Nov
14

Rixx Javix Killed The Eve Blog Pack

25 Comments

Yep, he sure did. Right here.

This is what happens when you succumb to Anti-Goon Disease. I was gonna write a post about this EVE phenomenon, but have decided against it, because, well, :effort:.

Here’s the tl;dr of it all, though.

I made a post two days ago asking for community input on three things: the value of keeping around institutions like the Eve Blog Pack; if we should keep it, how might we go about opening it to the community at large in terms of the judging aspects, as that is the most challenging part of maintaining the Pack (and the Eebees); and I wanted to start a discussion on what exact format that crowd-sourced Blog Pack/Eebees initiative may take.

Literally nowhere did I say I was closing down the Eve Blog Pack, Evebloggers.com, or even The Eebees. Rixx, however, seems to think I did. In fact, he thinks he has done a good job by derailing the discussion into an Anti-Goons discussion. He genuinely appears to believe that the community is now better for his ability to shut down a topic of some interest and concern, substitute a rather dumb one in its place, and unilaterally declaring the death of the Pack.

I used to consider Rixx a good friend of mine, at least in terms of Eve. We flew against each other in Lisbaetanne. I joined my pirate corporation to his alliance, Burn Away. We even ended up in Tuskers at more or less the same time when he decided to close down that alliance. Now, though, he seems to think that The Mittani is my puppet master. Others, like Mord Fiddle, seem to agree. I find this disappointing and, to be frank, pretty fucking disgusting behavior from people whom I used to respect.

I have maintained a very clear line between my efforts as an Editor at TheMittani.com and my efforts for the community (which, by the way, came way before TMC ever existed). I believe that both entities can not only co-exist, but can in fact thrive together by serving distinct purposes. Others just want to focus on their obsession with a figure in Eve politics, and the organization that he currently leads, to the detriment of actual substantive debate about how to move forward in these changing times.

This is probably the part of the post where I have words of a certain sort for those individuals – but really, I don’t have anything to say to them other than ‘I’m sorry for you.’ I unironically feel bad for these people who can’t see past their grievances with The Mittani and the Goons in general and work for a better community.

Now, with that out of the way, here’s what’s happening with the community stuff (based on what actual useful feedback I got):

I now have on my to-do list a complete revamp of the EveBloggers.com website. As part of this revamp, I will be including a system by which the top 30 blogs in Eve are voted on (in an organic way) by the community at large, to form a new, more natural and less arbitrary ‘Eve Blog Pack’. I will also be renewing the Eebees in a similar fashion, though I haven’t quite worked out the specifics of that. If you have input on how to go about creating these systems, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me via Twitter or Skype (marcscaurus is the name).

In the meantime! I will be continuing the Eve Blog Pack and Evebloggers.com in their current formats. Expect updates shortly. The Eebees I am shelving until after the revamp, whereupon they will be bigger and better than ever. Perhaps with a little social media savvy, Evebloggers.com can become the portal that its creator, Black Claw, and I myself have longed for it to be.


Posted in eebees eve blog pack general/other crap
25 Comments Posted by Marc

  • Harrigan Vonstudly

    I think allowing the community to vote on the top 30 and the Eebees is an excellent idea. Sort of a live by the sword die by the sword idea. Meaning, if the community at large doesn’t give two shits and doesn’t participate then that is for the community dies by the community.

    If I knew how to create a website I would help design an entire interactive, easy to navigate, super death star site where people can vote on their favorite blogs and/or posts for the day/week/month…

    Good luck Marc. And you and Rixx really should kiss and make up. :)

    • http://huginn.co/ Marc

      That’s exactly the goal of the redesign – taking the judgment out of any one person’s hands and putting it into the hands of the community at large. Now, I just have to figure out how to do that…heh.

      As for Rixx, I doubt he’d want to kiss me. I talk to Mittens on a daily basis with this mouth!

