terms the CSM had to establish itself as a viable group with which constructive communication was possible, we had to gain credibility. Later on we had to push to CCP to have access to information (backlogs) and dev access (forums & skype) to be able to engage in the feedback loop. A few of the changes and progress have been due to external factors, the POS exploit, the Incarna debacle that CSM 5 had pointed out correctly as something that was going to be poorly received, and the Jita riots where we showed ourselves capable of constructive discourse as well as a viable way for CCP to help release the pressure valve, as it were. It also helped that a number of CCP employees were happy enough with the interactions they had with the CSM to encourage others to have a dialog.

The level of communication. It has been the defining factor that has changed over the terms, back in CSM 2 the interaction between CSM and CCP was limited to one summit, and that was it, we had no visibility on what CCP was working on, no interaction with the developers outside of the summit, and only a handful of devs then. We now speak with devs every day, whenever we have a need for a specific one [s]he can reply directly. Likewise we have access to information near the concept phases so we can give constructive feedback before a significant amount of resources has been devoted to a change that would require amendment for it to be successful.

A good side-point of this one is that after we have given a round of feedback, we regularly encourage the devs to get feedback from the larger public, or to communicate the changes in a better form, and they frequently do. Everyone wins.

“I have to agree that the change in communications is a big thing and with people like Meissa in there, it is a positive growth.  Last person to answer is also one of the great communicators as well, Trebor.  I asked him . . . “

Will you be doing another poll of the population to find out how we would like the priorities set this year? I thought that was a FANTASTIC effort last year.

Are there any extra duties for vice chair or is it more title and hat than more work than you already do?

“Pretty softball questions, there.” Scotty commented.

Mike shrugged.  “Aside from a bit of extra mail during the election Trebor has been a very open and standup kinda Council member.  So I didn’t have as much to ask him.  He said . . .”

I will probably do another crowd sourcing, but I am thinking of changing the focus. I have to consult with my colleagues about that, though.

Vice Chair is “not worth a bucket of warm piss”. I took it so that Two step would get Secretary.

They both laughed.  “Yup, even after the election is over there are political maneuverings and Trebor showed that he still has his head in the game.”

“So who is next?”

“Now there is the thing.  Four reps chose not to answer.  Darius III,  Elise, Uaxdeath, and Kelduum.  I was not surprised by Darius but I was curious why Kelduum did not reply.  I actually held off doing anything with this information, up until now, hoping he would ‘get around to it’”

“Folks do get busy, this time of year.”

“I suppose.  I will still send them more question in a few weeks and give them a chance,  will keep doing so till they tell me to stop.”

“Why?  Why are you doing this?”

Mike smiled.  “I told you before.  I want the process to work even if I am not a direct part of it.  If I can help spread the word as to what is going on, help get folks to know they CAN ask questions and they might be answered, then I am helping.  Ya don’t have to be elected to be able to do something.  You just need the will to try.”

***********************************************************

Lessons

Look, the rest of you can ask questions as well.  Poetic wrote a great contact your CSM post.

Do so.  I will keep doing this and if you have things you would liked asked of the csm I would love to hear them as well.

Fly it like you won it

m

Long Shots

“Roger that, inserting into orbit now.  Just waiting coordinates.”  The Pride and Joy was a newly fitted ship and finally had the sensors to read the battle on the planet down below and the reason to want to.

*PoJ, This is Arclight 5.  We are moving into position, will have targeting up in a few, just hang on up there.*

“Roger, Arclight 5, you have quite the crowd up here watching.”  The pilot looked at his scan of the neighborhood and winced.  It was almost crowded enough to worry about collisions.  Frigates from a dozen alliances jockeyed for position to get the best view of the battle below, like kids crowding the stage of a favorite band.

The pilot preened a little.  The others did not know that the ‘rockstar’ had yet to make an appearance.  HE was the true star though nobody had a clue,yet.  But, oh, they would soon enough.

__________________________________

“This is a really risky contract, you know that, right?”  The tech was busy making sure the proper leads were hooked up, then double checking each one.

“Hey, “  Arclight 5 replied.  “This is why we are getting paid three times for this gig.  The combat op, the test platform above us and the one you should have ready to go by NOW.”

