MinerBumping.com

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Why Miners Refuse to Pay, Part 1

While the best and brightest of highsec are quite eager to comply with the Code, many miners refuse to pay--at least, for awhile. The question of why a miner would refuse to purchase a 365-day mining permit for 10 million isk is one of the great conundrums of highsec. It's indisputable that paying for a permit is economically rational; it's simply too easy for bumpers to cost a miner more than 10 million isk in a year. Indeed, when it comes to AFK ice miners, a bumper can deprive his target of 10 million or more with barely any effort whatsoever.

I came across Ice Slicer some time ago. She was illegally mining in the Halaima ice field until I brought her criminal activity to a halt.

A lot of miners use the classic Miner Bingo line that goes, "even if it's economically rational to pay, I refuse to pay out of principle". This is preposterous, since highsec miners have no principles. They are quite willing to bot, AFK mine, evade wardecs, etc. while engaging in solo "gameplay" that they find too boring to hold their attention. They do this all for isk. Yet if they are motivated entirely by isk, why not do the economically rational thing?

Clearly, there's something more at work. Miners are motivated by isk, but they must also be motivated by something else--something that enables them to justify behaving in an economically irrational manner. I decided to find out what it is.

I sent Ice Slicer a convo request. It's rare that I'm the one sending the request, but I wanted to delve into her psyche. Perhaps if I could find out what makes her tick--or rather, what makes her not tick--I could fix her.

IS was concerned that if she paid for a mining permit, it would hurt her reputation. Even though she was admittedly an alt.

The conversation had only just begun, but we were making good progress. IS would think less of herself if she purchased a mining permit. Time for me to put on my "counselor" hat again.

Unlike all of the NPC and player entities to which IS routinely paid money, I was a "pretty minor entity". Quite a comment by a random ice miner speaking to the Father of the New Order, author of one of EVE's most popular blogs! These are the times when the Saviour of Highsec earns his paycheck. I was here to help the miner identify and repair her cognitive dysfunction, not defend my own ego. I remained focused and professional.

There was no doubt about it. Ice Slicer was a self-hating miner!

I tried to help her concentrate on achieving her goals. She was allowing her own irrational impulses to control her, to thwart her. That's not a sign of strength, but of weakness.

Once more, the miner felt paying my fee would degrade her... into a miner.

IS had serious hang-ups, no question. If I could get to the bottom of her issues, maybe there was hope for all non-paying miners. I'm confident their non-payment comes from a similar place.

Ice Slicer's honesty presented a rare opportunity. Most miners have difficulty articulating exactly why they feel so averse to paying even when consciously aware it's in their own best interest. IS believed paying me 10 million isk to avoid being bumped for 365 days would have serious out-of-game effects. What could she possibly mean by that?

To be continued...

Friday, November 2, 2012

Rebel Miner Banned by CCP

'Twas another tranquil day in Tolle. Suddenly, a rebel miner appeared!

Kun'Asuka objected to the way Agent M0N0 was enforcing the Code. Specifically, he didn't like the bumping part. Kun'Asuka questioned whether the New Order was even contributing to the community.

Well, that's pretty dark. It wasn't the first time an angry miner had made jokes about the real-life suicide of an Agent, but it was still in poor taste. Fortunately, our Agents are professionals. M0N0 courteously gave Kun'Asuka the chance to bring the conversation back on track:

Having been given a reality check, it was a simple matter for Kun'Asuka to politely walk back the comment and restore

...Ruh roh.

Kun'Asuka continued to spew profanity in local. But after a few minutes, he unceremoniously disappeared.

M0N0 had petitioned him! Ice miner and serial malcontent Myles O'Bryen, of all people, agreed that Kun'Asuka's behavior was inappropriate.

I asked M0N0 whether Kun'Asuka had indeed been banned in response to a petition, as opposed to simply logging off. M0N0 was able to confirm his petition's success. Roughly five minutes after filing the petition, Kun'Asuka vanished. Immediately after Kun'Asuka's departure, M0N0 received a response to his petition. In the response, the GM explained that CCP's privacy policy does not allow them to disclose the action taken against a third party--and that the petition was closed.

Time will tell how long the ban will last, though M0N0 estimates that it will probably be a 30-day ban, since that's how long an individual was banned after making a suicide joke at Fanfest. Kun'Asuka, if you're reading this, I hope you see this ban not as a punishment, but as an opportunity to reconsider your choices. If and when you return to the game, please pay 30 million isk and join the New Order. We're a very forgiving bunch, and we would love to have you become a miner-bumper as part of your rehabilitation.

I think we've all learned something important today. CCP and its GM staff continue to play a valuable role in promptly punishing those who violate the EULA. While the Agents of the New Order will never be banned for bumping non-compliant miners, the miners need to remember to behave themselves. The safest option, of course, is for a miner to comply with all the terms of both the EULA and the Code.

