Why They Hate the Code, Part 1

Over the last four years, the love of the Code has spread all throughout highsec and beyond. The Code, like the One who wrote it, is a sort of litmus test: The best and brightest tend to react to the Code with joy; those with flawed hearts tend to react with anger and disbelief. Yet we know that even EVE players with bad instincts can be reformed--as many a former enemy can attest. As with racism and other social ills, hatred of the Code can be corrected through education and exposure.

Despite all the progress we've seen, there remain many who hate the Code. I invite the reader to reflect on this question: What sort of person hates the Code? Adjectives no doubt leap to the mind--stupid, ignorant, evil. What are the enemy's motives for hating the Code? Again, the easy answers--he was ganked in the past, he's bump-hurt, he's a bot-aspirant.

We see our enemies and their hatred in many places. In local chat, in EVEmails, on the official EVE forums (to the extent anyone still posts there), on Twitter and Facebook, in the comment section of various websites. And we find it on Reddit, where the more absurd the expression of hatred, the more the rascals upvote it!

Obviously no one has any good reason to hate or oppose the Code. At least, not "good" in the sense of being valid. The Code tells us so. Yet there are very many bad reasons for hating the Code, and there is a surprising variety to our enemies. Not all have been ganked, and not all are even carebears; there are some EVE players dedicated entirely to nullsec PvP who nevertheless harbor a deep hatred of the Code.

In a series of posts beginning today, I am going to explore the various kinds of enemies we face. We will study them, begin to learn something of their essential character, and gain a greater understanding of why they hate the Code.

That's right, it's going to be one of those kinds of posts.



MY



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INCOMING

Ah, right on schedule. Well done.

Why Understand Our Enemies?

The Code has proven that our enemies are wrong to oppose us and our Code. They don't have an argument. They don't even have any ideas! This leads us to the question of why we should bother examining their motives at all. The New Order is comprised of reasonable men and women who never do anything without a good reason, so let's think about it.

First there are the practical reasons. Understanding what makes our enemies tick (and get ticked off) makes it easier for us to educate them, to win their hearts and minds. It enables us to build relationships with them and reach out to them when they're ready to put aside their childish resistance to the Code. And, of course, because so many of our enemies live within highsec, the more we know of them, the better we can rule them.

Then there is the nature of the Code itself to consider. We accumulate knowledge--and build wisdom--for its own sake. The Code represents the enlightenment of highsec, so it's only natural that we would examine and analyze these enemies--these creatures--who dwell in highsec and beyond.

Finally, and perhaps most of all, we understand our enemies to better pity them. All of our Agents know what I'm talking about. We don't merely pity our enemies; we are elite pitiers.

So let us delve into the troubled minds of those who hate the Code. Let us do it without any reservations. Enthusiastically, even! And once we have drunk deep of the darkness of their character, we will have the Code to embrace, its light washing away the bitter aftertaste. Sounds like a reasonable plan, no?

Caution

Before we begin our review of the monsters, a few words of caution.

There may be a temptation to rank the severity of our enemies' offenses and defects of character, like a Dante's Inferno beginning from the core of bots and bot-aspirants and winding its way outward toward those who are less culpable and more receptive to the Code.

However, with the powerful exception of the Red Pen list, our judgment on the carebears is binary. One complies with the Code, or one does not. Our ultimate goal is ultimate Code-compliance, not a mere amelioration of the evils of carebearism. We see this in the New Order battle cries: "comply or die", "no permit, no ship", etc.

Instead, let us think of the catalog of enemies as something more like a visit to the zoo. It's a fine video game tradition.

Finally, let us not be too rigid in our classifications. There will often be, for example, some overlap between different types, and carebears who could be described by more than one. For our enemies are basically people, and people do not always fall neatly into pre-made categories. Though you might be surprised by how often they do.

We're ready to begin. But rather than taking an unsatisfyingly small first bite, we'll pause here for the moment. Next time we'll jump right in. For there are many enemies of the Code to cover. Though they don't know what they're doing, we have a plan for each of them.

To be continued...