Monday, April 7, 2014

How I will vote for CSM 9

Sorry I haven't been blogging much, I have been trying to step back a little from the whole CSM thing, but with the election coming up for CSM 9, I think it is important to get the word out on who I think should be elected. First of all, the ballot I will be casting

My ballot

  1. corbexx
  2. Proclus Diadochu
  3. James Arget
  4. Asayanami Dei
  5. Ali Aras
  6. Karen Galeo
  7. Steve Ronuken
  8. Xander Phoena
  9. Sugar Kyle
  10. DJ FunkyBacon
  11. Mike Azariah
  12. DNSBLACK
  13. mynnna
  14. Mangala Solaris
VOTING IS NOW LIVE. Click here to pre-search for these candidates, to make voting easy!

I wanted to also explain why I chose who I did, and why I left a few folks off.

I chose corbexx first not just because he is a former corpmate and a current alliancemate, but because he can (and I think will) do a great job. He is passionate about the game and loves to talk to lots and lots of people. When he was in AHARM with me, he ran our intel/diplomacy because he knew and talked to just about everyone in w-space. His one slight disadvantage is that he is a terrible speller, but hopefully spellcheck will make up for that.

Proc was actually a pretty easy second choice. For me, being willing to put in the effort to CSM is a huge deal.  Proc is putting in that sort of effort every day. He does have a bit of a forum history, but he is showing that people can and do change, and his change is definitely for the better.

James was my number one choice last time around, and while I think he did a good job on CSM 8, I think he is tired now. He had to be dragged into re-running, and I just don't think his heart is in it. He might end up elected instead of one of my top choices, but hopefully their enthusiasm is enough to fire him up and do a good job going forward.

Asay could have been up much higher on my ballot, but I continue to be confused by his overwhelming desire to make his campaign all about CCP better promoting player made content. I don't think that is a bad goal, but CCP has limited resources, and I would much rather see them invest in many other web projects like the long-awaited third-party developer site than in building a better reddit.

Ali being number five on my ballot might be a surprise to some, but I honestly think she would be a better w-space representative than Karen, but I will talk about Karen below. Ali has done a fantastic job this year, and I think she will do a great job when (not if!) she is re-elected. She deserves a top 2 spot, and I think she stands a pretty good shot of getting it. She also now works with me IRL, proving that CSM is not just a good way to get a job at CCP, but also at other companies!

Karen could be a good rep, but not this year. She simply doesn't have the experience to be able to talk to CCP about things like T3 balance, wormhole effects or Capital Ships. W-space is complex, and we need someone who knows this stuff well from personal experience, not from seeing a corpmate doing it. I would encourage her to not give up, and to continue to learn and run again next time around, when I am sure I will rank her higher.

Steve needs to be on CSM 9 in order to kick CCP's butt about the long, long, long delayed rollout of CREST. He needs to be there to make sure the third-party developer site sees the light of day. If I wasn't in w-space, Steve would be my #2 candidate behind Ali, because CSM 9 will not have someone like me or Trebor to continue the fight to expand EVE beyond just the client.

Xander should be elected to CSM 9 despite his sitting in the front row of the CSM Q&A at the last fanfest in a kilt, possibly with nothing underneath. Seriously, Xander has done more than many people to communicate about EVE with the playerbase from his site/podcast Crossing Zebras. CSM 9 needs good communicators, and Xander would do a great job at that. He also knows the game, despite what some very bitter folks have been saying about him on Twitter.

Sugar Kyle has been moving up in position every time I revise this list. Lowsec needs a representative voice, and she would do a great job. She is also a great communicator with a proven track record.

When I ran for CSM 6, I remember getting to go on EVE radio and talking to a great DJ, and that man was Funky Bacon. Not only does he have the very best food on Earth right there in his name, he is a great communicator, both on the radio and in writing on themittani.com. Faction Warfare has been a little neglected in the last year, and I think they need a voice to make sure that their concerns with changes to the game are taken into account. Funky will do that, and I would be happy to see him elected.

Mike is a really nice guy. That is pretty rare in EVE, and Mike brings a really important different point of view to the CSM process. He speaks up for folks who tend not to manage to get candidates elected, namely highsec dwellers. These folks deserve a voice, and Mike speaks well for them.

DNSBLACK wasn't on the early version of this list. Not because I don't like him, I have met and talked to him several times at Fanfest and in game. My worry is that he likes to talk a little too much, and might drown out other important but quieter voices on the CSM. Trebor has promised me that this won't be the case though, and I trust him. I am very sure that if elected, Black would have the very best interests of all players at heart, and he is capable of doing a great job.

mynnna would be much higher on this list if I were picking people that should be on CSM 9. He has proven to me time and time again that he is one of the better CSM reps overall in the past few years, and he will deserve the seat that is certainly his. I have him on my ballot not for the main election, but for the top 2 election to determine who should have a permanent seat at both summits.

Mangala is here for a similar reason. If either Ali or mynnna doesn't get one of those permanent seats, Mangala should. He worked hard, he knows his stuff. The only slight issue I have is that he hasn't been the best about communicating with players in general about the CSM. I suspect some of that was because Ali and Ripard Teg were doing a great job last time. Hopefully he steps up as Ripard steps down.

Who will get elected

Since I am blogging, I thought I might as well include my guesses as to who ends up with a seat. I actually think a fair number of my ballot picks will get elected, but here is my guess:

Fairly Certain

corbexx
James Arget
Ali Aras
Xander Phoena
Sugar Kyle
mynnna
Mangala Solaris
Matias Otero
progodlegend
Sion Kumitomo
Major JSilva

Less Certain

DJ Funky Bacon
Mike Azariah
Steve Ronuken
Jayne Fillon

It will be close for the last few, and I am also a little unsure about if James or Proc will get the 2nd wormhole seat.