EVE University and RvB - Fun Times Always

It's been awhile. Since I've posted anything about EVE University. Since there's been some juicy EVE Uni-RvB drama.

This is what happens when you try to get two incompatible alliances together. One is all for freeform PvP with a very limited set of rules (which are often breached nonetheless.) The other prefers safe gameplay with a heavy overlay of rules and procedures that dictate their play.

The last time we met our heroes, the Uni was up-in-arms when PvP happened. Namely that RvB, in all their PvP enthusiasm, attacked the University POS. No one told RvB that the POS was off-limits. RvB assumed it was just another target of opportunity. The Uni screamed, hollered, stamped its feet and called off the "war."

Many months later, the University has forgiven RvB its transgressions, and they will be going to "war" again, this weekend. This time there will be a list of rules that each corporation has to follow. What not to do. Where not to go.

Before "war" happens, though, hilarity must ensue. Namely the University, once again, getting its panties in a knot when PvP happens.

The University has a large presence in the Hagilur lowsec pocket, out near Hek. Obstensibly for PvP learning purposes. They've been stationed there for a couple months now, so likely a lot of the University's carebear industrialists have moved in also, to reap the extra rewards that they can't quite get from highsec. So, it might explain the hollering that occurred when the following happened.

In a nutshell, a couple of RvB members wandered into the Hagilur pocket and killed a few Unistas. PvP in lowsec. The problem for the University, is that they mind-bogglingly set RvB to +5 status. What that meant is that the folks blowing up the Unistas didn't even appear on the Unista overviews. So, until they examined killmails, they didn't really have a clue who had killed them. The RvBers doing the blowing up had no idea that the Uni had them set to blue.

Why one sets a PvP corporation to blue status is a question for the scholars, especially a PvP corporation that doesn't set any outside corp to +5/+10. Perhaps the University diplomatic corp had some lower-rung RvB diplo agree in principle to mutual blue status. The University went ahead and did it, RvB never did. Mistakes were made, likely not on RvB's part, since they've never had a policy of setting outsiders blue.

Back to the fun. Once what was happening was made clear, hollering started on the Uni chat channel (the one for members and alumni, not the horrible public channel). Here are some of the better comments (names redacted for their own protection):

Unista 01 > why are we giving rvb the privalege of fighting us when they can't follow rules?

Unista 02 > Did we agree to an armistice with them before our war next weekend? Can a diplo confirm?

Unista 03 > Who wants to bet some ISKies taht they'll attack our pos again?
Unista 01 > i'll take that bet & raise you that they'll podkill during our war.
Unista 03 > ROFL!! No doubt!

Unista 04 > We should cancel the big war and teach them a lesson. If they can't obey there standings how are they going to obey any of the rules for the war next week?

Unista 05 > RvB has no honor. We learned that during the last war. Why are we all surprised?

It goes on and on. Apparently the overriding sentiment is that fighting the University is a privilege and that RvB should consider itself lucky.

Then some of the complaining eventually reaches their forums.

It takes an ex-Uni to finally speak some sense to the mounting anger: "To the best of my knowledge, RvB doesn't have any blues, since that would kind of defeat the point. They have like, extra-red, but that's about it. Now come on ... this idiocy is just embarassing the Uni. You're on a public forum section, ffs."

Other than the hilarity of what happened -- that RvB is always getting itself in hot-water with the University when they actually do PvP -- I found some of the director comments eye-opening. This one in particular: "... there are elements of every corporation that have their own methods and agendas. While it reflects poorly on the organization, it is (hopefully) an isloated few who are not adhering to the rules."

That there is the crux of the issue. When you're raised in an environment that is chock full of rules, you come to expect that the outside world should be rules-based as well. When the University says they love PvP, they love PvP within a well-defined framework, one in which the aggressing parties cannot stray. Even Kelduum Revaan has suggested a capture-the-flag system as a replacement to the war declaration system.

When Kelduum is running for CSM7, bear that in mind. When he says he loves PvP, remember two things: a) he doesn't actually participate in PvP, and b) he wants to bring World of Warcraft-style battlegrounds to EVE Online, as a replacement for the war system.