It was recently announced that CSM 12 will only have 10 available seats as opposed to 14 during CSM 11. This makes sense from a business perspective. If CCP believes that they can get just as much value from 10 members versus 14, then that will result in less cost to fly members for summits. Having less members may also allow the group to work more efficiently as long as there is enough varied experts in the panel. Regardless of how we may feel about this change, it signals that CCP is looking to improve on the current model to suit their needs for a feedback mechanism. We are reminded that the CSM is primarily an instrument for CCP. The player base comes second.

Outside of the business perspective, the announcement was a blow to candidates who may not have a large enough in game contingent to get them elected. This of course is substantially worse for those who may not belong to such vast player groups. Non null sec candidates will be at an even greater disadvantage due to this change. Within this group of candidates, it is now even more crucial to be positively visible and ensure that voters could at the very least pick out your name and avatar in a line up.

A solution may be for such candidates to push for organization within their space or game play style. This makes sense for the purpose of gathering votes, but it feels disingenuous. Most notably, there is no in game reason for high sec players to organize in such a scale that would even come close to the multiple alliance coalitions of null sec. High sec is incredibly diverse. There are simply too many conflicting game styles within that space, each with their own sets of desires, goals, and methodology. Maybe this will be something for CCP to consider in the future, but I am not that confident.

Last week I was invited to the Open Comms Show to participate in a CSM Candidate Debate. I was joined by Commander Aze, Suitonia, Vic Jefferson, and Arenthor Doran. As always, it was a fun show. For the debate portion of the show, we were pitted against fellow candidates to discuss topics which included alpha clones, Rorquals, and the war declaration system. The fast pace of the debate highlighted our ability to think and react quickly, while still being able to offer intelligent points to either support or debunk.

During the show, Matterall talked about conducting CSM candidate interviews similar to those produced by Cap Stable. I thought it would be a great idea, especially with exposure being even more important now with less available seats. Dedicated interviews like that are vital in getting exposure and an opportunity for candidates to elaborate their thoughts, plans, in game knowledge, and how they can positively contribute to the CSM process. I will definitely be vigilant in seeking out opportunities to participate in such formats for my candidacy.

In support of gathering valuable feedback to the concerns of players, I was luckily invited by Jeronica, owner of Eve Mogul, to participate in a roundtable to discuss citadels and high sec war mechanics. The event is still being planned. Once completed, I look forward to discussing the findings and articulate the concerns related to this paradigm.

I will be submitting my official application to the CSM in the coming days and hope to continue to report my continued efforts during the candidacy period.