Daily Archives: March 28, 2011

CSM = Complete Social Mess

Posted by Roc Wieler on

The Mittani won, just like he said he would. I really could end this post here as that one sentence pretty much sums up all that is wrong with this process of CSM. But if I ended this post here I wouldn’t sound sufficiently enraged and bitter that I didn’t even place as an alternate, and that wouldn’t feed the Mittani’s ego, so I must indulge.

To be fair, one thing the Mittani can’t be called is arrogant. I myself get called arrogant often, so allow me to explain. Arrogance is not having the ability to back up what you say; from the beginning, the Mittani called it: he would be CSM 6 chair, and here we are. So no, we cannot call him arrogant. Smug, pompous, jackass, and similarly apt descriptors are allowed, so please indulge.

Oh Roc, you’re just bitter because you lost and want to blame it on the Mittani, or on the process, or CCP, or the Amarr.

I don’t know the Mittani personally; not really. I don’t want to know the Mittani personally; not really. And who knows? He may do some good with the CSM and surprise us all. Honestly I doubt it, given the very clear agenda of his campaign.

And that is where I have a problem with him, and the process, and the Amarr. The Mittani did nothing but play dirty politics, bashing every other candidate at every turn, feeding his own ego and sense of superior intelligence. And that’s who we voted in.

On the one hand I would say it’s a good thing, as it reinforces the harshness that is New Eden, and to have the Mittani as CSM chair fits right in with all the underhanded, back room, dirty politics that has existed throughout all of New Eden’s history.

On the other hand, there are five fingers, and it’s not surprising, in retrospect, that this election went the way it did. Let me elaborate.

Goons = bees

That should explain it all, but I’ll expand on my point, just to be crystal clear. A typical hive of bees consists of thousands of mindless drones that simply do the bidding of their queen. Individually, they’re really not a threat at all, easy to squash, but get a swarm of them together and it’s really not something to be underestimated.

And that’s really what happened with this election. The queen bee spoke, and 5,365 mindless drones responded to the sheer force of his will alone.

Honestly, good for him. There’s an old Brutor proverb about leadership, based on our sled dog racing of old:

If you’re not the lead dog, the view always looks the same.

I really hope the Mittani reads this. I really hope he remembers that he works for, and represents us, the players. I hope he understands that it’s not a one man show, and that even if he has some diabolical intention of grinding the CSM into the ground, to prove some perverted point about real power in a virtual reality, that any love or passion he has ever had for this game gets the better of him, and that he works to his full potential, which is substantial, and helps lead a CSM that continues to improve on the legacy of CSM 5 and keeps CCP accountable when they stray off course.

As for me, I will continue to be vocal about the issues I believe in. I don’t need to be on the CSM to be heard. You reading this blog right now proves my point. And I have a few contacts at CCP that were excited about many of the ideas I shared over Fanfest, as well as a great many fans that were absolutely shocked that I didn’t get on the CSM at all.

You see, I provide solutions. I don’t just whine about the problems. I didn’t get on the CSM. Solution? Have a more solid platform, be more vocal, be truer to my Brutor heritage.

I backed down. I went with neutrality. I’ve never been good at that. I refused to play dirty.

Next time, I will speak my mind with conviction, and if anyone wants to oppose that, then I’ll be ready.

In the interim, I wish the Mittani, and the rest of the CSM the very best, and hope they do great things.

I know I won’t be the only one watching closely.

Oh, and before I forget. Why did I name this post Complete Social Mess? Well, made you look didn’t it?

EDIT: Just read a post on Reddit about this, and I quote “tl;dr Roc Wieler is pretty sore loser.”

Yeah, maybe. I don’t know many people that enjoy losing. I guess it wouldn’t bother me so much if Queen Mittens wasn’t such a sore winner.

Fanfest 2011 – Day 5

Posted by Roc Wieler on

It’s not often I come across anyone that genuinely makes me take a step back to evaluate my chances at surviving a personal and direct encounter them. Then I met Petur.

Standing at nearly seven feet tall, and roughly four feet broad at the shoulders, he was a behemoth of a man, leaving me feeling like a small child by comparison.

As I reached out my hand to shake his, I was ready to fight dirty should things go wrong quickly. I don’t know if the close-cropped mohawk he sported, or the nicely braided and jewelled beard, or the intensity of his piercing blue eyes, but he was an intimidating figure.

As he clasped my hand, nearly crushing it in his, I was ready; then he smiled a warm, gentle smile and told me he was a huge fan of mine, and was truly happy to meet me.

Petur was a gentle giant, and was the true highlight of my day.

I didn’t place in the CSM elections, not even as an alternate, and that was ok; given the composition of that year’s council, I think fate had spared me a horrific experience. It made me snicker and laugh at Seleene.

Being the final night of the convention, there was a massive party with over 4200 people crammed into a space that could accommodate 2500 if they were lucky. To say it was overcrowded was an understatement, but it wasn’t really a bad thing. As was customary, most capsuleers preferred the isolation and warmth of their pods, tending to shy away from real interaction with the fairer gender. This left a ratio of about 5 hot Gallente women for each 1 Capsuleer who did attend.

My neck wasn’t the only sore by the end of that night.

The next day, I would be heading out via commercial flight back to Dal.

Fanfest 2011 – Day 4

Posted by Roc Wieler on

It was becoming increasingly difficult to recall the details of that particular trip; I suspected the amount of alcohol I was consuming was the primary contributing factor.

Day 4?

I remember several young, scantily clad Gallente women serenading me while I sat in a hot tub. It’s a good memory.

I remember that I somehow made it back to the quarters I was staying at.

I honestly don’t remember much else.