The worst fear of a paid content creator

Let me finish how paid content creators pushed EVE to the brink of its destruction. As I wrote, content creators get money from CCP by a cut from PLEX sales via affiliate links and by media deals. They also get exclusive development information and can influence development, both formally (CSM) and over beers. To keep on with their businesses, they must cut deals with other content creators that removes real conflict from EVE. Fights are staged "for fun" with no chance of deciding anything strategic.

There are four reasons why they make deals. The first three are obvious, often mentioned and not critical, so I just list them from the point of view of the imaginary situation where I'm also a paid content creator:

• Fear of defeat: if Goons would figure out some method to destroy my project, line members quitting means losing their PLEX affiliate money and my next in-game move might not catch the attention of readers, losing traffic. Afraid of these, I might cut a deal with Goons to change GRR in a way that no longer threatens them, just become another staged fight. This is the smallest problem as my defeat can be published as an ordeal and readers love the "hopeless underdog trying again" stories.
• PLEX dilution: this means that for PLEX affiliate links I recruit and cater to players who are useless in-game. For example I recruit a bunch of highsec miners who are so bad that they can't even PLEX their accounts and make them believe that the few ore holds of veldspar they donate will bring down Goons. Of course I need to make deals with possible wardeccers to not stomp on my little PLEX-farm. It's a bigger problem, but still can be avoided if I'm mostly living off my media traffic and not PLEX affiliate money.
• Traffic exchange: this means that in return of TMC linking me and Goons are pinged to fight me, I - again - change GRR in a way that no longer threatens them, just become another staged fight. Since traffic from the Goon propaganda site would be huge, rejecting such offer means giving up on lots of traffic.

As you see, these are all problems if my bills depend on what I do in EVE, however they are not critical. I could go on with traffic-based income while Goon media is ignoring me, having no PLEX-affiliates and fighting off attempts to destroy me in-game. However the fourth thing would be a total and complete destruction of my content. The end of GRR, the end of my narrative, the end of everything you come here reading. I've been there once, when I lost interest in WoW and came to EVE. My traffic hit the ground and it took a year before I established myself as an EVE-blogger. It was a hard time for me as a blogger as we want to be heard. But since I never made a dime from this blog, losing its traffic meant nothing financially. My point is that if my electricity bill would depend on my traffic, I would never, ever risk being there again. I would never risk the fourth thing coming true. Please stop reading and try to figure out what it is. What could destroy everything I had in EVE? (besides being banned). If you've given up trying to figure it out, scroll down below the banner for the solution.


It's winning. If I'd win, my project would be over. I proved my point, I convinced everyone that I'm right, I made a story matching the end of BoB. But I'd have no content for my blog anymore, I'd be out in the cold again with just a minimal traffic till I find a new voice again. To avoid this, I must avoid defeating Goons. And if I'm already avoiding winning, why not make a deal to avoid losing, to secure a PLEX-farm and to get some traffic from the Goon propaganda site?!

You see no PLEX affiliate link on my blog. I have a free trial link that effectively means another non-plexed account. I have no ads on my blog. I started no crowdfunding. I haven't made a single dime blogging since my first post in 2008. My blog is a work of love for the idea of meritocracy. I want to win over Goons who preach the very opposite. I couldn't do that if I was a paid content creator and no paid content creator can do that.

If you want to play EVE instead of being the milked cow of a paid content creator, immediately quit any group that has PLEX link or high traffic site with ads. Start your own project (may that be just "I roam lowsec in a Drake and see how it goes") or join mine to destroy the largest coalition in game that not only collected countless letters of human tears but also spearheaded changing the only PvP sandbox game into "Arathi Basin bridge in space" just to make pennies (if they'd be making serious money, they wouldn't need crowdfunding for $150K).


PS: This guy is a perfect example for PLEX-dilution: he is only kept because he replaces his moron-fit dread by buying more PLEX-es via affiliate link.