“One chance, one shot.  You do want this to work, right?”  The tech keyed in a sequence.  “Should be good except for final lock and fire.  You are go anytime.”

“Arclight 5 to PoJ, prepare to receive coordinates.”  She sent the orders for the troops engaged to either pull back or dig in and hang on.  Confirmations started coming in immediately.  “PoJ. Targeting sequences transmitted, drop in 60 seconds, on my mark . . . . MARK”

*60 and counting, this is where it gets good.*

The tech laughed.  “He is right about that, but only halfway.”

_________________________________

The pilot copied the targeting to the weapons system and watched the countdown.  He did jump the gun and fire with 20 seconds to go muttering, “Who cares, only Dusties down there anyhow.”

He waited for a minute before sending the question.  “Well?  How did it go?”

________________________________________

The bombardment cannon lit the sky as the fire sequence completed and as a wrath of god sent down from the heavens it struck in the center of the enemy fortified position.  The sound was a almost a secondary weapon as the blast front swept across the battlefield making anyone not prepared for it pause and look back at the rising cloud marking the graves of so many combatants.

Arclight 5′s people were ready and they were up and moving as soon as the shock-wave passed.  The tide of battle had turned irrevocably.  The assault pushed forward and rolled the opposition.

*Well?  How did it go?*

She turned to her tech and nodded as he switched to the second console.  “Target . . . . locked.  Fire sequence in 10, 9,  . . . “

She smiled as she answered.  “The Mittani says hello”

” . . .2, 1, firing”

From two distant hillside the hidden emplacements fired at the bombarding ship and punched through its armor and shields like they were made of tissue.  The other ships in orbit swiftly scattered and warped off like a flock of birds suddenly startled.

“Who is ‘the Mittani’?  The tech asked as he started to shut down the equipment, passing a recording of the engagement to Arclight 5.

“Beats me.”  She replied.  “Our employer asked me to send that.  As long as he pays the bills, hell, I’ll sing some national anthem if he wants.  This recording is gonna make us rich.  I figure the recording may be of value to more than just the immediate hires.  When we get back to base I will contact some media folks as well as the makers of the weapons.  Maybe they would like reports of actual combat footage as opposed to test ground simulations.

The tech was laughing.  “The podders, always so sure they are the smart ones, the tricky ones.  He didn’t see that coming, did he?”

She looked up at the fireworks that were the remains of the ship falling down into the atmosphere.  “War has a way of changing the rules.  He thought it was funny, shooting down from a safe perch.  I wonder what he thinks now?”

A distance thunder of the battle as it ended was her only answer.

***************************************************************************

Lessons

How smug will we be if we can be engaged by the ground weapons?  With unlimited power and without ship size limitations they have the potential to be down right nasty.

All our promo vids have been Pilots being the fickle gods above but I look forward to the day where the ground shoots back.

This post is an entry ino the Voices from the Void contest.  I’ll let you know if anything comes of it.  (Oh and if you listen to the Voices you will know what ‘The Mittani says hello’ is about.

fly it like you won it

m

When to step back, when to step forward

“Well you are a sight for sore eyes” Scotty waved him over.

“Yeah, stepped out of the hole while we ha da lowsec exit, was only a few jumps up to hisec.”  Mike sat down and nodded to the waitress.  “Coffee, miss.”

“Take a sneaky ship to cross the dangerous parts?”

“Nah, Lowsec’s rep is overblown.  The biggest danger comes from listening to your own fears.  OUCH taught me that a long time ago.”  Mike nodded thanks to the waitress and leaned back to look around.  “Is it just me or do things look a little busier?”

“Busier.  Smart money is shifting base and diversifying.”  Scotty enunciated each syllable.  “What with Jita and all.”

“You mean the end of the month?  Yeah that is gonna be something else, if it happens.”

“Why wouldn’t it happen?  It’s been announced and all.”

“By Goons, who are in need of something to keep them busy, bored goons are dangerous goons.  But they have kicked over a few nests of late and if I were a CEO I would love a pre-announced time when the ‘cat’ is going to be away.  Not to mention the advance notice has been public enough that Concord might just decide to do something.”

“Think they will?”

“No.  Concord has almost always been reactive rather than proactive.  They prefer to punish than to guide.  Kinda what got them into this in the first place.  If there had been firmer guidance . . . well that is all water under the bridge.  I came out to test a few ideas and contact a few folks in the CSM.”

