Greedy Goblin

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Boycott CSM elections!

I've already written many pieces why the CSM is fundamentally bad and needs to go. However today I saw an even better argument:
"Lets not sugar coat this. This is the year of the CONDI [link to obscene image]. Like the year of the dog except instead of eating our own shit we make CCP eat it. Our ballot is very specifically picked to not only support our allies but to give a nice big fuck you to CCP. They went after Sion. CSM Reps were replaced. They ignore blatant leaking from other CSM members. CCP is fucking up. When CCP fucks up it is up to us to hurt them because we love them."
This would be a nice call for boycott. But it's not, it's a call of Aryth to vote for ... Aryth! Despite this is how Goons feel, despite their precious God-Emperor was publicly humiliated by Falcon, despite they can't say anything positive about the CSM, they still run with a full ballot, because they really-really want the insider info and whatever breadcrumbs of influence left. Aryth can't expect better treatment than Sion, but he's ready to take it because his salary is on the stake.

Don't be a fool! The mindless F1 drones of the Emporium will vote him in to top position. You can't help that with your vote, since the non-Emporium votes will scatter between the dozens of random, naive (or troll) candidates. Your vote will have one effect: increase the legitimacy of the Goon-controlled CSM, force CCP to keep interacting with CSM at a minimum level, and by doing so keep giving inside information to Aryth.

Boycott the election!


PS: there was a "philosophy" post today. It was dumb, so I deleted it.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I respect your point of view and I seriously considered it before deciding to continue to run, as I have even more respect for a company that provides a democratic outlet for players to vote for other players in order to represent the player base.

My efforts to highlight that the CSM is more of an elected lobbyist group have been constant since I started campaigning. I am taking a different approach than yours, though, and chose to create a "No Votes" list of candidates that represent the establishment or are decoys, so as to clearly expose them for what they are (https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6358573#post6358573).

I have seen the establishment and its punditry either ignore the work I have put in my campaign or openly misrepresent it. All valid tactics, for sure, still I have some faith left in the capabilities of players themselves to realize what is going on. I have published my own list of endorsements for those that plan to vote, with the hope to bring as much independent voices to the CSM as possible (https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=6069248#post6069248).

It is now up to each of us to decide what happens next. Boycott or Vote against the establishment! I fundamentally believe that only a large majority of independent voices on CSM XI will be able to save the concept of the CSM.

Zyan said...

I also would prefer a "don't vote XXX" list. Not voting only supports CFC, because they will vote.

Gevlon said...

Jesus, you are dumb! I break it down to you in elementary school level:
- Whatever we do, Goons will get majority in the CSM.
- Even if they don't, they still do, by spy/traitor candidates (Corbexx, Ali Aras...)
- Therefore the only way to stop them having majority if there is no CSM at all
- The only thing we can do against CSM is not voting, since it decreases importance in the eyes of devs, they less likely to interact with it or interact formally/dismissively.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Goblin,
I side with you, atm.
And I would recommend you put the "dumb" tag on a behaviour or a decision, not on a person. Mr Guereens's use of grammar is already sufficient to prove he is not a dumb person. His argument also shows that he is quite capable of reasoning on a level well above "dumb".
You have similar goals: Reduce Goon influence.

Gevlon said...

He uses intelligent words that make no sense like "quantum analyzed liophiles to battle cancer". He admits that CSM is in horrible shape. Yet he goes and empowers it by giving his credibility as candidate to it and call others to give theirs by their vote.

He is either dumb or the next Corbexx.

Anonymous said...

With the goons deliberately voting in antagonistic figures, it is on the cards that it will be the final CSM.

Aryth: That is the thing. I am not going in with the expectation to "get heard". I can just use the media to be heard if I want. You know, like Sion had to and then things changed.

Yes things changed, the White Paper was updated and Sion was locked out. (didn't want that CSM anyway). Or Sion's cringe worthy casting blame onto Reddit over the cash cow not producing any milk. I would also point to DJ Funky Bacon's lack of success when it comes to preferential demands, as a lesson of precedence for Aryth to learn from. Goons - still out to ruin the game for everybody else.

