My name is Zatara Rought and I am here to declare my candidacy for CPM1.


IGÇÖve been playing since January last year. I was introduced to Dust by a friend after talking to him about a front page Reddit post about the battle of Asakai. When I started playing Dust I quickly fell in love with the complexity and the ideas behind it, something which has kept me here ever since.

Presently, I run a mercenary corporation called Fatal Absolution. As flawed as PC is, I enjoy it GÇô the idea of having competitive and meaningful battles is something that really appeals to me.


I believe IGÇÖm qualified for the position because I have extensive experience of Dust. IGÇÖve not been here since closed beta, but IGÇÖve been here a long time GÇô over 15 months now. During that time IGÇÖve spent a large amount of time on Dust (about 60k kills on my main, and more on my alts), and I feel that I have an informed perspective on much of Dust.

I believe that I can apply a logical playerGÇÖs view to the problems facing Dust in the future and that I can effectively communicate that to CCP. As an active participant in a number of Dust discussions (not always on the forums!) such as Hans JaegerblitzenGÇÖs Dust Scussion chat on Skype and a few episodes of GimbleBGÇÖs podcast Boots on the Ground such as this, I like to think that I can be an intelligent part of the discussion. If you want to know more, IGÇÖd encourage you to listen to this a podcast GÇô hearing me talk about Dust is probably better than reading this!


I want to help improve the game. Dust is something IGÇÖm really very passionate about. I spend a lot of time on it GÇô playing it, talking on the forums, talking with friends IGÇÖve made from this game.

ItGÇÖs something that pains me when I see a part of it in a bad way GÇô something that IGÇÖd very much like to do my part to address. This can range from the load times for my large contacts list [insert video soonTM documenting what i mean], to my mailbox being really annoying to navigate (i would prefer we could just scroll down and have it automatically open the mail below it instead of needing to close a mail, scroll down and open the next one, doing this 20-30x a day is a pain >.<), to neutral installations being destroyed as WP farms at the beginning of matches, to PC mechanics and beyond.



What drew me to dust wasnGÇÖt the polished mechanics of an AAA shooter. What drew me to dust was the scope of the universe and the depth of the fitting and SP system. What kept me around was the social interaction, hope of affecting something, and really, dreaming.

In Eve Online the thrill and consequences of choosing how to engage New Eden is truly immersive.

The most immersion I've felt in dust has been playing Planetary Conquest, and I'm rather disappointed about how far removed I feel even then. I want to scour and pool creativity to find a way to make dust more immersive in the same way GÇô I want Dust to actually feel like it matters.

ItGÇÖs a broad goal. ItGÇÖs not something thatGÇÖs going to be achieved easily or quickly but achieving a measure of success in this area would do wonders for making dust more appealing not by conformity, but through fleshing out our flavor. That which makes dust unique.

I want to feel like what I do matters. I want to feel myself exist in New Eden, and I want that for you as well. However, I recognise that weGÇÖve got a long way to go on this and certainly some more thought needs to go into the basic mechanics of the bigger picture. This isnGÇÖt a simple topic and I donGÇÖt think thereGÇÖs anything I can say here in particular to persuade you that I have good ideas on this, so I think the best way here is for you to ask me! Ask me about these things, IGÇÖd love to answer.

I donGÇÖt think thereGÇÖs much point in detailing all the suggestions I have about current mechanics as fanfest is just around the corner and I imagine there will be a few treats that will change the conversation topic as weGÇÖre moving forward nevertheless I am yours to question.

Unfortunately we donGÇÖt know the dates of when these elections are going to happen but IGÇÖd like to
I want to make you all aware of my intent to run and expose myself as much as possible.


You can contact me through my Dust mail, twitter @ZataraRought, Skype (Zatara.Rought), or any other method that's convenient for you (just let me know).

Thank you for your consideration and your support.

you just want to be CPM just so you can abuse the knowledge for your corp and alliance. My vote is No.

you just want to be CPM just so you can abuse the knowledge for your corp and alliance. My vote is No.