“Why?”

“Well, I am going to try to keep better track of the CSM this year, both to keep their profile up and to keep to my own promise of trying to increase communication.”

“You don’t have to keep campaign promises when you lose, Mike.”

“Hell, folks know you don’t have to keep them when you win, either.  This isn’t about winning or losin, it is about doing what needs to be done, pure and simple.  I know a few other people may be trying to keep the lines open but every little bit helps.”

“So which council member you going to try to contact?”

“All of them.  No picking favorites.  Just because I haven’t met them or talked to them before don’t mean anything aside from a simple message and chance for them to answer.  I’ll ask a fe wquestions and then take it from there, pure and simple.”

“Talking to the folks in charge is NOT pure and simple.  Most people figure that grumbling about things that aren’t working is good enough.”

“Then folks be wrong.  If there is somthing you want to know, something you want done you talk to the folks who are manning the helm.  Grumbling in the benches don’t do nothin.”

********************************************************************

Lessons

The CSM folks who have answered so far were ALL great and welcoming of the contact.  They are our representatives and you CAN talk to them.  I will put what was asked and what was answered in another post soon, I want to give the ones who have not yet answered a chance to do so.

I am looking forward to what happens on the 28th.  I will be watching, from a distance.

In Gallente Hero channel the GBA told me to hand out ships, so two Claws went out this weekend and a single command ship (Claymore) to the winner of the draw from a few posts ago.

Prices are skyrocketing, maybe being in the channel or posting a comment here IS the best way to get a ship.

Fly it like you won it.

m

1st rvb loss

. . . so no sooner is the delivery finished then he is coming back in a pod.

I asked him what happened and he told me that he lost a ship.  Seemed like he didn’t want to say much more right then so i started asking around to find out how he lost the ship.  Turns out that a few Blues had been standing off of the station, right on out doorstep.  out of reach of the ships at undock.  About four or five of the Red fleet were there, watching them but Captain Jiorj, he starts warping here and there.

Seems like they were far enough out to avoid being on any of the standard corp bookmarks for undocking but that didn’t seem to really bother Jiorj.  He would warp away and come back, each time a bit closer to one of the ships out there.  Don’t know how he was doing it but he always seemed to be weaving a web or a pattern that was zeroing in on them.  When he got to about 30 km off of the Rupture he sent a single message in his fleet channel that he was going for it.  According to the logs the next message was one word, ‘point’.  But he was already out of shield and armor was just flying off.  A thrasher is a nice ship but the Rupture was eating him alive.

He kept on trying to spiral in but none of his fleet was quick enough to get there in time.  They did chase the Rupture off after the point had been dropped but by then it was too late for the Thrasher.  Odd thing is he sent one more message before logging in and posting his loss . . . he sent a compliment to the Rupture pilot, thanking him for a good fight.

I know he wants to train up but taking a dessy against a cruiser . . . what was he thinking?

Well his current score is 20 and 1 so I guess he may know what he is doing sometimes.  Right now he is looking for a fitting for his new ship, a cane.  Seems that there is a nice ship supply program in the fleet and he got it for a steal.  Since I am handling his finances I know he only paid 12 mill for it.  12 million isk!  I just hope he doesn’t take this as permission to lose more ships and take more chances.

Love to the family,

 

*******************************************************

Lessons.

It will.  I couldn’t stand to see two ships ‘corner’ a small fleet.  There is a fine art to warping to someone ‘out of reach’  I have not perfected it, yet, but I will be getting better at it in the days to come.

If you know tricks that do not involve a billion bookmarks . . let me know.  What I was doing was warping to celestials and back to set bookmarks at range, trying to line them up to drop on top of a guy 315 out from the station when all my bm’s were at 200.

What I didn’t do was bookmark each attempt to try to refine the pattern, that was my mistake.  Next time I will see if I can do better.  I did not tell the fleet what I was trying and so they were not expecting me to point and call, their reaction time was my own damn fault.  No worries.

I lost a ship but I had a huge grin on my face the whole time I was working at it.  Compliments to Hadji Ju’Hadji in the Rupture

Fly it like you won it (and are willing to lose it)

m