CSM Season *yawn*

In the past, I have been an enthusiastic advocate of the CSM. As a CSM 5 alumni, I always felt a certain sense of obligation when it came to CSM advocacy. But alas, I find myself feeling indifferent about the CSM this year as the CSM 11 election cycle spins up. Some things just take more energy than seems worth it to invest.

Oh sure, I will cast a scant handful of votes for a few friends who are running. Mostly because they still care and I care about them. I'll probably listen to the candidate interviews as part of my EVE podcast addiction. Regardless of who gets elected, maybe CSM XI will turn out to be the term that is the exception to the drama, leaks, deadbeats, burn-out, communications issues, and disillusionment which have so tediously recurred over the last 10 terms. Not holding my breath on that one, though.

I recognize that a lot of good people have done a lot of hard work on behalf of the CSM and as CSM members, despite the obstacles. They certainly deserve our appreciation. Been there done that myself in CSM 5; it's no easy job when you take it seriously. And I recognize that a lot of folks are still optimistic about the CSM's potential. I believe there is potential there, too, but not without some kind of reform. After 10 terms fraught with the same old issues, I'd like to see someone capable at CCP engage with sitting and former CSM members to do a root cause problem analysis, identify practical and useful reform solutions, and implement them. Not holding my breath on that one either.

Anyway, as things stand, it's freeing to let go of that "because I was on the CSM once, I should care" feeling. To those running, good luck. To those pouring energy into candidate interviews, CSM reform advocacy, and CSM work, more power to ya.

As for me...I'll be out in space, scanning for sigs...

CSM X Thoughts

I voted my slates for two accounts this morning, both exactly the same. It was not particularly difficult to choose 14 candidates. It was MUCH more difficult to prioritize them.

My primary focus in game these days is corp management, new player assistance, and community building. CSM X candidates who focus on those things got preference on my slate. However, some other things factored into my choices as well, such as:

• Stand-out incumbents doing good work deserve to continue doing that work and are also important in terms of continuity from one term to the next. 
• While I could not care less about sov mechanics, it is an important topic that the CSM will be addressing this year and I have clear opinions about who I prefer to see leading the CSM side of that discussion. 
• Fresh voices and perspectives are important; I prefer that each council have no more than 25% incumbent carry-over. 
• Candidates with large voting blocks behind them potentially shouldn't even appear on my ballot but other factors may influence me to include them.
• Candidate affiliation with a particular corp or alliance doesn't matter to me; I assess candidates based on their likely expertise, their campaign discussions, and how they have conducted themselves during their campaigns, not on who they play with. 
• Loyalty to friends and colleagues factors in somewhat, but less than you might imagine. 

I'm not going to share my specific slate. Voting a slate of candidates is a highly personal and complicated choice with such a large field of quality candidates. It's practically a moving target right up until you cast that vote. However, as a way of supporting and endorsing them, the candidates I voted for are listed below in alphabetical order with a brief comment about what I think they bring to the party.

• Ashterothi (lore, communications)
• Bam Stoker (community advocate)
• Cagali Cagali (new bros, life in null sec)
• Chance Ravinne (fresh new player perspective, community support)
• corbexx (wormholes)
• Endie (sov) 
• June Ting (new players)
• Khador Vess (new players, exploration, diverse experience)
• Manfred Sideous (sov)
• Mike Azariah (new players, high sec)
• Psianh Auvyander (mercs, new player training, community) 
• Steve Ronuken (third party tools)
• Sugar Kyle (CSM MVP of all time)
• Xander Phoena (communications)

I encourage everyone to inform themselves about candidates and vote their own preferences and interests, prioritizing candidates in a way that makes personal sense to themselves. Many bloggers have published endorsements and suggested slates. Check out the following links for a plethora of information about candidates:

• CCP Leeloo's CSM X Spreadsheet
• Nosy Gamer's CSM Wire
• Steve Ronuken's Eve Bloggers aggregate

And finally, VOTE HERE!

Decisions, Decisions...Not Just Yet

I commented on Twitter that I was returning to Eve in a few weeks. Lots of nice tweets welcomed me back and many suggested corps to consider joining (as did a few private messages). I really appreciate this warm response! But the corp decision is one for the future, as I must first discover how Eve runs on my satellite internet connection and whether I will enjoy the New Eden that has evolved since I was last there.

About that internet connection... My little farm is tucked into a rugged corner on the morning side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is no cell service here and only one option for internet service: satellite. I used to play Eve on satellite but it was pretty painful for both PvP and voice comms. Eventually, the service I had throttled traffic so much due to oversubscription that I couldn't even log onto a voice server.

Since then, I've moved to a new service on a Gen4 satellite. Overall it is a great improvement but thanks to the laws of physics, the latency in a satellite connection cannot be overcome. With the old service, I had latency and traffic lag; now pretty much it's only latency affecting things. It remains to be seen how much that affects gameplay. It also remains to be seen how Eve performs these days in light of that latency; it is a vastly different game with many under-the-hood changes in the three years I've been gone. Some of those changes may not play well with latency. We'll see.

Assuming the game is playable on my connection (including voice comms latency which seems a little better than it used to be, based on some recent testing), the next consideration is game enjoyment. After I reacquaint myself with the basic mechanics of doing things, sit in a few channels interacting with folks, have flown around a bit, and see whether the old spark ignites again, I will be looking at corp options. I know from four years of previous experience what I don't enjoy in a corp, so any options I consider won't include:

• Rebooting Hellcats; it was fun in its day but I desire zero responsibility this time around
• Corps that impose too many rules, strict ship fits or fleet doctrines, or minimum activity requirements
• Corps that don't have significant pvp activity in low sec
• Corps whose members are on average too young in real life age; I'm old and prefer to hang out with groups that include a majority of older people because it simply makes for more enjoyable and relatable general conversation.

...to name a few criteria :P

This time around, my playtime will be very limited on purpose. Real life is demanding so time for gaming might at best be a very few hours a week. That's enough for me. I'm coming back to Eve because I love flying around in spaceships, I love PvP, and I miss the social interaction with that community in-game. But I don't want any responsibility in-game or out. I just want to fly around, shoot stuff and have a few laughs. Any corp I consider has to be on board with that.

Meanwhile I'm watching posts on Reddit and Twitter from corp prospects on my short list. Who those are, I'll keep to myself. Suggestions for others to consider are welcome on Twitter or in the comments.

Aside: A few people have joked with me that my timing is perfect to prep for a CSM10 campaign. Uh, nope. Not gonna do that again. I love the CSM concept and I really like keeping up with each new council's activities but running for a seat holds no interest for me.