Yes, This is the Rule

When we think of trade hubs in EVE, we think of systems like Jita, which exist solely for the purpose of buying and selling goods, and for killing people who buy and sell goods. Did you know it's also possible to mine in some trade hub systems? Take Hek, for instance. Not only is it a major traffic center, it's also a 0.5 security system. Mining there is extremely dangerous. If you want to mine in Hek, you should bring a fully-tanked, licensed mining vessel and a full escort.

...Or you can bring an untanked Retriever. Whatever.

After highsec miner Sylvia Ross had her illegal mining operation shut down, she was contacted by Agent Tisiphone Dira. Clearly, Sylvia assumed she was the victim of a random gank. She was about to be educated.

Although Sylvia herself lacked the courage to mine in lowsec, she accused an accomplished PvP'er of being a "coward". In truth, Tisiphone was anything but a bully. She ganked Sylvia for the benefit of new players.

Suddenly, Sylvia attempted to extort Tisiphone for 30 million isk. If she didn't get the money, she would condemn Tisiphone and "the whole EVE". Classic carebear--it's all about the money and never about the experience.

For a moment, Sylvia stopped screaming and began to contemplate the enormity of what she'd just learned about the Code. If highsec had rules, maybe she would need to quit EVE forever. Sylvia had a problem with authority.

The convo was terminated. A bit less than an hour later, Sylvia shot an EVEmail to Agent Tisiphone. She'd been reading the Code. Her message lays forth the tragedy of the highsec miner: If she couldn't mine in highsec, there was no reason to play EVE. So much for the sandbox.

Then Sylvia escalated her petition all the way to the Saviour of Highsec. Naturally, being a carebear, she started off with a lie, claiming her ship had been destroyed for "no reason". Sylvia must have assumed I wouldn't get the full story from my Agent, because the convo shows that Tisiphone was very clear about her reasons for ganking Sylvia. Lying to the Saviour is not a good idea, folks.

Sylvia demanded a refund of 40 million isk and for the "stupid rule", i.e. the Code, to be changed. If I failed to meet her demands, she would quit the game. I now had to choose between the New Halaima Code of Conduct and Sylvia Ross.

When such an ultimatum is presented, the Code always wins.

Sylvia Ross is a highsec villain, but she's a tragic villain. She truly believes there's nothing more to EVE than mining in highsec. She doesn't believe in tank modules or weapons; her only defense is to spew profanity and threaten to quit the game. These days, it's widely held that for some reason it's really, really important for EVE to have as many players as possible. An interesting notion. If you ask me, one carebear like Sylvia Ross is more than enough.