CSM Candidate Summaries: Part 4

This batch of candidates is pretty clearly split, with the huge presence of the veteran nullsec masterminds Endie and Mannie balanced against three candidates who are ... well ... not so experienced and illustrious.

Top Notch Candidates

Bam Stroker: (Null/PL, Social Groups/NPSI, NPE)
With a focus on the social group concept there is going to be an immediate comparison to Jayne Fillon as a successor to Mangala Solaris.  Bam expands this topic more widely than Jayne, including the out of game social gatherings as part of his target constituency.  Personality wise Bam sounds more level-headed than Jayne, so there is an argument to be made there to be a more persuasive and bridge-building CSM (see also the list of endorsements he's gathered on his forum thread as an example).  Bam clearly has organizational skills given his Eve Down Under work.  He also has established connections with CCP through that gathering that he can leverage as CSM.  So if you are only going to put one Social/NPSI candidate on your ballot, it looks to me like Bam is the choice. (Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Interesting Candidates, worthy of consideration

Endie von Sideous - seriously, there is a lot in common between these two, so let's start with that.  Both of them will be elected to CSM based on their respective block votes, and that's largely why they are in this second tier in my mind when it comes to what the average player should vote for.  Both of them are highly placed officers of major coalitions with huge amounts of experience in nullsec campaigns.  Both will be incredibly valuable contributors to the nullsec sovereignty re-work that is widely expected to happen in 2015.  So with that said, let's move on to specifics about them.

Endie von Posts (aka Endie): (Null/CFC)

Official CFC candidate for CSM.  Endie is a good example of a candidate who is pre-eminently qualified.  He gets across that he has a lot of knowledge about his slice of the game, but doesn't go to any efforts to sell the player population in general on his candidacy.  The big thing that stood our for me in Endie's interview was his discussion about the pains of having to travel across an entire region to find fights, about how he wants to see an Eve where you're more shoulder-to-shoulder with enemies.  Let me tell you Endie, there is such a place and it's called FW lowsec.  Come join us!  Seriously though, for all the times I hear nullsec people saying that FW has nothing to offer and how they reject FW mechanics for sov outright, it sounds like the things Endie wants to see in null is what we already have in FW... just saying. (Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Manfred Sideous: (Null/PL)

Unofficial official PL candidate. Like Endie, Mannie has a huge amount of quiet confidence in his slice of the game and no real apparent need to sell the general player population.  I think he did a good job of explaining why what PL would want for the game and for null sec compares to what needs to be done.  I have a huge amount of respect for his suggestion that he would be glad to see nullsec reduced to ruins, with the confidence that PL could rebuild on a new system and a new nullsec as fast or faster than anyone else. (Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Not worth your time, move along capsuleer

Suzy RC Mudstone (NPE, Null/Goon)
The suggestion to make the start of Eve a theme-park style storyline isn't going to go over well, I'm guessing, though with the new resurgence of lore support from CCP perhaps the idea of leading a new player into the Eve universe isn't a bad idea.  I'm not sure if CCP is ready to make that level of investment though.  Suzy fits a theme we're seeing of "hey I'm a new player, therefore I'm an expert in the new player experience and should be elected to CSM."  I'll cover that more in a meta-post later, but I'm not a fan of this as a legitimate strength of a candidate.  Once you take that away from Suzy, you don't have much left.
(Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Dave Korhal: (Null/HERO, NPE)

So we have another "I'm a new player, let me tell CCP about NPE as your CSM." He's got some out of the box ideas, sure, but it sounds like they largely come from not knowing the game, the culture, and the history of where these suggestions have gone in the past.  I could see this being fine for a focus group that CCP might pull together, but not for CSM. There's really just not a lot more to say here. (Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Khador Vess: (NPE, RVB/NPSI)
I admit that after listening to his interview I didn't remember enough to write this up without going back and listening again.  On the other hand, that tells you a lot.  So he's a very active RVB guy with a lot of enthusiasm, but he barely even trying to be the Mangala Solaris replacement.  If NPSI is your thing then you're better off looking to Jayne Fillon.  If NPE is your thing then there is a plethora of better candidates.  He's not stronger than any one candidate in specifics, nor better in aggregate as a generalist.  So he's just not there.  (Forum Thread)(Podcast)

Doudou LaChatte: (NPE)
So if I'd thought that other candidates were green new candidates, they are all veterans compared to this guy.  He is barely old enough as an account to even have a vote.  To jump in at this point try to tell everyone how the game should be done is either naive, ignorant, or arrogant - pick any three.  I don't think he expects to get elected from his forum thread - maybe we'll see a different level if he stick around and try again next year.  (Forum Thread)(Podcast)