As the days go by, more and more players are throwing their hat in the ring to compete for one of the ten CSM seats available this year. Much like any candidacy period of years past, the field is littered with players predominantly hailing from null sec where the organization in place is suited to push their representatives into one of those seats. It would not be surprising at all if most or all of the seats are occupied by null sec players.

In my previous article, I noted that high sec candidates cannot compete against this because organization at that level is very uncommon, and simply not part of normal game play in high sec. I still believe this to be true. However, my years in the game have blinded me to the fact that the CSM is simply not part of normal game play. It transcends it.

Having reconciled this idea, I was further motivated by non high sec players urging high sec candidates to organize in order to have a better chance of having a seat at the table, especially due to the voting system in place. I must admit that I opposed the idea in the beginning due to feelings of futility; a popular vote to choose CSM members mostly served those who already had a large support group to draw votes from.

Luckily, some of the high sec candidates started to warm up to the idea of cooperation. It wasn’t long until we started brainstorming better ways to reach the masses, engage our respective social circles, and be vigilant about opportunities for positive exposure. That rejuvenated my spirit and now I am more dedicated than ever to give an honest effort in ensuring that this year’s CSM sees at least one capable and knowledgeable high sec candidate.

It has been argued that the CSM often does not represent all of the possible game play styles that Eve offers. More precisely, it does not offer an accurate representation of where players exist in the game. Establishing a high sec ticket will help ensure that fair representation based on geography, perception, and focus in the game. This is an opportunity to make sure that the more populous regions of high sec have a voice. During discussions, we want to make sure that there is someone that can intelligently speak in behalf of the new players, miners, mission runners, incursion runners, traders, industrialists, and war deccers.

Ultimately, this serves not just high sec players. A well rounded CSM will be able to offer better feedback to CCP. It will be easier to identify flaws in proposed changes. Also, a more balanced CSM is a vital tool for CCP to measure and elaborate on player sentiment, and other abstract factors that can influence the road map. Especially with a bare development road map, we want to make sure that our CSM panel is equipped to tackle what may lay ahead.

Our high sec candidates are energetic and will be very active in keeping a dialogue with the public by way of  the official forums, podcasts, CSM interviews, various player channels, and articles.  As CSM, a proper candidate must be willing and able to engage the greater public in topics that could affect the game, player sentiment, and being a filter that can properly field concerns to CCP.

The high sec candidates who have formed a candidacy ticket are:

Roedyn - Focused on ensuring communication between the players, CSM, and CCP. An experienced trader, manufacturer, and war deccer.

Commander Aze - Interested in Industry, Mining Arrays, NPE, Wars / Crime Watch, and restarting the little things campaign.

Toxic Yaken - Interested in improving on the NPE, Wars, Ganking, and building greater opportunities for communication between the CSM and the community.

Toxic Yaken was interviewed by Ashterothi regarding his candidacy run here.

I hope I was able to shed some light on the purpose of a high sec ticket this year. I will continue to report updates, media appearances, and other noteworthy activities surrounding our candidacy.