Am I anti-pirate?
I think that going about defining “piracy” isn’t in anyone’s best interest; the term is used all over EVE to mean many very different things. What you really want to define is “who you should shoot”.
When you play a single-player game, this is pretty easy. Bits and pixels can’t feel the consequences of your actions; they’re not sentient. When you play a multi-player game, the bits and pixels are the virtual property of a human being who very well can feel consequences. The very fact that we play multi-player game in a persistent, single-shard universe means that we comprise a society. A vast portion of the capsuleers in the EVE universe seem to be sociopathic.
I like to shoot sociopaths.
But you can’t just set about shooting everyone you think might be a sociopath. If you did so, somebody else who likes to kill sociopaths might determine that you are a sociopath. The problem lies in determining who is a sociopath and who is not.
As you might expect, this is not straight forward. I generally hold that the best way to decide who should be shot can be determined with this simple statement: anyone who has shown aggression against me, my friends, or against people who have not yet shown aggression towards us; that is, anybody who has fired the first shot against someone who has not.
Clearly there are capsuleers in EVE who would fire the first shot but have not yet done so — at least not where you have seen them. These capsuleers are not really valid targets until they have fired; even dissecting kill board postings can’t be considered conclusive evidence. To assume that these pilots are valid targets would make me no better than the every-day sociopath.
The biggest fly in the ointment is that EVE is a game; in fact it’s generally considered to be primarily a player-versus-player game. It’s a haven for sociopathic behavior; and a place where nothing is wrong with sociopathic behavior.
You can do whatever you want and care little for how it affects others because in all likelihood you will never meet them; or, you will only meet those who you choose to form bonds with. And deep down you will know that you have done nothing to truly harm a sentient being unless you go out of your way in an attempt to cause emotional distress (which is an entirely different subject).
A policy of shooting only confirmed sociopaths and politically determined targets boils down to a policy generally termed NRDS (not red, don’t shoot). This policy is generally considered abhorrent by the EVE populace — or at least the vocal members of the populace; but I find these rules of engagement enticingly fulfilling.
Whether a strictly applied NRDS policy is a higher road is neither here nor there and, in the end, most likely not worth debating. But, as one of my fellow capsuleers has indicated, it is the more difficult road. For some this will be fulfilling; for others it won’t.
I am in the NRDS camp. I am decidedly anti-sociopath with a sprinkling of political targets for added flavor and enjoyment.
