Look, I get it. You were out doing something, you had plans, you had a purpose or a goal, and some idiot comes along and explodes your ship or otherwise thwarts your plan. That can be very upsetting. Depending on the investment in that plan, it can also be rather emotional. Unexpected. Sudden. All the words that make you sad. I get it.
I've exploded well over 10,000 ships in my Eve career and I've gotten rather good at it. But that also means that I've heard it all. The begging, the pleading, the incrimination, the desperate profanity, the kill-board comparisons, the excuses, the lag, the mod that didn't work, the... well the list is very long. Trust me, I've heard them all. And here's the thing about each of them, it doesn't matter in the least. And while I can't say, "I don't care" because that would be cruel and I am not (despite what you may think) a cruel person. But I don't care in the moment. If something went wrong that allowed me to explode your ship, that is great news for me. I want to win. That was my special plan from the beginning.
There is no crying in Low Sec. You were warned when you jumped in. It is called Low Security Space for a reason. It isn't a secret. Nasty, scum-sucking Pirates live there. Our play style might clash with your play style. It is highly likely. Even among us Pirates, our play styles often clash. Some prefer drops, some prefer camps, some prefer good fights, some prefer up-class fighting, but most enjoy a healthy mix of those things. We do try to be unpredictable. Our lives often depend on it. Predictability leads to traps and can get us killed. And no one wants that.
Beyond that however, I want to focus on a new word - Deference. Deference is defined as, "humble submission and respect" and I think we need more of this in Low Sec and Eve in general. While everyone should be justifiably proud of any achievements they have made in the game, no matter how long they have been playing, a certain amount of respect is due those who are more veteran players. And here is how I mean this. And let me use a few recent examples.
One of our pilots is #5 all time in a Vigil Fleet Issue. The other day he killed a guy's Kestrel with it and got a face full of reasons why his VFI fit was terrible. Our pilot was only trying to give advice to help him. And his VFI fit is awesome obviously.
The other night I exploded a guy by drawing him into a trap. He was pretty damn salty about it afterwards, which I don't usually mind. Except he eventually started linking kills from his kill-board in a desperate attempt to make himself feel better. Look, I get that you are upset, but your 1k kills are not impressing me. Take your lumps. Learn from the encounter. And take it like a man.
Veteran players don't deserve immediate respect just because they are veteran players. That would be silly and I am NOT saying that. But I do think a little deference can go a long way. Understanding your place in the ecosphere of Eve is important. Learning is critical. Understanding why that VFI fit is so good will only help you down the road. Realizing why you fell into that trap is a learning moment. It will help you improve.
When I started out in Eve Online I drove the veteran players around me insane with questions. I wanted to know things, to understand them better and I was very fortunate to have so many great players to learn from. I owe many of them a great debt. But I also respected them. Well, most of them. We had idiots in Eve back then too.
Often it is better to take your lumps and try again. After all, it is only space pixels. And maybe, just maybe, that other pilot might teach you something that will help you out next time.
Just remember that 9 times out of 10 your rants just end up on our Discord. :)