Creepy ain't it? I happen to know one person in real life that plays Eve. "Know" in the sense that we see each other in the flesh, share air, that sort of thing. There are those in Eve that I know where (generally speaking) they live. If I was in serious trouble in one of those cities they might come and help me - if I was able to log in and ask. If they happened to also be on-line at the same time.
But this is nothing new RJ so why are you posting about it? Well if you've seen Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train then you know the subject here is... Murder! Murder most foul. Perhaps I am being a tad dramatic, but let me ask you this honestly, if you knew the identity of that enemy bastard that is giving you so much trouble... what would you do?
This came up because it is possible that a -A- Titan pilot goes to my son's school. We're not 100% sure yet, but we have very strong suspicions. And no, I am not thinking of murdering this poor pock-faced teenager! But would I stoop to cutting the internet cables to his house one stormy night during a very important CTA? Would I do that? Of course not. Seriously now, I wouldn't. But some of you might.
Let's continue the brain going here for a minute. What if that pimple-faced teen was the one that stole your Corp assets to the tune of 25 BILLION? Including a Jump Freighter and tons of BPOs? Wrecking three years of hard work and dedication from the 50 other guys and gals in the Corp? While murder might be out of the question, would a good bare-knuckle beat down? I would hope so.
I'm not advocating any of this, I simply ask the questions to illuminate the point. Most people think of real world meetings and knowledge of those strangers on our train as a good thing. I'm simply reminding us that isn't necessarily so. Every coin has two sides and, as in all things, I recommend caution. I am certainly looking forward to one day flying to Iceland and meeting some of my Corp mates in person at a FanFest, that would be super awesome. And if anyone I know in-game was in serious trouble in my city I'd come and help.
It is an interesting moral dilemma however and there are many, many non-violent ways such information could be used. Such as becoming friends with the -A- Titan pilot, never letting on that you also play Eve, and learning everything you can. I wonder how much of that goes on? How many groups of friends are in different Alliances and Corps and share information amongst each other, by accident or on purpose? Interesting. And it would explain certain things wouldn't it?
Mostly though, let's keep this stuff where it belongs, in the game. The real world sucks enough already, without making it any worse. Get together, swap stories and have some laughs... just don't tell 'em the POS location of your Alliance Titan.