CCP just released the news regarding the upcoming CSM election cycle for CSM18. The last CSM term was extended so that we could get back into announcing the new CSM at Fanfest. So that will be happening here in September.
It is tempting to run again. This September will also represent my 15th year of playing Eve Online and being a part of this incredible community. And there is a certain poetry to those numbers all happening on the 20th anniversary of the game. I did run for the first time two years ago and I learned an incredible amount about the game, how the election works, and what the CSM is all about during that campaign. I came very close to getting in and finished a round short of being elected. I had a lot of fun running that campaign, created a bunch of cool videos and wallpapers, talked to everyone I could, appeared on all the shows, and essentially ran as hard as I could.
So it is tempting to think about running again. I admit it. As usual when the bug hit yesterday I gave it some serious consideration. I asked around to a few people and ran it up the pole in the Alliance Discord as well as on Tweetfleet. As expected the response was extremely positive and supportive. Which is always appreciated. But I decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning. This is always the best way to make big decisions.
And to be honest? I like the way things are. I get to sit out here and write whatever I want in these pages, work on incredible projects, and fly with my corp mates every day, run my fleets on the weekends and never really have to consider politics. It is an incredible amount of work running a successful campaign for CSM and ultimately you end up on a board of directors for a focus group. Again, this is not a anti-CSM stance here, I believe the CSM is a unique, positive, and important player representative group and I respect almost everyone who has served. But let's be honest, it isn't a group designed or built to effect change. Or influence. And while that can often happen, it is rare. That is just not what the CSM is intended to be.
And yet everyone who runs is expected to put forth a platform for change. I did two years ago and my platform was built around FW/LS and the lack of attention that area of space had gotten over the previous ten years. The truth was I already knew it would be getting that attention shortly. And I'd already been able to contribute my opinions regarding those changes. All without ever having served a day on the CSM. And I could give numerous other examples of the same things over the years.
I love Eve and this community of ours. And so that always makes me feel like I should serve. But then I also believe I already am serving and doing so in my own way, out here in the wild. And that I can continue to do that without being on the CSM.
I should leave the CSM for those who feel passionate about running and serving. My passions for Eve run in different directions.
And so, this morning, I decided that I won't be running again.
And I honestly feel like that is the right decision.
Onward & Upward.