Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Bob Dylan, The times are a changin'
There has been a significant amount of nerd rage expressed in the various forums, blogs and tweets over the TOS clarification that CCP has released. Impersonation of a Character or the Representative of a character has been a long standing way to "scam" in EVE Online. It may or may not have been always "against the rules" depending on how you look at it, or who you listen to. It definitely is a new definition of what was and not "always has been". The magnitude of unhappy is interesting given that asides from the clarification of the definition nothing much has changed. You will still be able to scam or mis-represent, you will just have to be more creative about it. I have never had a problem with it myself and have used it to my advantage with the old "Cyno alt of XXXX" infiltration. This may be more difficult now.
What is really does bring to light is the fact that CCP is making it more difficult to practice certain nefarious activities.
Does this change the GAME?
Contract scams still happen, even though "free form contracts" were out of the game some time ago.
Miners still get ganked, Hellcity is not as active as in the past and there is no direct gain for Goons to sponsor Hulkageddon. Make no mistake, any content the Goons create is geared towards benefit for Goonswarm, as it should be. Hulkageddon just needs a good promoter/organizer to happen again.
The "Suddenly Ninja" way of life was drastically changed, some of the more clever of them have moved on to create content just as funny and just as shady. At least those that appreciate a challenge have. Overall Crimewatch was a good thing, it opened up more possibilities and changed the dynamics of lowsec PVP for the better.
The dueling mechanic was much maligned, you can see examples of it being creatively used all over new eden everyday. "I thought you would stop at hull" or "How did you pod me? That isn't supposed to happen!" or variations of are just two of my favorite lines coming from that mechanic.
You can list endless examples of "dumbing down", you can also rationalise them any way you want. Fact of the matter is; if you are upset that CCP has removed "easymode" from being nefarious or practicing your favorite nub-torture technique then you are no better than the miners, mission runners, incursion bears that most people claim to dislike. "Easy Mode" is a good thing for Bears, it is not a good thing for someone who wants to be able to beat their chest over how cool they are.
Accept the challenge, step up your game, change is a good thing, polish is a good thing. At the end of the day a "Niche MMO" with a higher retention rate and a better public image is better. There will be more wide-eyed wonder and larger pools of tears to draw that sweet nectar we so dearly love.
Or, just take the easy way out. Because it effected your playstyle so much, right?
Well said.
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