Let's look at the roster of CSM members for CSM 6. These are the members of the previous CSM.

• The Mittani: Goonswarm Federation (Chairman)
• Seleene: Pandemic Legion
• UAxDEATH: Legion Of xXDEATHXx
• Trebor Daehdoow: Initiative Mercenaries
• Killer2: Morsus Mihi
• White Tree: Test Alliance Please Ignore
• Vile Rat: Goonswarm Federation
• Meissa Anunthiel: Rooks and Kings
• Draco Llasa: Razor Alliance
• Elise Randolph: Pandemic Legion (1st Alternate)
• Prometheus Exenthal: HYDRA Reloaded (2nd Alternate)
• Krutoj (3rd Alternate)
• Two step: K162 Alliance (4th Alternate)
• Darius III (5th Alternate)

Based on this list, of 14 total CSM members, at least 7 of them are members of a large sov holding alliance. Half of the CSM. Four of the alternate members are in non-sov holding alliances, and one is from a large sov holding alliance. This means of the 10 CSM members at the average meeting, 6 of them are from a large sov holding alliance. There is a reason behind this. They have the ability to easily encourage a large amount of players to vote for them.

Goonswarm Federation, Pandemic Legion, Legion Of xXDEATHXx, Test Alliance Please Ignore, and Razor Alliance all have their own agenda. They're all going to be fighting for their own agenda. This is not going to benefit the player base as a whole. Instead it's mostly going to benefit those alliances and associated coalitions. I could care less what they claim, just like politicians in the real world, it's all a line of bullshit so they can get the position and benefit their own interests. Goonswarm isn't going to fight for a change that nerfs blobs, and I doubt any of the members from the other 4 alliances are going to either.

It's cool you bring them out to Iceland for meetings and whatnot, I bet that's fun. But it doesn't serve the original purpose very well. There may still be a need for at least a few player representatives to let CCP know when something they're thinking about may have serious negative effects on EVE as a whole. None of the players want micro transactions, to be honest you don't need a CSM to tell you that, I'm sure you're already aware. However I think the focus should be shifted more towards CCP actively monitoring posts on the forums, chats in game, and even holding polls on certain issues. Instead of using a system that's failing miserably in the real world, why not try a system that isn't destined for failure?

I may be completely wrong, the CSM may be the best thing for EVE. However my opinion is that the CSM hurts EVE more than it helps, because it serves the large sov holding alliances for the most part, not the general player base. The CSM doesn't serve the average pilot looking for solo or small gang pvp, it doesn't support the miner looking to relax after work, and it doesn't support the alliance that's trying to claim it's first system in null. It serves the interests of the people who are on the CSM. Just like real world politicians don't serve the interests of the middle class, lower class, entrepreneur, husband, wife, mother, father, or anyone other than the politicians. The politician will feed you whatever you want to hear to get the position so he can benefit his interests. When it comes to major issues like micro transactions, it will serve the general player base. However, you don't need a CSM when it comes to issues like this. A forum post (and monitoring of the response to it by CCP employees), poll, and/or many other more effective methods would serve the players as a whole, instead of the members of the CSM.

I don't want to see this become another theme park mmo. However lately it's becoming more of a theme park mmo for me, because blobs and null sec politics (lulz) aren't fun for me. Small gang and solo pvp isn't really that available (I hear rumors that it's available in factional warfare, but that still feels too theme park for me). The only thing left for me to do lately is grind isk in the hopes that one day I will be able to spend it on ships to pvp in, when small gang/solo pvp in null/low sec becomes feasible again. Piracy also seems to be dead, because there is too much risk for a hauler, miner, mission runner, anomaly runner, or belt ratter to venture through low or null sec unless it's heavily defended, to justify the rewards. I don't see these issues as something the current CSM is going to fight to change, because it doesn't benefit the majority of them. However I have heard from quite a few people that these are issues they would like to see fixed. Whether the majority of the player base feels the same way, I do not know.

This is mostly my opinion which is based on the facts I have learned. I may be ignorant to some facts. I did make some blanket statements, use common sense. I understand there are exceptions to some of these blanket statements, and if you think I'm not aware of this or am trying to say otherwise, you're wrong. I know I repeated myself a lot. Repetition is the best way to drive a point home.