Unknown said...

I am certainly not the next Corbexx. I have zero interest in joining a group I have left when the B0tlrd accords were signed. Your attack on that front is low, as well as surprising. All my activity, the alliance I am working for, are geared toward fighting the influences of the established powers. There will be no side switching here.

When I asked myself after your call for boycott if I should continue to run or not (as you are making some good points) I decided that in the end, I trust CCP for their ability to side-line/ignore the outrageous candidates voted in by bloc power, and that respect for a democratic process and a chance to have a few independent voices trumps leaving the CSM entirely into the hands of power groups. If that makes me dumb so be it. I may be too naive, but I am fundamentally an optimistic person.

I had 157 votes last year with your support. Not having your support is a blow, for sure, but I do trust there are more people out there reading about this campaign silently, like I was before I decided to enter the CSM X campaign, that are as tired as I am of the control that the established groups exert via the CSM but still believe the CSM can be salvaged.

CCP certainly believes the CSM has a value. I do too. I may simply not be as jaded as you are, yet.



Anonymous said...

With how the Company handled their Customer feedback and their Customer representatives during 2015 and the beginning of 2016, I'll not be voting for CSM xi.
The higher echelon suits at CCP Games still use the CSM as a Corporate validation show towards the gaming media and other gaming companies when meeting them at place like D.I.C.E no doubt.

The consequences of me not voting is hardly measurable, except since the Goons no doubt will vote in numbers this means that their small part of the eve online "Community" gets a higher chance to be voted in.

Sion showed Corporate CCP that when one of the few intelligent Goons ask the tough questions and demand results from them, they feel the pressure the Customers general have.
With these new Cabal of Goons csm representatives, like Aryth and Xenuria that pressure will no doubt only increase.

Regards, a Freelancer

ps: for my part let's hope CSM xi will a Goon show only, with Steve Ronuken in it ofc to.

Luobote Kong said...

A boycott seems a bit of a half measure to be honest. It suggests there is a condition that would enable you to endorse the CSM process at some point. What it really needs is to be taken out the back and shot. Admonishing it with a boycott gives the process hope and therefore credibility.

Anonymous said...

When CCP fucks up it is up to us to hurt them because we love them.
I didn't refresh my annual sub. my alts are out of plex. Can't be arsed to login.
CCP don't need CSM to realize I'm gone. Put money where your mouth is, or in this case don't. All this stupid consumer socialmedia bullshit; I still don't see the PR value in it. In the end, in this global free market, everything is a businesses with money as base. to not pay is the only way they can't moderate or gate.

Anonymous said...

I'm not voting for the CSM because it would be harder to think of a more awful model for collecting player feedback. It's a waste CCP money and therefore a waste of mine.

Zax said...

"The only thing we can do against CSM is not voting, since it decreases importance in the eyes of devs, they less likely to interact with it or interact formally/dismissively."

How do you know that?

When electoral turnout diminishes IRL, politicians say it is terrible for a day, then do what they were going to do anyway, usually with a stronger percentage of seats for the extreme parties, as their members are motivated to vote.

If you really think you have pull, surely you can get more people to vote for the candidates you want than the goons? They can muster in the low thousands. You say you have tens of thousands of views a day, and you cant turn this into an equivalent turnout?

You mistake lack of awareness for dislike. There are players who are completely unaware of the CSM, much as they are unaware of much of the goings on in Eve.

You complain at length about how people are so dumb they dont even notice when they are told about burn jita on the launcher, and yet, you extrapolate this to them being aware enough of the meta game in Eve to have consciously decided to not vote out of dislike of the CSM.

Most people in Eve, much like in real life, cannot be bothered going through the effort of reading every partys manifesto in detail and analysing their policies and stances. They look to media and friends, family, social groups for opinions.

I maintain the view I have in real life, if you dont vote, you dont get to complain, so, get involved, or get out of the discussions.

Put a ballot of the non goon candidates on your page, see if you can get them elected, hell, make it the official MoA ballot and give them extra isk as an incentive to vote if you need to, but, its easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, much more difficult to risk failing as the guy out there on the Saturday.