Today's post comes from the world's greatest CSM candidate and the man most deserving of being YOUR representative in this once esteemed council - Joffy Aulx-Gao.
CSM Status and What Can Be Done
The Problem:
Recently a lot of distrust and bad relations have developed between the CSM, CCP and the player base. The CSM leaks like a sieve and rumblings have developed that wonder if we even need a CSM at all? So what can be done?
The Solution:
It is easy to say the CSM needs more integrity. But specifically perhaps one way to solve this problem is taking legal action against those that breach the NDA. Currently breaching the NDA is without real consequences except being kicked from the CSM, perhaps we need to re-establish trust between CCP and the player-base.
Most companies do something similar and CCP would not be that different if they enforced the NDA more strongly.
The Consequences:
The consequences of this can be big and devastating for all of us. The CSM might end up being shut down or changed because without trust the CSM is useless, can’t give feedback, doesn’t know what to ask the community, nothing.
With no CSM how will we give feedback and suggestions before the ideas are thrown out to the masses? In EVE it’s very beneficial to have a group of players that really knows the game and can "foresee" what will happen with certain changes.
In my opinion we need to maintain the CSM.
My Plan:
I plan to do my best to get into the CSM but if it fails or CSM is disbanded I will offer to help CCP to make EVE more accessible for disabled even if I have do it by myself.
CCP has given me so much joy, happiness and friends, it’s about time I give something back to CCP.
If I am fortunate enough to be elected as your representative to the CSM I will bring integrity, honor and hard-work back to the council. This is my promise.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ME
MY CSM FORUM POST
Thank you,
Joffy Aulx-Gao
Comments
As a follow on, other MMO developers managed to get feedback from their players without resorting to an elected council. Why do we even need a CSM? If you think that, as an example, the EVE Online forums are somehow uniquely contentious, I would ask you to visit other similar forums. I will personally vouch that the LOTRO forums will give the EVE forums a run for their money on any weekday, and more so on a weekend when it comes to animosity. Yet Turbine feels no need to go with an elected council. When they need a focus group, they pick players who are versed in the systems under discussion.
Finally, voter participation in CSM elections would seem to indicate that for the player base as a whole, the CSM isn't all that important. How to you counter that rather telling indicator?
Conundrum.
That said, I think it would serve Joffy better to go more into what else he stands for in a post such as this. The post here reads like "I want to be on the CSM to fix the CSM" which is a bad platform, as people are unlikely to push for a representative that isn't focused on the game, and once fixed, no longer has a reason to be there. I've read Joffy's CSM thread so I know that's not actually the case, but others may not read that far.
@Darren - I read his CSM forum post and, frankly, I think what he wrote here is more interesting. But his forum post is the usual high school student council level of statements, since the CSM effectively has no power unless CCP allows it (or if the CSM takes their opposition out of school) so you can't promise anything since there is no way to tell what can be delivered. At least "clean up the CSM!" resonates a bit more clearly.
Just because other games don't feel the need to do it, doesn't make it a bad idea. They're good as a soundboard before pitching an idea as a whole. With EVE if CCP release on the forums that they're even thinking about a topic then out come the pitchforks in preperation.
It's a place where they can ask the "maybe we can do this?" questions without causing a total shitstorm, if you tried to have that preliminary conversation with the the playerbase through the online forums it would take too long to have any kind of real discussion.
Especially given the rise of interaction between the player base and CCP since those events that created the CSM. The rise of Twitter, Slack, and other social media engagements has increased substantially the opportunity for individuals to express concerns and comments directly with those responsible in ways we could not have done before. Primarily this works remarkably well given that those at CCP also engage with us, it truly is a two way street that no longer needs an intermediary.
Having said all of that however, I remain a realist. And as long as the CSM exists, however perfunctory I may believe it to often be, I shall remain its advocate. Because if such a body exists then it is deserving of my support as a player and as a member of the community to which it is supposed to represent.
And I firmly believe that Joffy would be an excellent addition to the next version of the CSM.