BB44 Local at a distance

A conversation, led by the literary pugilist Poetic Stanziel and fiction champion Rhavas, has been rumbling in the bowels of the blogosphere for a few days now. Due to popular demand, for posterity and for the attentions of CCP Sisyphus of Team Pulmonary Embolism Player Experience, I have been asked to envelop this discussion into a Blog Banter. The community has spoken and Drackarn has provided the following question:

“The local chat channel provides EVE players with an instant source of intel of who is in the system. With a quick glance you can tell who is in system and what your standings are to them. War targets, hated enemies, friends and corp mates all stand out clearly. Is this right? Should we have access to this intel for free with no work or effort? Should the Local chat channel even exist? Should normal space be more like wormhole space where the Local channel appears empty until someone speaks?”

So there you have it. Banter On.

Mike glanced down at his comm and sighed then shoved it back and continued trying to explain the latest minutes to Ev.

“Why you do dat ting, always checkin.  Whatchoo lookin for?”  Ev asked.

“Hmm?  Oh I like to keep an eye on local, see who is about.  Only time I don’t is when I am in Jita or one of the other really crowded trade centers.”  Mike replied absently.  “More habit, than anything else.”

“What would you do iffen they took dat away?”

“Adapt, I suppose.  As long as the other side was as blind as I was then it would be like flying in wormspace.  I would be checking a d-scan more often.  Would play right royal havoc in null sec, though.”

“How you figure?  Aren’t dey the ones who alwasy say HTFU?  I thought dey would welcome the extra danger.”

Mike roared with laughter.  “Yeah, no.  They may act all tough and dangerous but Null is where you are probably the safest in New Eden, these days . . . if you know the right people.  And a LOT of that safety is based on knowing who is hanging about.  If they shut down local a whole bunch of things would change.  You would need eyes on gates, rather than people sittin in stations reporting out.  Cloaky campers would never be noticed.  Bots would be unable to ‘see it coming’. . . .”  Mike rubbed his chin.  “Damn, it would make it more dangerous than low, and a lot more work, to boot.”

“How that be a bad thing?”

“In a way, it wouldn’t be but if space got too damn dangerous a lot of pilots might just hang up their pods and retire.  Those who roam looking for targets would have a lot harder time finding enemies.  Mining would pretty well stop as things moved to highsec.  The people who want that level of danger are already making their lives in WH space.  Forcing that on the rest of New Eden . . . well I have always opposed forcing someone else to live how one group thinks is the proper way.”

“Amen ta dat.”

“I’ve seen a few suggestions but most of them don’t make sense except for the limited perspective of the guy suggesting them.  Each may be good for a select few but what is the most median centerline idea?  I doubt that there is one that everyone will agree on.  What we gots, works, sort of.  Concord runs it and it don’t run Wormholes.  Be interesting if they stopped caring about nullsec and the pirate factions started running their own version of local in the lows.  Nulls could pay a fee for a modified local IF they wanted to but that would take isk.  Spies would start to wonder where the back doors and unwatched paths were.”

“Dat would be interesting.”

“Yeah but it fails my ‘Goon test’.  If the idea benefits the richest and the poor will just suffer more then I am against it.  Goons could afford to keep their local full throttle and watch the poor get even more poor.  The current system may not be the best but at least it is egalitarian.”

“Big word”  Ev opined.

“Fair, then”  Mike grimaced seeing the trap as he walked into it.

“Fair?  New Eden?  You gots to let me have some o whateva you be smokin.”

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

Lessons

show me a proposal that doesn’t burn a section of the population, specifically to the point that those players might quit.

The people below have done some great work on this but I think the bottom line is that change would hurt the game more than help it.

fly it like you won it

m

Sources
Unbreaking Local – An EVE Intel System Proposal by Rhavas @ Interstellar Privateer
Getting Rid of Local & More Local by Poetic Stanziel @ Poetic Discourse

Found on D-Scan

• This is a local channel, for local people by PJ Harvey @ Tiger Ears
• Local Spike by Susan Black @ GamerChick42
• Redefining Local Chat by Zensai Igunen @ Spacekeeping – The Art of being an EvE Online CEO
• The Local Nexus by Mabrick @ Mabrick’s Mumblings
• The Social Side of Local Chat by Sugar Kyle @ Low Sec Lifestyle
• The Case For Keeping Local by Drackarn @ Sand, Cider and Spaceships
• Is local broken? by Logan Fyreite @ Eve Opportunist

Local Banter

• Change Local and I’ll Quit by Rixx Javix @ Eveoganda
• If It Ain’t Broke… by Whistlerbean @ Shelter For An Empyrean
• Voices in the Static by Illyvelo @ From J Space to K Space
• Intel Gathering by Anshu Zephyran @ Structure Damage
• Another modest proposal by Kuan Yida @ Random Posts from Auga
• Blog Banter Too Late by Kirith Kodachi @ Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah
• Not in My Local by Harrigan Vonstudly @ Gun Turret Diplomacy
• Thoughts on Local by Shalee Lianne @ Sovereignty Wars
• Transponders – More than meets the eye by Helena Khan at Aggressive Logistics
• Localised Information by Xander Phoena @ Crossing Zebras
• Local as chat or local as intelligence tool by Raziel Walker @ One Opinion.
• Free Communications by Ripard Teg @ Jester’s Trek
• Local in 0.0 by Wiggles @ The Ramblings of An Eve-Radio DJ
• Safe? by blastradius1 and Blastrad Tales
• In the Local Newz… by TurAmarth ElRandir @ A Carbon Based Life  
• ^^–my favorite, m^^
  
• Why Do Witches Burn by Mary Titor @ Out of Cake
• Capsuleer Identity Distributor (CID) Receiver by Swearte Widfarend @ Confessions of a Closet Carebear
• Local, the Universe and The Rest by Emergent Patroller
• The Local Problem: A Tale of Two Solutions by Mynnna @ The Mittani.com