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Just Say Yes to Hostility

One of the easiest things to do for any person is to drown in their own environment. Not the literal act of drowning where water enters the lungs and stops the processing of oxygen by the human body. This is the act of someone seeping in their own environment, be it cultural, social, or anti-social. It can be conscious or it can simply be the assumption of day to day life. There are arguments of nature vs nurturer, what you are and what you have learned to be and how the integrate into the core personality of a person.

I describe myself as "growing up in low sec" because it has affected how I see things. It is not a bad thing but it is a real thing that should be recognized. Point of View is exactly that, a point of view not the entire thing. I often find myself puzzled in conversations.

Why do we do what we do? It is an endless question that circles round and round. In games we often do what we do because we like it or it intrests us. Working off of that simple concept it becomes easy to understand why we clash so violently in what we want to do.

I was asked over the weekend why a group like 7-2 is not in nullsec. I was even asked why we don't join up in the big wars. I sputtered in shock. I was shocked becuase it is not a question that needs to be asked from my point of view. I would ask, why would we want to do any of that as a small group? To me, we'd be drowned in the culture and controls of some bigger groups and who wants that?

Well, obviously someone else does. For some, null sec is the goal of Eve. It is the be all and end all of everything.  I used to get angry, when I started, and I was told that people who live in low sec fail to survive and thrive in null sec. They didn't know me! and my boys and what my boys could do! How dare they! I moved past that as I learned that it was all just a matter of opinion, taste, goals, and everything else that makes us individuals.

But cultures do clash. Of late, to my great puzzlement, we get requests for blues. I've always been very public about the fact that 7-2 does not do blues. Yet, as people request it, and I tell them as politely as I can no, I'm puzzled by it and I should not be.

I should not be puzzled because I know better. I know that not everyone does the same thing. That goes for what we do as a corporation as well. Not everyone wants to have a very limited blue list, a small associates list, and try to stay in a constant state of violance to the detriment of everything else. Some people want a secure environment in the middle of that violence.

Some people just want violence.

Blues limit violence (for the most part. I'm not going to wander into the complexities of betrayal). The search for social stability is normal. I should not question that which makes sense simply because I do not actively participate in it. But, I wind up questioning it because it is a direct conflict towards my corporatios goal of having lots of people to commit spaceship violence upon.

Most people have taken it well. I guess that asking for blues is a common thing.  The oft lamented state of null sec points to this. Eventually, I guess I will stop being surprised by it. Not everyone has to feed a corporation with the PvP appetite of 7-2 or sees hostility as a warm, vibrant part of the game.

Comments

  1. "People who live in low sec fail to survive and thrive in null sec."

    For me this is absolutely true and I wear it as a badge of honor. I'm not good at CTA's, alarm-clock ops, renting, null-ratting or not shooting the innumerable tasty looking blues. I would not thrive in Nullsec, I would stagnate and wind up leaving. I prefer the chaos and lack of structure that is Lowsec life to the relative safety and comfort of a sov-null home.

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  2. I think the blue-ing thing can be used as a form of violence allowing for all sorts of intrigue and political chicanery. The Goons are masters at this. They put a diplomat onto the Test forums in January 2012, ostensibly to maintain good relations and clarify misconceptions but he later admitted he had an agenda to destabilise Test then identify which corps to cherry-pick from the corpse. (GSF recruited two ex-Test corps after the Fountain war at his recommendation).

    The use of diplomacy as an alternative form of attack is very real in Eve and quite fascinating. Of course I guess that many lowseccers see that as just two-faced bullshit that isn't fun.

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    Replies
    1. Not as unfun bullshit, more as not needed, larger numbers don't really bring you the same benefits in low-sec as they do in nullsec.
      Also opportune 'cease fires' to take out something else happen all the time between larger lowsec entities afterwards we just go back to shooting each other. I suspect in part because in lowsec we don't have the same propaganda narrative as in 0.0

      We don't 'hate' or 'dislike' Shadow Cartel or Snuff Box or Late Night Alliance or . They're just the other dudes/dudettes most often target sometimes opportune allies. There's just not the same level of spite as that exists between many 0.0 entities.

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    2. How about FW? It's just occurred to me that FW is essentially a low sec bluefest. If we join CalMil for example we're effectively blue to Test, Sprot, Squids, Talon etc.

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    3. FW is a perfect example of the "propaganda narrative" kaeda speaks about.

      When I was still with agony during our time in the amarr/minmatar FW where we joined amarr it was staggering to see the impact of even casual RP propaganda.

      Biased propaganda was everywhere, both sides accused each other of essentially the same thing. As individuals people knew it was silly, but as a group amarr really hated minmatar and vice versa.

      While I would be hesitant to say it would never happen, the idea of amarr and minmatar fleeting up to take out for instance a shadow cartel fleet that outclassed both individually would be unheard of.

      In a interesting mirror image, FW in lowsec is like the reverse of what NPC nullsec is to nullsec. With NPC nullsec being a zone free of sov alliances and CTA's and bullshit like that, and having much more a pvp-for-fun mentality like in lowsec. As so is FW the lowsec area where we find CTA's, propaganda, coalitions and bullshit to unheard heights.

      Don't get me wrong, FW is great for fun frig combat and the likes, it certainly has it's attractive sides. I've also met some great people in FW with whom it was a joy to fly with or against. But the politics and narrative are toxic at best.

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    4. And agreed on the blues thing. It's literally why I despise getting the standing hits in FW from 'awox'ing'.
      Basically the deal is; want access to FW income? You have to take these 3000 blues! And be forced to deal with a chat window you can't close (why btw ccp?) filled with dumb trolls. And that's just a a 'no thanks!'.

      It's my major gripe with the system. If you want the carrots you're forced to swallow the cod liver oil first.

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  3. @ Roigon - Min/Amarr have teamed up vs. pirates/nullblobs on many, many occasions.

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