Why I'm Not Excited About Voting For CSM 17

Today is the last full day for EVE Online players to vote for the latest edition of the Council of Stellar Management. Voting ends at downtime (1100 UTC) on Tuesday. CCP has set up a voting page where players can vote for up to 10 candidates.

I spent years covering CSM elections. But after the election of CSM 14 in 2019 I realized that with the introduction of the single transferrable vote system, the big null sec alliances were basically guaranteed 7-8 spots, with low sec, wormhole, and high sec candidates fighting over the last 2-3 seats.

The year 2019 is also noted for an important event in the history of EVE: Blackout. One of the main purposes of the CSM is to serve as a sounding board to keep CCP from doing dumb things. Needless to say, the system somehow failed.

2019 was CCP's worst year over the last 10 years

I believe 2022 is a year in which nothing the CSM can say or due will prevent the developers from making major moves I will absolutely hate. We already know CCP plans to sell internet spaceships directly from the cash shop. 

MADE BY PLAYERS FOR PLAYERS

A new program will soon be introduced allowing you to manufacture or purchase items, making them available for other players to purchase. Players who participate will be rewarded with heraldry, which unlocks many cosmetic items that help you establish your individual and alliance identity in New Eden. This is all aimed to lean into EVE’s player-driven economy and provide more avenues to participate in the economy, and be rewarded.

The above is the plan CCP Swift told players about when CCP removed the Prospector's Pack from the cash shop. Can the CSM do anything about the plan? I don't think so.

In the upcoming year, CCP will do many things. The big issue for me is monetization. When CCP announced they were doubling down on selling ships in the cash shop, that signaled to me the developers will do whatever they think will bring in the most money. Nothing the CSM can say will have an effect.