With the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) Elections coming up soon we at EVE NT have contacted all the running candidates who have announced their intentions to run and provided them with a standardised interview template. The goal of this is to give each candidate a set of standard questions for them to respond to with the aim of helping you, the voter, to choose a candidate who best represents you and your play style to CCP. The same questions have been asked of every candidate as to allow easier comparison. The responses posted are unedited and will be published in the run up to the opening of the voting period on February the 29th in the order that they have been received.
Today's candidate is Noobman.
 
Please start by giving us a short introduction to who you are and your history within EVE Online. Include how long you have been playing and the groups you have been involved with.
Hey I?m Noobman. 2012 is the year in which I started playing EVE. I started out as a miner but after four months I left that life behind me and found my way into faction warfare and other forms of lowsec PVP. To make some ISK I started running incursions, mostly with the goal to buy a pilot with more SP. After a couple of months of grinding I bought Noobman and that is where my EVE story actually starts.
After buying Noobman I joined Hard Knocks Inc as I was very drawn to way of life in wormhole space. In the years after that I climbed the ladder. Starting out as a PvE FC, then FC'ing the smaller armor fights with continued success I became HK's preferred FC, which began my career into WH corp administration. In May 2014 I was promoted to 'director of Operations?.
Now - Currently I am still a director in Hard Knocks Inc, in my day to day I deal with logistics, PVP, and diplomatic related things.
I've manage POSes, dealt with Recruitment and handled our Finances. I've led small single corp invasions to massive multi-alliance invasions and defenses. Some I've been successful in, such as Nova and some I've failed such as Polaris. I know the ins and outs of w-space, I know the HK trade secrets, and what keeps us competitive in the Meta.
Hard Knocks Inc has been a force in wormhole space that has grown to be a well-known and stable entity for the past few years and I'd like to think that I have contributed to that success.
 
Who would you consider to be your key constituents? Who you would best represent within the playerbase?
I will represent the wormhole community. I eat, sleep, and breath W-space. It is the best gameplay experience I've had in Eve and I want to protect it and have a voice in upcoming changes. As far as other sub groups in Eve I enjoy flying Capitals and Tech 3 Cruisers. I feel I have experience and knowledge and could provide educated feedback in those areas.
 
Please summarise your platform. (Preferably using key bullet points)
I have extensive knowledge of the wormhole space Meta and the day to day life all wormhole corps deal with. This makes me a good candidate to represent other wormholers and myself in the CSM. Especially with regards to other changes and how they will affect wormhole space (null sec spawns, dread changes, citadels, to name a few recent or upcoming changes).
I'd like for CCP to have a serious look again at the spawning of K-space wormholes, most notably nullsecs, in high class space. The recent changes to the numbers need to be looked at in depth to make sure that high class space is not being starved of content in the form of null sec.
A second look at the possibility of more dual static wormhole classes to make wormhole space more interconnected. This has been something the wormhole community has been talking about for a long time and I'd like to bring it to the table at the CSM.
I want to have a voice in the eventual revamp of capital escalations. You might be surprised but I do think the current method is a bit lucrative. CCP needs someone in their corner that has been doing it for years to get it just right.
I want to always bring to the table ?Hey that is going to affect wormholers and here is why?. For instance I want Capitals to always have a balanced place in combat and PvE. Broad changes to Eve needs to always have someone double checking the repercussions for W-space.
 
Why have you decided to run for CSM this year?
I decided I was going to run about 6 months ago. Since then I made an effort to get my name out there. Whether people like what I've done in W-space or not, I think most people can respect the dedication and organization I bring to the game. I feel like wormholers have lost faith in their representation in the CSM, and they need someone they can count on.
I have the time to commit to CSM and still have time to play the game.
 
Have you run for or been a member of CSM in the past? If so please list each year and if you were elected.
No, I have never ran previously.
 
