Why High-Sec Ganking Is Bad

For many of you, the content of today's blog post probably goes without saying.  But I know some people, especially the gankers out there, would benefit from being reminded as to why High-Sec ganking is bad.

Yes, it's just a game.  It's only pixels.  Or is it?  CCP has done something with Eve that very few other games do.  When someone blows up your ship, your ship doesn't respawn, and you can't just go run to your wreck and put all of your modules back on (maybe a few of them if someone else didn't loot it first).  Each loss is a real loss.  The killboards have gone so far as to attach real currency values to every loss.  Real time is lost.  Real effort is lost.  It is this kind of battle for resources that makes real conflict in the real world really serious.  It spawns hate, endless war, and causes real suffering.  And CCP has brought a piece of this undesirable realness to Eve by making losses so real.

To keep a game fun and civil in light of such mechanics, neutral zones are needed.  Places where people can be free to do commerce without unexpected conflict.  Then when it's time to get the battle on, that's when you head to the PvP battle areas to fight with others. 

In Eve, Low-Sec and Null space are the PvP battle areas.  High-Sec space is the neutral zone.  CCP has provided war declarations as a way to bring additional conflict even into the High-Sec space, but in those cases the conflict is expected. 

The criminals of CODE. seek to breach this friendly construct and make it so there is no safe place for players, in a world where every loss is real.  They wish to steal real people's real time and effort for their own often twisted amusement while allowing no refuge for the weary.  It brings their activities frighteningly close to the blurry line between real and fake crime. 

These are the reasons why some care bears become so livid at what should be just a game.  This is why some within the Anti-Gank (AG) community and the High-Sec Militia believe they are not only playing the role of the good guys, but actually, to some real extent, are real life good guys battling against legitimate real life bad guys. 

These AG and HSM community members want conflict within the game to be structured and fun, as a game should be.  Those within CODE., whether they realize it or not, are attempting to bring real pain and hardship, the terrors of real world conflict into the game, finding their entertainment in the sometimes real suffering of others.  

It is just a game.  But even in a game, and perhaps especially in a game, it is important to harbor goodwill towards others and preserve and protect an environment of fun for everyone, and not just oneself.