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 Utari Onzo.
 
1. 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.
I?m Utari Onzo, and I've been playing EvE for around 2 ˝ years. For the most part, I have been predominantly interested in Wormholes and Nullsec, with a recent period in Faction Warfare in the Amarr Militia.
In my time flying with various entities, I have mostly kept myself busy as a logistics pilot/anchor as well as being a regular triage pilot. I've flown with groups such as 13/Enigma Project (who I was a Director for) in wormhole space, as well as alliances within Provibloc and the Imperium/CFC. Currently I?m a member of Pentag Blade, a corporation within CVA.
For the last year I have also been an active roleplayer and lorehound, which means I have a large cross section of various groups within EvE that I get to interact with on a regular basis.
 
2. Who would you consider to be your key constituents? Who you would best represent within the playerbase?
First and foremost I would say the biggest group I belong to are lore enthusiasts and roleplayers. Lore and RP is a big part of my platform, and I regularly interact with players from all kinds of backgrounds through this medium. PVPers, PVErs, industrialists, pirates and even Goons. Nowhere else in the game can you get as diverse a mix of players and playstyles as with the roleplay community.
After that, I would say I would be somewhat known within Fac-War as a former Amarr-Mil FC within the EUTZ, and Provibloc as a logistics anchor/
On the whole however, I wouldn't like to label myself as belonging to one particular group or another, as firstly I?m not really 'space famous? even within the groups I've been a part of, and secondly I feel I'd prefer to represent as wide a base of players as possible.
 
3. Please summarise your platform.
My platform mostly focuses on the following:
-Nullsec
-Lore, roleplay and live events (both player run and CCP run)
-Any further Logistics balance passes and Capital balance
-?Little things? help for NPSI/NRDS and other alternate playstyles (Like more ingame standings slots, or improved default overviews)
-Faction Warfare
-Wormholes (While I?m not a wormholer myself, I do want to be a supportive voice.)
 
4. Why have you decided to run for CSM this year?
I've thought seriously about running for CSM for some time. While members of the previous CSMs have all worked hard for their constituents, I feel the roleplaying & lore community have perhaps missed out on a representative who combines a deep love for this area of the game, along with knowledge and experience in some of the big areas of EvE (Nullsec, Fleet PVP etc)
It's my hope that this wide appeal will mean I can represent a good bloc of players, and provide insight and advice to CCP and the other CSMs, especially for alternate playstyles.
 
5. Have you run for or been a member of CSM in the past? If so please list each year and if you were elected.
This is my first time running.
 
6. What makes you a unique representative when you compare yourself to other candidates?
I feel I have a broad knowledge of several different areas of EvE. I can talk confidently about Logistics, Triage and fleet combat, while at the same time I?m heavily involved within the Lore and Roleplay communities. I don't see myself as tied to any particular ?bloc? as it's a game we?re all here to play, so everyone's style is equal and deserves representation.
 
7. Do you have any out of game experience and skills that make you a good candidate?
I?m a scaffolder for a busy company. With my work, I get a lot of free time in the afternoons I?ll be able to dedicate to CSM, but this is in a trade off with needing to work well under pressure and quickly. It's both a physically and mentally challenging job, and one where there's no tolerance for bull or corporate waffle. I'd like to think I call things as I see them, and I?m realistic not everyone will agree on everything.
 
8. What areas of EVE are you weakest at knowledge wise?
Solo PVP playstyles, frigate PVP. I've done both within Fac-War, but I?ll be honest to admit it's still an area of EvE I struggle with. I also don't know enough about NPC Null to be able to speak confidently about it. It obviously has players that deserve representation who live there, but I?m not informed enough to feel I have any right to talk about, or impose an opinion on.
 
9. If you were offered unlimited development time - what's the biggest change you would lobby for in EVE?
Avatar development. I do genuinely believe there is a market for more vanity item options, including hats, clothes and the like. Hell, I'd even pay a small charge for the ability to enjoy getting out of the Captain's Quarters even if only to visit a space bar. I feel Walking in Stations could still be a great thing if allowed the time to be developed.
 
10. If you could wind back the clock - what feature or change would you remove from EVE?
This one is a really tough one. I think, on the whole, I'd scrap ESSs. I don't think they added too much to the game for the time spent on them. While I can see why CCP brought them out as a way to localise content and penalise docking up, it feels like it was a ham-fisted attempt that's really resulted in people either just emptying them out on a regular basis, or even not bothering to use them at all. This doesn't seem like engaging gameplay for either side of the hunter/hunted spectrum.
 
11. If you could pick one candidate to be elected with you who would they be and why?
There's a few I could definitely shout out to, but pushed to only choose one it'd be Jin'taan. He's a great FC with a solid knowledge of the game. For the most part, he's likely the best candidate for representing Providence as a bloc (far better then me), and I don't want to take that from him. He's great at putting his opinion across directly, but isn't going to rub people up the wrong way. I think he'd be an excellent candidate.
 
12. What is your favourite memory in EVE and why?
It?ll probably be a fight I had while I was in 13. Infact, it was our first major engagement, mostly with a fleet of wormhole virgins against a well established force Unseen Wolves. Despite perhaps losing the isk war and ditching field, I think it's an engagement that struck me the most about how you don't need the biggest blob to have fun and get content. Jay Joringer made a brilliant summary of the events here for your reading pleasure:
 
13. 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 active on Slack (@utarionzo), Skype and Email (utarionzo@gmail.com). You can also reach me ingame!
 
14. If people wanted to find out more about your platform - where is the best place to do so? (Include blogs, forums posts and podcasts)
The best place would be my CSM thread here.
I also have an active thread over on Backstage, a forum for lore enthusiasts and roleplayers, which I just so happen to be a mod for.
 
15. In short - what is your closing statement.
I hope to be a candidate that can stand for both major and minor playstyles. I'd like to put my broad experience to use on a wide range of issues, as well as be someone who can act as a proper bridge between the players and CCP. If elected, I?ll be putting a big emphasis on round table discussions, open chats on TS or ingame, as well as being available to any player with ideas or concerns.