Time to catch up on replies. Starting with the most interesting one, IMHO, then the hostile ones.
Diemos Hiaraki wrote:.snip.
So, because I see high sec as the cancer slowly killing off Eve subscribers and I want the vast majority of high sec to be abolished I obviously won't be voting for you as your manifesto stands. However I would really appreciate it if you could answer a question - do you think that the likes of yourself, Marmite and CODE would adapt and find enjoyable content in Eve if high sec was downgraded to low or null sec? I know this may seem like a strange question, but I honestly think that high sec's days are numbered.
I want to address the 'highsec should be nothing more than a kiddie pool' argument.
Each category of space has game mechanics that define an identity for that space and in doing so promote a type of gameplay.
Lowsec, for instance, features game rules preventing bubbles and sharply hurting interceptor gatecamps. As a consequence, it's 'identity' is that it's the freefire space where escape is easiest, where supercapitals are at their most powerful*, and
Rookie systems have their identity set by the rules against non-consensual PVP and the total lack of attractive resources (level 4 mission agents, high end exploration sites, good asteroids, etc). This is what make them the 'kiddie pool'.
Highsec's identity is set by CONCORD. CONCORD create an environment where more 'neutral' players can coexist in a system than is possible in any other area of space. Outside high, it's not possible to have dozens of neutrals in a system except in unusual circumstances. This leads to an environment where a lot of people are willing to undock and act in a system at one time in a way that's just not going to happen outside of cynojammed systems deep in sovereign null.
It's also space that allows players to operate when they do not have the capacity to escalate fights. Outside highsec, the correct action to take when you spot an opposing force you cannot defeat is to go into lockdown. In highsec, you have the very real option of using the advantages CONCORD provide the defender in engagements to try to deter a superior force from attacking. This makes it conducive to solo play in a way that other areas of space are not.
Finally, you can't trust CONCORD with your safety, only with retribution. Retribution for illegal aggression is certain; your survival is up to your choices.
I do not feel that the removal of (non-rookie system) highsec will ever occur, nor would I advocate it. Much as non-sov null provides a competitive environment that is different to sovereign nullsec, highsec provides a competitive environment that is different to both.
* - Supercapitals are, of course, seldom worth fielding in lowsec because outside FW which isn't really all that conducive to capitals, lowsec offers nothing worth fighting for; that's another issue.