A new player undocks for the first time, mining in highsec. No tank, no idea, no warning.
They get ganked.
Then they get an email.
Then they get an invite to a private channel.
Then the real fun begins. Mocked. Gaslit. Told they “deserved it.”
Sometimes they’re baited into rage just so someone can screenshot it and post it for laughs.
Defenders of this behavior will say:
“It’s the sandbox.”
“They should’ve known better.”
“It’s their fault for not fitting a tank.”
“It’s just one person.”
But that one person is a human being. Maybe they just downloaded the game, or maybe they actually believed EVE was something different.
So here’s the real question:
If this happened to just one new player, just one, would it be worth allowing?
If your answer is yes, then let’s stop pretending this is about gameplay. This is about gatekeeping and humiliation dressed up as “emergent content.”
CCP’s EULA says:
“You may not harass, threaten, or cause distress and/or unwanted attention to other users.” (EULA Section 6B)
If ganking a newbro is legal, fine.
But luring them into a chat just to mock them?
That’s not gameplay. That’s griefing.
Even if it happens to just one person, that’s one player lost. Maybe forever. And if EVE really is bleeding new players the way the retention numbers suggest, we can’t afford to keep writing this off as content.
This one is easy. First, if the gank happens in a starter system, then the attacker is facing consequences. If it happens outside a starter system, then the player is not a new player anymore.
The other stuff is twofold as it is complicated.
The EULA states in section 2.:
“CCP may terminate the EULA, close all your Accounts, and cancel all rights granted to you under the EULA if: […] (iv) CCP becomes aware of game play, chat or player activity under your Account that is, in CCP’s discretion, inappropriate, offensive, or in violation of the Rules of Conduct.”
while in section 2.(D) it reads:
“You acknowledge that other players may transmit communications or content, or access to content, that you may consider inappropriate or objectionable. CCP does not, as a matter of policy, prescreen the communications or content transmitted by each player and is in no way responsible for the communications and content transmitted by players of the Game.”
So all is fine. The players may report it to CCP for a decision. And then the case is closed. Nothing to discuss here.
Also how can you open new threads? Aren’t you supposed to reside in Doomheim by now?
Part of how they have deliberately set up the game… Their EULA is total BS in this regard… It’s all about fostering experienced players preying upon new and solo players to force them into corps… The problem is that it’s at the expense of player retention because alot of them just quit the game instead because of the futility and toxicity of it…
Maybe contacting support and telling this to them would be reasonable, maybe the CSM too. Revising the rules every once in a while when something warrants it is a reasonable request. When at it also worth telling them about ChatGPT and AI art spam as well, those are also worth looking into when adding new rules.
Isn’t it adorable how the self-proclaimed champions of “HTFU” are the first to run for the report button the moment someone challenges their narrative? Brave warriors of New Eden… unless words are involved.
Why do you even think you need this topic discussed? What outcome do you hope to get out of it and why don’t you think it is CCPs job to think about those topics?
