I don't like candidates with lazy campaigns. Lazy campaigns suggest a lazy rep and a lazy rep won't get anything done. It's even worse in a bloc candidate because it suggests a "I don't need a manifesto as I'll just push what my masters tell me to push" attitude.
I don't like vague campaigns. If you can't think of a way that the game can be improved please don't occupy the seat of someone who can.
I don't like single issue campaigns. Yes, yes we all know the POS UI is crap. If that's all you plan to talk about for the next 12 months you're not much use though.
This post will be in 2 parts - the list first (for the TLDR crowd) and the analysis second. One interesting thing I learned doing this was that I couldn't find more than 12 people I thought were decent candidates. If you play Eve and are on the fence about running then if this year is indication we're short of people who are willing to put a decent campaign forward.
Endorsement list (with rating)
Ripard Teg A
Malcanis A
Sort Dragon A
Trebor Daedhoow A
Mangala Solaris A
Banlish B+
Sala Cameron B+
Unforgiven Storm B+
Ali Aras B+
Artctura B+
Riverini B
Steve Ronuken B
Awol Aurix B-
Chitsa Jason C
Nathan Jameson C
Candidate Analysis
Progodlegend - decent FC, spy and meta-gamer.C
Unforgiven Storm - sensible and down to earth industry guy. I'll admit to an anti-Goon bias, not least because they're gaming the voting but he's still worth endorsing despite being a Goon because he'll help create a better Eve. B+
Artctura - bloc candidate but one of the better ones with a great blog and a genuine love for Eve. B+
Roc Wieler - good writer and blogger but disappointingly vague. His platform seems to be vote for me because I'm awesome. No idea what he thinks about any Eve issue. E
Malcanis - possibly the best analyst of the game in the player community. Outstanding thinker, noted for Malcanis's Law which is a very important statement of theory for those of us who like to champion new players in Eve. Despite being a bloc candidate his intelligence, analytical ability and newbie-friendliness make him a must-vote. A
Mynnna - one of Eve's cleverest players but a cynical metagamer who is using the CSM to advance the economic interests of his alliance. Don't trust him as far as you can throw him. E-
Ayeson - POS-obsessed wormholer. D
Nathan Jameson - decent wormhole candidate. C unless you live in wormholes.
Chitsa Jason - another solid wormhole rep. C+ unless you live in wormholes.
Kaleb Rysode - a Goon with a platform of "lol, I'm getting in cos I'm a Goon." Xander's interview with this clueless bandwaggoner was painful. E-
Cipreh - another wormhole candidate probably less interested in CCP doing any work on any part of the game outside wormholes than the others. D
James Arget - another wormholer, again too wormhole focused in my opinion. D
Riverini - the controversial editor of the EN24 site. Despite being from a bloc was left off the bloc 14 list no doubt due to Mittani's rivalry with him. Would be an effective voice and would disrupt the wall of solidarity that the bloc candidates may present. Add him on your list if you want the pot rattled. B
Trebor Daehdoow. Veteran of 3 previous CSMs noted for hard work. Would add important continuity and knowledge of the processes if elected. The effectiveness of the committee could be seriously undermined without this hard worker. A
Korvin. Veteran of 2 CSMs from a couple of years ago. Small gang pvper. Pretty half-arsed campaign, seems lazy. D
Psychotic Monk. High sec knobhead. Vote for him if you're outraged that your Catalyst can/t solo suicide gank a skiff any more. E-.
Greene Lee. Lazy and ineffective member of the last CSM who for some strange reason wants to carry on. Don't let him. E
Daehan Minhyok. Member of "no boobies" corp Multiplex Gaming in my former alliance, Li3. Say no to sexism. E.
Banlish. Dedicated industrialist from Test. Bloc candidate but a good one with fantastic expertise about industry in null sec. Slight worry that he may not be forceful enough to carry his points in charged meetings. B+
Steve Ronuken. Industry candidate who has done a lot of third party app work who will be very useful for this year's CSM as CCP introduce the CREST api development system. Would be a useful asset. B
Mike Azariah. Solid writer and blogger but disappointingly vague in his CSM campaign. Sees himself as a Casual Player candidate which is something of a Barnum statement ("vote for me if you don't like long boring POS shoots," well gee). C
Travis Musgrat. His campaign is literally "vote for me so I can whine about my titan." E (also please awox his titan).
Sort Dragon. New leader of my coalition and he's started great. Instead of these passive aggressive jabber-warriors his solution to problems is usually get us all in ships and go blow someone up. He's a delight to play with and his no bollocks direct approach will be great on the CSM. Bloc candidate (in fact one of THE bloc candidates, the HBC have him top). A
Corebloodbrothers. Provi bloc FC with a rather half-arsed campaign platform that seems to be just cribbed off what everyone else thinks. D.
Awol Aurix. Test IT guy who has made some awesome tools for his community and has great technical expertise. Came across in Xander's interview as underprepared and lacking in confidence and communication skills. I'm sure he'll get in as a bloc candidate but I hope he takes it more seriously and comes out of his shell once he's on board. B-
Mangala Solaris. Red v Blue FC, very good candidate with a real appreciation of pvp and newbie issues. Has the RvB vote, deserves yours. A
PsychoBitch. Running on a vote for me and I'll personally fix everything platform that looks like a troll. Silly. Probably only in it for the free plane trip. E.
Ripard Teg. Writer of the Jester's Trek blog and with Malcanis one of the best writers in the player community. Very newbie-friendly despite being an expert veteran pvper. A.
Sala Cameron. Supercap FC, once for the NC, now for PL under Shadoo. Null-focused with a very good understanding of why so much of nullsec is blue and risk averse and what might fix it. Bloc candidate. One fault is that his platform is too specialised. B+
Ali Aras. Provibloc candidate with a focus on new player issues. Inexperienced in Eve which would actually be an advantage - would be good to see someone who is not on top of the learning cliff looking down on the CSM. Good interview with Xander. B+
Kesper North. Pretty standard null sec bloc candidate. Vote for him if a buffed nullsec is in your interest. C
Further reading/listening:
Xander's candidate interviews on Crossing Zebras. Exhaustive, very professional interviewer.
Eve O Jita Park Official forums
Not a bad analysis of most candidates, especially Travis, who is terrible.
ReplyDeleteJames Arget is probably a little more broadly based than you might think - much of his base is EVE University, where he spends a lot of his time talking with new pilots and doing classes as a guest speaker. About 1/3 of SSC is also made up of former Noble Sentiments [TORAH] members, who were Lowsec pirates (I'm one) so you might be surprised how much of a lowsec slant the corp has as well.
OK noted, readers may wish to add him into their 14 (as the last 2 were nothing great).
Delete