Deciphering Decisions

[Must Serious Post for a moment]

Like elections IRL, the CSM elections have started to ramp up before the populace was quite ready.  As I flipped through the formal notifications for some of the runners I see that they stretch all the way back to November.

The CSM is an interesting institution in Eve.  Created as a player representative group to CCP they are voted in by the players.  The entire election system has become a series of campaign platforms by people who state the reasons they wish to run and the focuses they wish the bring to CCP in hopes of players voting on them.

The player population, similar to several real life populations, are often indifferent, uninformed and uninvolved in the election.  The CSM has come and gone but as the positions have aged so have they matured.  The history of turmoil and all that good dramatic stuff I won't get into.  I've only been around for a year and I'd have to rehash rehashed history.

The point is that the CSM is an elected board that communicates with CCP.  Agree or disagree, tinfoil or not, they are represented as picked by the players to represent the players.  If there is no representive from an area it says that the players may not be as vested in that area.  Truth or not it sends a message.  

The issue with a lack of participation from the player base causes the election results become lopsided.  People complain that they have no representation.  But did they vote?  Not feeling represented is the fault of those that did not vote for the people who might have represented them.  Yes, there is a chance that the person may not be elected but at least you can bitch in complete and smug comfort knowing that you made an effort to select someone.

I'm not going to do point by point comparisons of people.  That is not where my skills lay.  For me, I'm going to find the candidate(?) that are going to have focus in the area of the game that I am interested in.  I only hope that more people will do that and make their selections.  Low Sec had one representative for CSM7.  I've enjoyed my interaction with Hans and he brought various topics forward for low sec outside of faction warfare.  I'd like that again.  I also admit, I'd like enough people to take interest in the elections for what they are supposed to mean then seeing them as some type of trolling system for the game/CCP/other players and electing dead weights that bring nothing to the table.

On the table now is Marc Scaurus as the person who has stepped up to say he wishes to represent low sec.  I find I'm uncomfortable with saying it aloud but politics are an area I find no pleasure stepping into.  Yet, I must and I must look at these things and make decisions and hope that I can be pleased with my decisions at the end.  Marc has stated some background, some future, some focus and potential promises.  I'm flipping through his history and weighing my decisions.  The lovely thing about a blogger is that they tend to stream their history behind them for perusal.

Rixx Javix has already endorsed him.  When he leaves Amok. I can make a more solid decisions.  I won't throw my full support yet, but I am hopeful.  As for the Goonswarm link, I don't care.  I know that plenty of people have their whatever for whatever.  It's not my thing. I have no love and no hate for Goonswarm.  I'm fascinated by the emotional responses that they cause in many players but I do not share them.

Will others step forward?  I don't know. I'm watching, reading, and waiting.  We will see.  The reading material can be interesting.  Some of the proposals are mind boggling.  Injecting plex into structures?  Or candidates can go to Two Step for a lesson in eloquence.