DOTLAN EveMaps

Honor in war brings glory.

Snow falls gently and brushes your face,
the chill takes your breath, your heart keeps its pace;
the cold winter air flows past in a breeze
as the snowflakes keep falling like white, frozen leaves.

Any game that involves more players than yourself is not just a game, it's also a relationship, whether it's a relationship defined as strangers, friends, enemies, neighbors, fellow players or coworkers. The assumption that this is solely a game relies heavily on the premise that the other members of the game are there for one's personal entertainment, because if there's no relationship involved they're no different than NPCs. But if they're not just NPCs, but are living, breathing human beings as well, then there must, of necessity, be a relationship of some form involved the instant they come in contact with each other, and that is why so many people appear to be taking their game so seriously.

Because they wish to create a positive relationship, even if they're slaughtering each other.

This is seen most often in those who claim "this is just a game", ironically, as they will often be the first to condemn threats they believe are directed at them in real life or are destructive to the game as a whole in nature. If this was just a game, however, and involved nothing else, there'd be no need to concern oneself over the statements and activities involved in it, nor would there be an issue with what others do to each other in the game. After all, it's just a game.

However, it is inherently obvious that there is more to it than that, that there's a very real interaction going on, and that is why the condemnation of behaviors and occasionally words still occurs. The issue arises, not in whether or not this game is "Just a game", which it isn't, but whether or not the relationships within it are healthy and are being properly governed, regulated and separated, by boundaries both organizational and physical.

The draw to this game is that, unlike almost every other MMO out right now, the responsibility, and thereby authority, to regulate, govern and separate the players is held almost entirely by the players themselves, and not detached, disinterested individuals in offices at the game company's headquarters. While the complaint about scammers is often held up as something for CCP to regulate, they have chosen to leave the freedom to take advantage of others in the hands of the players themselves, for it is in that freedom of self-regulation, self-governance, even if it means a detrimental relationship being established between the scammer and his victims, that the true value of those who provide healthy, positive relationships, and by extension the game itself, is found.