My Ten Favorite Posts of 2011

These are the ones I am proudest of. If you missed them now is your chance to catch up and avoid the eventual loss of self-respect that you'll feel from not having taken the chance when it was offered to you.


These are presented in no particular order.


THUNDERDOME


In this post, which is a follow up to this post, I managed to lay out a viable solution to the idea of planned, agreed upon PvP content in Eve. This was in direct response to many people saying such a solution was impossible within the context of Eve and since I hate it when people say something is impossible, I went about proving that it wasn't. This caused quite a stir and eventually led to even more debate. Which is why I write these things in the first place. Just to be clear, I personally do not want THUNDERDOME in Eve. But it could work.


Later in August, the topic came up again in a Blog Banter.


Large Coalitions Are Not Bad For Eve


I love playing Devil's Advocate around here and sometimes it gets me into trouble. Which is the whole and entire point of doing it. Funny looking back on this post now that the NC doesn't even exist anymore. Muhahahaha.


TOP 10 (Double Post)


The Top Ten Most Frustrating Things About Eve and the follow-up Top Ten Most Amazing Things About Eve. Written back in May the frustrating bits are still frustrating and the amazing bits are still amazing.


The Thin Green Line


A few of these "best" post came about because of Incarna and the subsequent shit-storm that hit over the Summer. This one was written right at the beginning of the tide and it lays out my own beliefs about vanity items and "gold ammo" perfectly.


EVEOTORIAL: The Mass of Men


And then this one. You have to read it for yourself. This was one of the most popular posts of the past year and I am pleased that it was, in fact it got a lot of proper attention if you know what I mean.


Rixx Internally Debates Being a Pirate


These are actually several posts in which I debated the personal merits of the play style I have recently chosen to pursue. It all sorta started with this post I wrote about how docking up in the face of combat made you a coward. I then wrote two follow-up posts about the topic, here and then here. And then that thread sorta ended with this post. Now all that talk about cowards, haters, trolls and whatnot really got me thinking.


And then I wrote this post, which is just friggin' brilliant, about Criminal Intentions. Really it boils down to my own RL personal morality and how that balances with being a scum sucking pirate in-game. Writing that caused Rixx to write his own letter. Which finally all got wrapped up nicely in this post called Morality and Moral Bankruptcy


I know it is a lot of posts, but it is worth reading.


EVEOTORIAL: The CSM and Why It's Bad for Eve


I wrote this and the next one in response to continued frustration over the Incarna issues that plagued Eve over the Summer. Much of what I wrote was based on events on-going at the time it was written, which is the hallmark of good editorial writing. I stand by much of what was written, especially in light of the changes that happened as a result.  But especially in light of the next post...


EVEOTORIAL: Why CCP is Bad for Eve


Much of this post was simply me best-guessing my way thru the issues surrounding the events of the past Summer, using my own experience and knowledge the best I could to try and explain what was rapidly becoming obvious. I know for a fact that many people at CCP read this post, many of them contacted me off the record to say as much and more. I know I missed on a few things, but even on those it was a glancing blow. Whatever the final results, and I don't care one way or the other, the facts are obvious. Something changed at CCP and we, the game of Eve and CCP are better for those changes. 


Swinging Lucifer's Hammer


A work of fiction that I wrote. It won a contest.


2012: Sanctuary Training Program


And finally, I wrote an entire series on what I think 2012 might bring to Eve. Or, more to the point, what I think it should bring. But this one is the most important as it brings to life an idea that I believe Eve needs. A total re-build on the new player experience.




And those are my personal top ten.