Grikath
T.E.L.O.G.S.
26
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Posted - 2012.04.01 12:18:00 -
[1] - Quote
Yay! Intarwebz Drama.. and lots of it...
After following the roohah! for a couple of days, I'm not sure which I dislike more: The sheer st00pidity of the Mittani's action at the panel, or the whole mess of misquotes, conjecture and fabrications created by some self-absorbed "internet journalists" aka Opinion(ated) Bloggers.
Did the Mitten make a BooBoo? Hell yes.... Not the least of which was the simple fact that he got hammered doing a presentation during a formal corporate event, with the resultant lack of judgement and constraint as a result.
Does this excuse his remarks during the unscripted Q&A session? Not at all. You choose to toss alcohol in your own mug. You yourself are responsible for "responsible drinking". And only you yourself are responsible for any results of inebriated smacktalk. [insert random examples of your favourite flavour of reality police/local enforcement show here].
Was CCP's reaction correct? Yes, actually... The Mitten was the chairman of CSM6 and the chairman-to-be of CSM 7. The CSM itself is a PR item for CCP corporation, and any player sitting on the CSM is "powerful" in ways beyond the means of any normal player of this game.
CCP was faced with a situation where their "top player" publicly perpetrated against the TOS/EULA, with all this players' political enemies blowing the incident up out of all reasonable proportions.
Their reaction by placing a 30 day ban on the Mittens' account(s) is really the only way they could have reacted, and equivalent to what would happen in pretty much any RL job where you wouldn't be sacked at the spot to begin with for such a gaffe.
The fact that this ban also invalidated the Mittens' candidacy for CSM 7, and as such cost him not only the Chair, but also his place on the CSM is simply a fact of applied rules.
I will most definitely not speculate whether this result was intended or desired by CCP, there's already enough people doing that. Simple fact is that rules need to be applied equally, regardless of the status of the person/player involved.
Did CCP invalidate 10.000+ player votes by this action? No, they didn't, at all. The Mittani with his ill-adviced stunt did.
People can rant and rave all they want, but CCP took such action as was needed and within their actual power, and nothing more. Which is far less than some of the "suggestions" I've seen floating around in several blogs and forum comments ( which themselves rate a ban each, because they are just as bad and inappropriate as the Mittens' original remark) .
Were the Mittani's actions after the Incident correct? Yes, they were actually.
He resigned from his position as chair of CSM6, issued a public and personal apology to the player involved, and used his own funds in paying "damages" to the player involved. The route is clear and simple, and has been walked by many a politician and corporate leader.
Whether or not these actions were "sincere" is a moot issue. The correct appeasements and Mea Culpa's have been made.
Any Idort in need of Undorking can see that his actual powerbase hasn't changed, since the Goon powerbase is not based in this game, but in a forum-based "society" outside of it. Whether or not Mittens' action(s) have any repercussions for him will mainly be decided there, by the mores of that "society".
What is not a measure for any "sincerity" of the apology of the Mittani is the upcoming "Burn Jita" campaign by the Goons. It may be that this operation has been speeded up over this incident, but the whole operation has already been in the pipeline for a bit, and given the current size and strength of the Goons, it is actually inevitable after the successes of the Ice Interdictions.
Any claim of "proof of insincerity" over this is political waffling, or worse, a complete and thorough lack of understanding about the underlying mechanics ( most ranters display both traits).
And I suspect a fair measure of jealousy... The Goons are the only ones who can attempt to even try to disrupt Jita to any discernible level. Succeed or fail, the economy, and it's geographical landscape will adapt.
In the end, the whole incident has proven to be a costly mistake for the Mittani, who will undoubtedly have learned that strong liquor and public presentations do not mix.
It has also proven that the resentment against his success and/or playing style has driven people to rather extreme measures of Shows of Indignation, some of which are actually worse than the original mistake.
Ultimately the whole situation, as he himself has pointed out, has given him the opportunity to bow out of the dual position of CSM chair and Space Villain, and pursue the Goons' interest to his hearts' content.
Whether you believe in the Myth of the Mitten or not, it certainly is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. |