  • Morphisat

    Revamp of the eve bloggers site sounds good :). Although I do like the main list where you can easily see what’s new.

    Oh I don’t think one person can just kill the eve blog pack. It’s as dead as you want it to be :).

    • http://huginn.co/ Marc

      I will definitely be sure to retain the ‘all blogs listing’ aspect of Evebloggers! I’ve sketched out a few ideas for the layout of this site already, which I will be sharing as I go further with this development effort.

  • http://twitter.com/EVE_Rhavas Rhavas

    TLDR: 1) If you want to do it by votes, make subcategories. 2) Reward consistency (both in quality and frequency).

    I think straight popular voting might not be the best idea. Here’s why: Big Nullsec Blocs. No, that’s not intended as a jab at you, Marc (or The Mittani for that matter), but if we have a pure popular vote on blogs, they will all be about the nullsec sov wars. That’s not the EVE Blog Pack, it’s the Sov Null Blog Pack.

    What I like about the current format is a few things. 1) It is moderated relative to membership. This means that LOL of the day is not #4 of 20, instead it’s a link from recurring regular blogs. 2) It has requirements relative to frequency of posting. I freely admit this is why I have never applied for, much less gotten, Blog Pack status. 3) The moderators to date – CK, Rixx and yourself – have done an admirable job of representing multiple facets of EVE, from null to piracy to industry to wormholes to faction war. I think it is critically important to keep this diverse representation of voices for the good of the community and the game.

    In short, if the new blog pack is pure majority rule, it will be the Sov Null pack, and might as well just move to Reddit or Something Awful.

    PS Thanks for your ongoing management of this. I started blogging because of the Blog Pack (back in CK’s day), and started my EVE RSS feed from it, slowly branching out to other sources that are now daily reading.

    • http://huginn.co/ Marc

      While I understand the concern, I honestly think it is a tad bit unfounded. Nullsec writers mainly appear either on TMC or EN24 at this point. I did a survey of the Blog Pack’s ‘categorical makeup’ awhile back and found that there was exactly no sov nullsec representation.

      Keeping in mind that the Pack should be all inclusive, I went in search of sov nullsec blogs. There are damned few and far between. In reality, GSF, HBC and other null entities honestly give no fucks about blogging in general.

      A lot of these other issues you bring up (which are all valid concerns that I share) I think will succumb to self-policing. Consistency is a great example – a blog may rocket into the top 30, but when it goes dark it will stop accruing upvotes and will slowly fade out of the top 30.

      • http://twitter.com/EVE_Rhavas Rhavas

        I would instead argue that TMC and EN24 are in fact blogs – just highly organized and multi-authored ones. I also would assume that these two blogs would be #1 and #2 in perpetuity or until they failscade (as with so many things sov null, it’s all about the size and organization). What I’m saying is maybe they should be #1 and #2 on an “overall traffic” list and on a “sov null” list, but not necessarily on a faction war or industry list.
        Viewed from the outside as a new player or a player looking to change playstyles, the diversity of the Blog Pack, including EN24 and TMC, has inherent value.

        • http://huginn.co/ Marc

          Since TMC and EN24 treat themselves as ‘media sites’ as opposed to blogs (in the style of, say, Massively, Joystiq or Kotaku in terms of format), it has always been my policy to exclude them from the Pack itself. In the revamped Evebloggers.com, these two sites (for differing reasons) will not be listed.

          I’m thinking of having bloggers who submit their blog to the ‘master list’ also self-identify what categories they would like to appear in, to address this particular issue.

          • http://twitter.com/EVE_Rhavas Rhavas

            I think that’s a great way to handle it, and I like your tagging idea so long as you can standardize the tag list so it doesn’t get insane. I also think it’s OK to put a little of the burden of submission for recognition on the blogger, which is another argument for that approach.

