I guess it’s a good thing I've been home more this week and
able to update Gankerbumping….
I knew that James 315 had others writing Minerbumping for
him and now I understand why. He's now a space lawyer and he published a 16 page BOOK on The Mitanni.com today
talking about the bans that took place. I’m NOT kidding. There is a 16 page “article”.
You can find the link HERE.
I made a pot of coffee and sat down to the read the thing
and the following is what I took from it.
James states the following on the first page.
Before we get started,
I'd like to address those who carry a particular attitude when it comes to rule
enforcement. They're the people who make comments like, "It's CCP's game,
they can do whatever they want. If you don't like it, you can leave." This
authoritarian-friendly mindset, I've found, is most common among the very
young, the very old, and the very dull.
It’s funny to me he accuses people of having an “authoritarian-friendly mindset” when
James is the leader of what I’ve heard many identify as a cult. Let me also
point out the numerous times I’ve seen whoever is writing Minerbumping say “maybe
EVE isn’t the game for you”. Now that James has gotten a taste of his own
medicine he’s crying?
James then goes on to write about what has occurred in the
past in EVE Gameplay. There is page after page of him citing previous examples
of others doing different nefarious deeds and what was done to the people who
did them. It honestly made me think of the kid in the schoolyard who got caught
doing something bad, so he cries to the teacher (CCP) about what others did.
There is something I understand that others, especially those
who follow James, don’t seem to understand. EVE ONLINE isn’t a board game. The rules
can never be set in stone as the game has to grow and change to keep CCP in
business. CCP has to respond to changing situations and try to draw new players
(money) into the game. What has occurred in the past doesn’t matter. Who got
away with what in the past doesn’t matter. For someone who says he wants to
create content James doesn’t seem to understand that.
As for what happened in the Bonus Room with Erotica 1, I can
see the problems it created for CCP and I’m glad it’s not something I had to
deal with. As a company CCP had to deal with saying “play the villain” while on
the other hand worrying about public perception. The last thing you want is public
opinion to be “EVE? The game where they allow things like getting players on
comms to harass and humiliate them? Why would anyone play THAT!?!
It doesn’t matter what really happened in the Bonus room,
what matters is PUBLIC PERCEPTION. That’s
why I understood what CCP Falcon was trying to say when he posted on the forums.
I understand why he isn’t going to come out and draw a clear line in the sand
that James and others seem to want. Let me put it like this, EVE could not grow
and evolve if its rules were set in stone, the game would become stagnate and
die.
Now I know James is trying to scare people in his post and
make it seem like CCP could arbitrarily just ban you for no reason. I’m sure CCP made mistakes when the banns were
handed out. No one is perfect. That’s between
CCP and the players and I hope CCP is willing to listen to some of the ppl if
they really didn’t step over the line and can offer proof.
All of this goes back to perception. CCP had to do something
over the bonus room and the people who still did them. They had to take a
stance and they did. Does that stance follow actions CCP has taken in the past?
No. Management has changed and so has EVE itself.
I’ll say this; I’ve
never understood the draw of doing “Bonus Rooms”. I’ve listened to the Sokhar
recording and I had to make myself listen to the whole thing. I don’t understand
the mindset where you would want to get people on comms and make them do stupid
shit or humiliate themselves for laughs, then making the recording public. Yes,
I enjoy screwing with people IN game but I’ve always felt that getting someone
on comms to keep screwing with them is
childish and immature. That’s why I had a hard time listening to the Sokhar
recordings.
James also goes on to try and speculate the actions that
took place that got people banned. I doubt CCP is ever going to say. If CCP were
to give reasons it would be drawing that clear line that James and the others
want so badly. CCP Falcon said the following:
What we will do, is
continue to use best judgment on a case by case basis to ensure that real life
harassment is kept out of the game, and ensure that those who choose to involve
themselves in such activities are no longer permitted to be part of our
community.
Sounds to me like CCP used their best judgment on an issue
they felt was Real Life Harassment. Will we ever know what that issue is? No we won't. Why is it so hard for James and Co. to understand CCP doesn’t want
you doing douchebag things to each other outside of the game?? It affects
public perception and CCP’s wallet.
GV
Special NOTE. I approached this entire subject from a marketing/advertising stance as that is what I know. I wont even approach the possible legal ramifications CCP may have had to deal with as I am NOT qualified.
