Malcanis wrote:EVE permits every form of in-game villainy. But bringing in real life conflicts and bigotry is, as should be obvious, a no-no. In short: my character can do anything that he can get away with to your character (and vice-versa, of course). But there are very strict limits on what I can do to you. CCP's rules aren't there to make us play nice characters, only to be nice people.
The important distinction is that if I scam you out of everything in game, then you can escape the consequences of that by simply closing the client: Poof! Your losses - and my "crime" - are now as meaningless as losing a piece in a game of checkers. But I think you'll agree that anyone who started spewing racial epithets or making real life threats because he lost a piece in a game of checkers had failed to understand something very important about playing competitive games.
This is by far the best post I have
EVER seen on these forums.
You sir, understand EVE to its black hearted, capitalist, dog eat dog core, with an awesome separation between in game and out of game actions.
I can only echo this post.
The thing is, that whether or not we admit to it, the beauty of EVE is that every single one of us is a roleplayer.
When you log in, you play the role of a Capsuleer, regardless of what your motives are. True, there is a distinction between those who simply play the game and those who choose to immerse themselves in EVE's setting and backstory, but the end result is the same.
We're all playing a role, and are fleshing out our own histories and storylines, whatever they may be.
Scamming, playing the con man, the pirate or rip off merchant are all parts of the sandbox game play that makes EVE stand out with such a rich and colourful history. Understanding that this is an IN GAME action and in no way reflects on the player behind the character is the first step to mentally surviving the morality black hole that is New Eden.
When you log in, you may type in your username and password with the hands of a Doctor, a Lawyer, a Soldier or a Cop, but once that little bar counts up and you click on your character's Avatar, the gloves are off and you're immersed in a hyper-capitalistic kill or be killed setting based thousands of years into our future.
Separating in game actions from a player's out of game persona is one of the most important things in EVE Online.
Back in the early days of being a player I can remember being ripped off by a real life friend for 8,000,000,000 ISK. This was back when 8 billion was more money than anyone knew what to do with. I was madder than hell until I logged out of the game. Then we met up at the pub, had a beer and laughed about it as old friends.
Years later when he thought he was clear, I betrayed his trust in return, ganked his pride and joy Raven Navy Issue and got best part of my money back in loot. To add to the sting, I nailed his pod and wrecked his high grade crystal set.
We still laugh about it to this day on the rare occasion we see each other given I now live in Iceland, but despite in game actions we've always been more than happy out of game to spot eachother a little cash if needed, or borrow eachother's cars.
I'll be a 10 year veteran of EVE on May 14th 2013. I've been to countless player gatherings, hosted more of them than I can honestly remember, and have had the pleasure of being an attendee at 6 Fanfests.
If there's one thing I've learned that's the most important thing in all those years after meeting quite literally thousands of EVE players, it's that the key to success in New Eden is making that divide between player and character, and understanding the social fabric of EVE's community.
No amount of skillpoints or ISK can compensate for that.