        • Harrigan Vonstudly

          I personally think EN24 is shit and headed by a shit bag

      • Harrigan Vonstudly

        I wonder how much the cause of not giving a shit about blogging by null sec peeps has to do with the fact that a person can’t say “boo” without it becoming “wrong, a troll, horseshit, propaganda” -everything and anything under the sun by the very people who give no fucks about writing about that aspect of the game.

        You have to admit. While there is a majority of brilliant people who are null sec inhabitants there’s an equal if not more number of idiot troll shitpoasters from null

  • http://twitter.com/RixxJavix Rixx Javix

    I didn’t kill nothin’. I also managed to write several posts without mentioning you by name in a negative way, out of respect. Something you seem unable to return. I even told you directly that this had nothing to do with you personally. And I still believe that. Well I did, until I read this post, now I’m not so sure.

    This doesn’t have anything to do with you personally. But… having said that you do hold several keys to the community at large. Don’t hold those keys if you can’t take some criticism for the way you are using them. I got some of the most hateful, hurtful emails back when I was running EBP and I never once called anyone out because of it.

    Personally I don’t want those keys in the hands of TM and I won’t stop believing that would be an extremely bad idea for the community. And I will keep beating that drum as long as it takes. You might be able to see the difference between the “professional” and the “amateur” but not everyone agrees out here in the real world. I think you’d also agree if you just took a step back for a moment and saw this the way the rest of us see it.

    • http://twitter.com/RixxJavix Rixx Javix

      PS: Plus you know you were all “giving up” and “I don’t have time” whiney bitch yesterday, and now look at you. All ready and willing again. Hmmm.

      • http://huginn.co/ Marc

        You’re a nutter.

        • Ed

          Why we go with your both nutters and be done with it? :D

  • http://twitter.com/Freebooted Seismic Stan

    I’m loving the idea of an EVE-Bloggers revamp, I look forward to seeing the results. Apologies if I got hold of the wrong end of the stick with the time and resources thing. I’m very happy to hear that you’re planning to stay at the helm and thank you for your efforts, give yourself an Eebie or summat. ;)

  • Mord Fiddle

    Marc, Marc, Marc.

    When are you gonna stop shilling for the bad guys and come join the revolution? ;-)

    • Powersv2

      You’re a nutter.

  • Azual

    Now I’m confused, who am I supposed to go chasing with my torch and pitchfork?

    • http://huginn.co/ Marc

      Ignorance

      (whoa, that was deep)

  • Druur Monakh

    Random thought: a list on evebloggers.com listing the known blogs in the order of entries over the last month. Some curation would be needed to weed out spam blogs, and I know that quantity is not quality, but it would be something.

    I miss NNTP.

  • Druur Monakh

    Random thought: a list on evebloggers.com listing the known blogs in the order of entries over the last month. Some curation would be needed to weed out spam blogs, and I know that quantity is not quality, but it would be something.

    I miss NNTP.

  • Chanina

    Hopefully you can sort the blogs in categories somehow. Haven’t looked into that stuff but it would be nice if I could choose between eve-fiction or game mechanic stuff. Depending on my mood I prefer one or the other. Politics is sure a important topic but it doesn’t interest everyone.

  • http://twitter.com/RocWieler Roc Wieler

    This is why I keep the spotlight on myself. Only one person to worry about then. You’ve both done a lot for the EVE community, particularly around the Blog Pack and other initiatives. Thanks for that.

    It’s not easy serving a community. We’re all a demanding bunch of whiners. You’ll never please everyone. It’s almost like real life that way.

    I’m glad the Blog Pack will remain intact as an entity. I welcome the opportunity to be a part of it. I guess we’ll see.

  • Gorbag

    Why not list them all, self-categorized by subject matter, listed in order of popularity (measured by how often people use the link)? It would be mostly automated, relevance would sort itself out via vote-by-use, and you wouldn’t have to pick and choose. Front page could show top 3 in each category with a link to the full list. Applications would be simple – here’s my blog, category x please (verified with a quick read so you know it’s not porn/ISK seller/etc). Ne?