Introductions...

So, they tell me I need to introduce myself. Well, here I am.

I have had corp mates (Yes Bo, LT), Alliance members (you know who you are), bloggers like Jester's Trek and Pod Casts like Crossing Zebras that say time and time again that you need to be visible and that the eve players need to know you. Jester started his blog for this exact same reason so I thought that I would pretty much steal paraphrase what he said since it sums it up frankly quite well. I have changed it slightly but for the most part it is intact.

"I have made the decision that someday, maybe for CSM9, 10 or even 11; I'll be running for the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in EVE Online.  This is a group of EVE Online players who represent the larger player base of that MMO to CCP, who develop the game. They have contact with the game developers, they talk to higher-ups in the company, they even get to go to Iceland (where CCP is headquartered) twice a year to meet with them face-to-face to bring the concerns of the game's players back to the Developers."

"In theory, it's a really cool idea: a semi-representative group, elected by the game's players, with the ability to request features, point out particularly nefarious bugs and exploits, learn about where the game is going, and otherwise keep the developers in touch with what their player base is thinking."

That being said, I have thought about running for CSM before and always backed out at the last minute because there were always players that were more active in the community PUBICALLY the I was. I am an avid forum poster in both our corporation’s forums and the alliance forums as well. I am one to always keep the information that I have close to the heart. "Loose lips sink ships" as the saying goes.

All that has changed with the pre-election for CSM8. Everything has become way more political now. You either needs to be in one of the largest alliances in Eve to get the votes or you need to be very well known in the community like Jester is to be noticed for the elections. The alliance I am in is not large enough (not in the top 10 in size) and I am not that well known outside of my corporation or alliance. That is something that I am going to change with these blogs.

So, introductions. I am in my mid 40's, married professional, I'm a transportation supervisor with a strong business and communications background. I play MMO's like Eve and usually get involved with them in an early beta process. I did that with Eve and I also did that with the preceding games I played. In reverse order they were Earth & Beyond, the "Freespace" series and the "Descent" series. I operated the website DescentWorld.com back in that time period and I am use to dealing with all the fun that a website can bring. Let’s see how this works out in Blogging.

In Eve, I've played just about every aspect of the game so far. I have done mining (ore, ice, and gas) to mission running, low-sec faction warfare, incursions, living in a C2 then C3 wormhole to 0.0 roams and null sec fights.  I'll talk more about my EVE experience in a later posts and if you can do it in EVE, I've probably at least tried it. My primary focus has always been around mining. That is why my character named  ROCK MELTER :-)

As I said earlier I haven't been much of a blogger until now, but having one will be a useful tool in recording my impressions of my CSM run. Along the way, I'll probably talk/blog a lot! If you have even spoken to me on voice comms you know I can talk!  I'll have stuff to say about mining, industry, and about EVE politics. I’ll try blogging first and if that does not work well for me perhaps pod casting. We will see what the future brings.

One thing I know for sure, I'll rant about some of my observations and give you some of my opinions. You may not like them, fair enough, but I can guarantee you that I am not your average Eve player. I see things a lot differently then all these new Eve players do. If you can put up with my “rants” you just might just discover something...