Reply to Mertannia

In response to the questions posed here I have some answers!

Please comment, good or bad, what you think. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Here we go:

Who are you and what do you primarily do in EVE?

My in game name is Max Torps. I have a blog that mentions what I mainly do which is take part in various PvP fights in eXceed. On saying that though, there are a couple of points I feel I ought to make - not only to explain perhaps why I pvp but also how I feel about the other options.

It is undeniable that a large portion of Eve Online is geared toward pvper's, however there are many aspects to the term pvp as well! Such as the well known large scale fleet warfare, guerilla warfare, roleplay warfare, piracy and small scale gang encounters.

I realise this question is asking what I do in game to determine preference but to tell you the truth, I rarely mission or take part in industry.

Missioning can be so much more but I find it in need of improvement and lacking in excitement for a number of reasons. Does this mean I don't want to support missioners because I like pvp? No. It means I support missioners as well because if it was more exciting I'd probably do more! I'll expand on that when the opportunity arises.

Can you give an example, either from real life, from EVE or from another MMO of when you've had to remain objective in an issue that negatively affects you or someone close to you?

Yes. I used to run Dawnwatchers guild in EverQuest 1 on Venril Sathir server. Whilst running that guild my brother in law broke one of the rules (loot whoring basically) and put me in a very difficult position in front of over 100 members. Suffice to say he left the guild and we barely spoke for the next couple of years.

How did you react to that situation? Is there anything you feel you could have done better, now that you have the benefit of hindsight?

I reacted by asking him to repay the guild member cheated in gold. He refused, I kicked him. In hindsight, I have no regrets as he was the one playing dirty. Some may argue that as family I should have let him off the hook. I would say as family he shouldn't have put me in that position.

As a pure example, imagine you were in Alliance A and a proposed change in game mechanics would be beneficial to your corp and allies but disadvantageous to your enemies, Alliance B who happen to outnumber you 3:1 in membership. How would you disassociate yourself from the pressures you might feel and ensure you are giving fair and unbiased representation of the player-base? How easy is it to put personal feelings aside?

Another trust question. Let me ask you this. Would you believe everything typed here? I would love to live in a world where everything was fair. I can only say that I, personally, will be as fair and as objective as possible. If voted in as CSM, the other successful candidates and my actions will be able to vouch for me.

How would I disassociate myself? Much the same as I do in real life work situations. Adopt an objective point of view. In this example, I would do the right thing.

As a delegate to the CSM, what expectation of privacy and anonymity do you have? Using the example above, even the announcement of a unanimous vote without specifics could still cause Alliance A members to feel resentment toward you if they became aware that you had voted for an issue that ultimately benefitted your enemies in-game. How would you deal with potential backlash from friends and allies if you vote against what they believe is right?

I have no fear of my own actions. If votes or discussions on issues become public, so be it. I would expect those that vote for me to be pleased with what I do. There is no guarantee that anyone from the alliance I am a member of will vote for me anyway and crucially, no way to verify.

Again using the example above, what would you do if you suspected that a fellow councillor was abusing their position to try and manipulate decisions to their benefit, how would you address that issue and what do you feel you would need to be cautious of when doing so?

I would suspect that there will be a lot of this at some point. Discussion is the key here I think. Again, it hinges on open or closed discussion policy which I think will be key to the council working. People should be accountable for their actions on the council. I think we have to also remember if someone gets voted in to get rid of large scale pvp and works toward that agenda, it can hardly be called abuse. So I would urge voters to be careful in selecting their candidates.

I'm aware that you probably haven't had the opportunity to gather feedback at this stage, but if you were to pick three topics right now that you feel genuinely warranted being brought to CCP's attention, what would they be and why?

Missioning. Make it more exciting. Adjust gang mechanics to enhance gameplay. Make anti-pirate and pirate options make more sense. Enhance low security space. Adjust POS warfare (bear in mind we still have iterations of POS warfare to be released so CCP have plans on this). There is more. I have lot's of views but as I mention in my blog, perhaps my views aren't your views. Nor are they an agenda.

While we're talking about feedback, is there any primary medium you believe you will use for gathering it?

Please use my blog at www.starfleetcomms.com/blogs/max_torps
The ingame evemail system is not very good at dealing with large amounts of mail!

When reading EVE General Discussion to look for pertinent issues for the community, what one criterion would you feel was the absolute most important in deciding whether something is worthy of further discussion or not? Why?

A valid and well constructed discussion. If well done then more thought has been applied to it rather than another threadnought or rabble rabble thread. However I think it wise that people are mindful of those whose primary language is not English and those who may have a valid point but not the skill to communicate it well. After running forums for several years I feel I can sort wheat from chaff.

Do you believe the CSM's role is to be exclusively about in-game issues (or those which affect in-game issues such as abuse of Dev powers) or do you think there will be some effect on the community side of EVE such as, for example, EVE TV, Alliance Tournaments, Fan Fest, etc?

An interesting question. I do believe that at this early stage the CSM should concentrate on its own area. Who knows what will happen at the end of this first term or as it develops?

Please sum up the key messages of your candidacy in 100 words or less.

I'm a fair person with a passion for playing Eve and being a member of the community. I have done several community sites, servers, guilds and a radio station over the last several years for several games. I'd love you to give me the opportunity to contribute once again.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Yes. I would like to make a promise to each person that votes for me that I will be fair, open minded yet firm when required.