As promised, I am releasing a list of CSM16 Candidates I officially endorse. Last year the field was so broad and the well-known candidates so numerous that I felt I had to put forth an A- and B-list of recommendations. Here are last year’s recommendations.
This year, I feel that the number of strong forerunners and incumbents has made this process a little easier, and I have been able to collapse this to a single list.
Disclaimer
Running for CSM, and being a CSM member, is not an easy job and every person who runs deserves recognition and your appreciation. At the very least, they are willing to speak up for what they believe in, and that’s worth something.
The following list is a collection of those candidates whom I believe have the best chances of being selected and whom possess the qualities and personalities to serve you well as your Council of Stellar Management for 2021/22.
This posting is in no way a detraction or an impugnment of the candidates not selected for this list.
The Single Transferable Vote
It is critically important that every person who votes completes their ballot, selecting 10 candidates for each submission.
This is because we use the single-transferable vote system, where each selection passes their votes forward to your next-most-favourite candidate in the event that they are unsuccessful. Here is a video explaining the process using animals.
If you fill out your entire ballot, you drastically improve the chances of the people you want to see elected.
Jurius' Ballot Recommendations*
*This list may be subject to change.
I am giving here the list of candidates I feel most deserve your votes, in this particular order, with their primary areas of interest, strenghts, and their in-game affiliations.
| Position | Candidate | Focus Areas | Strengths | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jurius Doctor | New Players, Recruitment, Corporations | Game Mechanics, Development, Teaching | Nullsechnaya Sholupen (-NSH-) |
| 2 | Brisc Rubal | Null Sec, Capital PVE, Null Sec | Valuable CSM, Hard Working, Well Connected | The Initiative (INIT.) |
| 3 | Mike Azariah | New Players, Missions, High Sec | Valuable CSM, Community, Retention | The Scope |
| 4 | Rixx Javix | Low Security, Faction Warfare, Creative | Tournaments, Publishing, Alliance Management | A Band Apart (-ABA-) |
| 5 | Phantomite | Game Mechanics, Low Sec, Faction Warfare | Valuable CSM, Strong Voice, Deep Game Knowledge | No Handlebars. (SWEG.) |
| 6 | Uriel Paradisi Anteovnuecci | Lore, Content, PVE | Creative, Development, RP | Arataka Research Consortium (-ARC-) |
| 7 | Maldavius | Pochven, Community, Development | Is a real-life Game Developer | Stribog Clade (TRIAL) |
| 8 | Arsia Elkin | Low Sec, Faction Warfare, Lore | Streaming, RP, and New Players | Electus Matari (-EM-) |
| 9 | Vily | FC, Null Sec, Balance | Incumbent CSM, Approachable | Test Alliance Please Ignore (TEST) |
| 10 | Merkelchen | Community, Null, Balance | Incumbent CSM, Well Connected | Goonswarm Federation (CONDI) |
Notes on the Above Candidates
I put myself at the top of this list - because of course I did. I want to win. I'm not going to hide that, and I feel like it should be obvious that I'll take any opportunity to get in front of the devs and represent you.Moving on…
Brisc Rubal is a friend and I tell you that if you could only have one person on this CSM who isn’t me I’d pick Brisc. Every year. He’s well-liked, intelligent, driven, funny, connected to the community, an engaging speaker, etc. Everything that makes him a talented and successful lobbyist and politician make him an excellent CSM member.
I like Phantomite, and while I don’t always see eye-to-eye with his assertions I respect the hell out of his opinions and his deep knoweldge of the game. He’s openly willing to ask questions that put CCP on their heels, on stage or in the forums. I’m certain he does the same in closed session. That’s hecka valuable.
Mike Azariah is my third pick, and honestly he should be in your top-three regardless of whomever else you’re planning to vote for. I can unabashedly say that Mike Azariah has done more for recruiting and retaining players to EVE Online than probably anyone else alive - with the possible exception of Morning Maniac, who founded EVE University in 2004. Mike is also an incumbent CSM, and has been a member of the CSM in the past.
Rixx Javix is a powerhouse of community content creation, runs a large Low-Sec alliance, and does a lot in the tournament and new player spaces. He’s talented enough that he has had his artwork listed for sale in the EVE store, in publications, and used by CCP directly. He’s a unique, if polarizing, voice and I think he deserves a shot at CSM.
Uriel Paradisi Anteovnuecci and Arsia Elkin are both very invested in lore and story as content drivers. With Hilmar stating last year that CCP is working on a modular system of mission delivery so that new missions can be coded by junior devs - rather than requiring a senior dev to hard-code them into the game - there’s a burgeoning potential that we will soon see an explosion of new story and content. These two will work well together to help advise CCP on the best paths forward, and the areas that badly need curation.
Uriel has created some of the coolest assets related to the Triglavians, and Arsia is an engaging and exciting streamer. With the departure of Torvald Uruz, we need someone who can step into the position of representing the streaming community in front of CCP. I think we also desperately need some female perspective in this quorum, and she’s by far the most qualified female candidate running.
Maldavius represents the Triglavian Clades and Pochven, a burgeoning and exciting new community and Region of space in New Eden. He is also, in real life, an active game developer. Maldavius has proven himself to be intelligent, well-considered, and articulate in his interviews, and he is unlikely to be scared-off after a single CSM term from “seeing how the sausage is made” because, for him, that’s just any other Tuesday. Maldavius also cares deeply about the health of the game, and the loose ends that CCP has a habit of forgetting to tie off.
Vily and Merkelchen make the bottom of my list - frankly - because they don’t need my help to win but I feel they are worthwhile CSM candidates and they’ve both proven to be approachable and reasonable members of the CSM. This is more than I can say of other candidates and members GSF and Test have fielded in previous years, and I like both of these gents.
Honorable Mention
Suitonia bears recognition for his prior years served as CSM, his knowledge of solo PVP and low-sec piracy, and his notoriety. He probably deserves to be on this list and if you need one person to consider as an alternate, I’d keep his name in your back pocket.