What makes you think this is true?

Your public image..... but that's something entirely removed from fact or fiction. I look forward to seeing what kind of candidate you turn out to be.

What makes you think this is true?

Seriously though, the way you posted it seems like you have an unrealistic expectation for what it is like to be on CPM. You're going to be less of someone that shapes the game and more of an advocate for good ideas and a filter for bad one.

On that level I do think you'd do a good job of that, but if you think you could accomplish what's in your "sandbox" section, you're certainly mistaken on what the CMP position would be.

No panty dropper songs? How could the people follow such a man who doesn't appreciate the sexy voices of black guys?

Zatara,

Glad to see that you've put your hat in the ring for CPM. More candidates that are viable is always the preferable situation and you certainly bring a well known background that will no doubt generate some good discussion and hopefully highlight the pros and cons of your candidacy.

One of your biggest strengths and perhaps biggest drawbacks to your CPM run might very well be well known reputation and in-game history. What do you personally see as your biggest individual strengths you can bring to the CPM and what are the traits that might cause the most friction or problems? What would the differences be in Zatara the player vs Zatara the CPM that might surprise folks?


Additionally, here are a few questions for you (same as I pose to all candidates):

1) Other than the forums how do you intend to collect and communicate requests, needs, POV of the community? In particular, those outside your corp / alliance.

2) What level of interaction would you like to establish between the CPM and CSM?

3) What are the top 3 short term (next 2mo's) changes you would encourage CCP to make? I'm looking for concrete examples that are realistic to achieve.

4) What are the top 3 mid term (next 6mo's) changes you would encourage CCP to make?

5) In Spring of 2015, when CPM1's term is up, what would you want people to have said about your tenure as a CPM member?

6) Will you be creating a channel for folks to meet and sqd with you during the period before the election?

Thank you for your time.

Thank you Jaysyn. This is finals week for me so I am quite busy, but I promise to craft a response as soon as i'm able.

I have nothing against you personally, but the actions of you and your corp make me doubt you can put the needs of the community before yourself.

What actions, specifically, are you referring to?

Just excuse that post. It's completely unfair and biased to judge someone based on the intense political metasphere going on in PC. It's easy to try to snipe him over it when the rest of the candidates will never get fielded for a PC match or lead/make a decent team.

If anything, him being involved at all is +100 over the rest of the fail candidates.

Very true, I wouldn't be mad if Zatara was a CPM, I just have doubts.

Zatara has proven the dedication and focus to build a competitive corp with players that were overlooked for one reason or another and made everyone that played FA regret it.

You can disagree with his political decisions, but barring yourself (or others if you're in a position to do so) from constructively critiquing what he brings to the table is dumb.

Kiarbanor,

....

Stop judging people based on their alliance and start judging them based on who they are.

I have nothing against Zatara or Spero. I've talked to both of them briefly, and they aren't horrible people. However, you never answered my question. How is Zatara going to represent the community when he's made the decisions he's made?

You don't have to give me a history lesson; I've been part of numerous conversations where Zatara spoke. You know, "top secret" stuff. I know what Zatara was trying to do. I heard his intentions over chat. However, his actions--believe or not--speak volumes. He and Spero both speak and support adjustments to PC; yet, their actions contradict that by being in the biggest blue donut Dust has ever seen. Not just that, but being part of a blue donut that wants to wipe the entire player base from the map. To me, that is stopping the majority from enjoying a game mode. How can you even begin to argue that?

The only people that argue and defend what DNS has done to the game are those in DNS. Everyone else sees it for what it is. This isn't the War Room, though; so, we don't need to get in those arguments.

All I'm asking is how the player base can trust Zatara to represent them. From being on comms and listening to him speak, then watching his actions as he disregarded loyalty for the almighty ISK, I'm struggling to see how he can even be considered a legit option.

I'm having a hard time distinguishing decisions made by the player compared to future decisions of a person in direct conversations with CCP.