What makes you a unique representative when you compare yourself to other candidates?
Experience and knowledge are the two qualities I keep describing myself with. When I log into Eve everyday I keep myself up to date on the News and the Meta of the game. I?m in the trenches FC?ing fleets. I take on every role such as being the scout or the roaming tackle or fly Logi or the escalating dread pilot or Links. I also do the paper pushing and Diplo work to administrate and successfully run my wormhole corp.
A good CSM member needs to understand the mechanics of the game and keep current on the changing meta and have experience and perform well on what and who they represent. Not being a 10 year old bitter vet of Eve that was active and hungry in 2011 and their grasp of the game is too far outdated.
And for those reasons I think I am a good CSM candidate.
 
Do you have any out of game experience and skills that make you a good candidate?
I am very social. I have a dozen Jabbers, IRC, Slack, Forums, In-game chat channels that I stay active in. I?m very approachable and patient. If you have a genuine interest in W-space or a question on mechanics I can chit-chat with you all day.
 
What areas of EVE are you weakest at knowledge wise?
I've tried as many aspects of Eve as I can, but the weakest knowledge I have is industry. I got set up on alts to do T3 production and invention and market trading and never followed through with it. Partly because I've made pretty lucrative ISK in W-space. But I don't typically keep up to date or involved in manufacturing and invention.
 
If you were offered unlimited development time - what's the biggest change you would lobby for in EVE?
I would want more valuable conquerable conflict drivers. You have it and I want to kill you for it and make it mine, is one the best motivators to get people to login and have a goal to conquer something. And once you have it you need to defend it. The mechanics of attack and defense need the unlimited development time sunk into it.
 
If you could wind back the clock - what feature or change would you remove from EVE?
July 9th, 2015 Aegis release. ?Bob has spoken: the spawn rate and lifetime of some wormhole connections to Nullsec space have changed.?
This short sighted change strangled primetime activity and content from w-space corps.
 
If you could pick one candidate to be elected with you who would they be and why?
To be honest I?m not here to advertise or vouch anyone else besides myself. I know my reasons for running and what I can bring to the CSM. I don't have a strong enough personal relationship to any of the other wormhole candidates to support them.
 
What is your favourite memory in EVE and why?
Hard Knocks vs Probe Patrol May 16th, 2014

https://kb.hardknocksinc.net/index.php/kill_related/16426/
This was my breakout moment in my FC career. It was the first time I had FC'd a dread in combat. And with our fleet with 1 dread we killed 3 dreads and 2 triage carriers. From that moment on, I felt like I had the confidence and could successfully lead my guys into an armor brawl and contend with the other large C5 groups. It solidified me as the preferred FC for HK. From the few previous fights I FC'd I took feedback from the AAR's on what I did wrong and what commands I forgot to give. I will always remember this fight.
 
What platform(s) do you use currently to engage with the wider player base? If someone wanted to contact you what is the best way to do this? (Include Twitter/Emails/Skype/Slack etc.)
I?m in a lot of ingame chat channels, I?m on tweetfleet Slack, I don't use twitter. I?m active on r/Eve subreddit. If I am elected to the CSM I plan on opening a public subforum on Hard Knocks forums where we can take ideas and develop them in a genuine helpful non-trolly way. People will be able to post a detailed well thought out idea and get feedback. When we've worked out the kinks and the smaller community likes the idea we can take it to the Eve-o Forums and back the idea. Then I?ll take the idea to CCP via CSM channels.
And as I've said I?m always logged into Eve and can take a conversation, so feel free to open one. If I?m afk evemail me and I?ll get back to you.
 
If people wanted to find out more about your platform - where is the best place to do so? (Include blogs, forums posts and podcasts)
My CSM campaign Eve-o Forum thread: https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=461678
I do have a few podcast scheduled soon for interviews, so keep an eye out for those too.
 
In short - what is your closing statement.
I have a sincere interest and passion for this game and its community. Eve is something that runs through my head everyday. When I drive home from work instead of listening to music I hop on Teamspeak and talk to my corpmates about what's going on in Eve and and fights I missed. I want to utilized my experience and social skills to help CCP improve their universe. I think I will make a great CSM member and need your vote to get me there. Thanks for taking the time to learn about me.