Saving Capt Lynch, Part 1

The saga of Capt Lynch is a great example of the lengths to which the New Order will go in order to understand and fix the world around us. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.) After I posted the second Part of the series, I was contacted by Capt Lynch, who was upset that one of our Agents, Willy Bryan, had challenged him to a duel. To me, this sounded like an excellent opportunity to encourage Capt to apologize to everyone.

An honorable duel request? That didn't sound like a threat to me. Was Capt craven?

It was high time Capt learned the value of personal responsibility.

At this point, the consensus is that Capt may have been can-flipped and killed, but his brother probably wasn't the one brought to tears about it.

Some miners think of me as a monster who's out to "get" them. Not at all. I frequently play the role of counselor and mediator, and I help them work out their issues.

Capt was adamant about one thing. He would not pay me any isk. No isk whatsoever.

Capt felt the series cast him in an unfavorable light. Maybe so, but that wasn't my fault. He couldn't point to anything specific.

Meanwhile, Willy Bryan was in contact with Kthk'dor Mhrynn, one of the leaders of Capt's corporation. The situation was escalating, so I needed to help Capt quickly.

Capt referred to his story about his brother crying as an "experiment", a test to see whether I would show sufficient compassion. With New Order spies all around, Capt didn't know who he could trust. He kept too many secrets, and the web of lies engulfed the poor mission-runner.

This kind of conditional apology with an "if..." clause is a pet peeve of mine, so I invited Capt to start over.

Capt insisted that he was being sincere, but understood his apology would stand to benefit from a rewrite.

Capt concluded his apology.

Unfortunately, he didn't go far enough. He was still holding back. And this was no time for half-measures.

I was disappointed in Capt, and I told him so.

Capt at least spared a few kind words for Heavy Met4l Queen, a recent addition to the Order.

I suggested Capt apologize to our Agents more directly.

I don't like to be kept waiting, and neither do my Agents. Capt understood.

It was time for Capt to step up to the plate and deliver the apology of his life. But was he up to the task, or would he only get himself into more trouble? Could Capt win over Willy Bryan, or would the diplomatic incident spiral out of control and result in Capt being kicked out of his corp?

To be continued...

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Twenty-Three Billion in Shares Sold

Today marks one of those rare occasions where a double Supreme Protector's Tip of the Hat™ is in order. We passed the 22 and 23 billion isk marks for shares sold today, thanks to the investment of a new shareholder. The isk came by way of Den Arius, but he asked that I designate the shares' ownership to his main, Prencleeve Grothsmore (try saying that five times fast!).

Therefore, today's two Supreme Protector's Tips of the Hat™ go to Prencleeve. But I also received some new artwork from the same contributor, so this update becomes a double feature!

Click here for the full-size version.
It's rare to get both the hero you need and deserve in one package, but somehow highsec got lucky.

Permanent links to all supporter artwork may be found on the Links page.

Model Miner Helps a Brother Out

It's the feel-good story of the week.

One night in Tolle, ice miner mack1 went on another rant, telling some story about EVE players getting charged by the U.S. military for "harassing a soldier". Same tears, different day.

Enter crab nicholson extreme, a hero miner. crab is famous in Tolle as the first miner in the system to pay his 10 million isk fee to the join the New Order. Now he was set to blaze another trail, by offering to purchase a mining permit on behalf of another miner.

mack1 continued his story, oblivious.

The Code permits anyone to purchase a mining permit on behalf of anyone else. crab took pity upon mack1, and just like that, mack1 was legal.

What a contrast: On the one hand, the dignity and grace of New Order hero miner crab, and on the other hand, mack1's unsavory everything. Like I've always said, if you want to convince people to join the New Order, just place a New Order member and a rebel side by side. The case makes itself.

But mack1 was less than impressed. Ingratitude from a rebel? Color me shocked.

If anything, mack1 only became more grouchy. Perhaps he's one of the rebels who thinks the bumpers will only go away if they stop getting paid.

The display of mercy and generosity was not sufficient to transform mack1. He continued to rail against the New Order. I've been told he forfeited his permit by committing foul crimes against the New Order, which is a shame. For some miners, there's only one cure: More bumping.

Top Supporters for October 2012

Each month, MinerBumping immortalizes its top isk contributors in a hall of fame post. The "Month's Top Supporters" sidebar is reset early in the following month, so this is an invaluable opportunity to honour those who give their isk to the cause. You can view the August 2012 and September 2012 top 10 lists at the appropriate links.

We're past 00:00 EVEtime on November 1st. As life's journey takes us to November, let's take a moment to remember our top 10 October isk contributors.

TOP SUPPORTERS
OCTOBER 2012