Ruareve wrote: I'm not one for the politics of Eve. I don't pirate, don't care for drama or tears, and I don't normally get involved in the "metagame". I just log in when I'm not deployed and enjoy spending time with friends and flying around doing fun stuff.
Last year I heard about the AT on Eve Radio and I gave it a look. I have to admit I really enjoyed the fights and the theorycraft involved in coming up with team configurations. I was really looking forward to this years competition since I understood more about what would happen and could actually follow the fights.
Then I see a blog post about CCP banning last years winners. Something I can't blame them for doing as the entire tournament last year ended on a bad note with the laughable last match. I read the initial posts about the ban, posts which have now been pulled down, and I thought CCP had a pretty valid reason behind their justification. As I've pointed out in my blog CCP seemed to be protecting the spirit of the tournament while not exactly enforcing the letter of the rules. While somewhat dubious in nature I could understand the logic behind CCP's actions.
Today my opinion changed when I read Dev postings stating the rules were intentionally left vague and the actions Hydra and Outbreak took on Sisi aren't against the rules but everyone should be careful just in case.
Now I believe CCP wasn't protecting the spirit of the tournament, rather they were simply not willing to man up and just ban Hydra and Outbreak for last year's actions. CCP deliberately created rules which could be interpreted several different ways by the player base, CCP seemed to ignore requests for clarification from Hydra and Outbreak while reaching out to other Alliances, and then we are told the reason Hydra and Outbreak were banned isn't actually against the rules.
I have no idea why CCP didn't just HTFU and tell Hydra and Outbreak they were banned because they made a joke out of the final match last year. Simple, concise and no drama. Give participants a warning that every match must be contested or you'll get kicked out of the tournament and not be allowed to enter next year.
Instead we get vague rules, removed posts, insulting replies from both CCP and the players, and in the end the AT feels tainted without a single shot being fired.
In a game that touts itself as rough and tumble, no holds barred, not for the faint of heart, I can't figure out why CCP has seemly gone out of it's way to try and look like a good guy when simply taking the bull by the horns would have avoided all manner of ill feelings.