CrazyKinux's Musings: community

Showing posts with label community. Show all posts

Friday, January 03, 2025

Reigniting the flame: reviving the blog, one post at a time

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you might recall my countless attempts to revive it over the past decade (here, here, here, here and most recently here). There were a few bursts of enthusiasm, but never the consistency I was hoping for. So if you’re still here reading this—thank you! Life has a knack for tossing us in unexpected directions, whether it’s work, family, new games, or that latest sci-fi obsession. Somewhere in that cosmic mix, the blog ended up on the back burner.

But here I am again, feeling that familiar urge to write, to geek out, and to reconnect with all of you. I’m brushing off the space dust and bringing CrazyKinux’s Musings back to life. With the 20-year milestone coming up in about a month and a half, I’m more motivated than ever—two decades of rambling, community-building (the first decade if I’m being honest), and shared passion is definitely worth celebrating!

Rekindling an old love. Or how I've been sucked back into blogging!

Header by Juan Pablo Roldan - "Arca" via ArtStation

2019. A new year. A fresh beginning.

Having recently resubscribed to Eve Online, I find myself wanting to get back to my old habits of blogging and being more active with the community of gamers and Eve bloggers with whom I've shared so much in the past.

And so, I've decided to get back to a much more active blogging schedule. Before I do that though, I need to clean-up the blog, removing some old tags I used at the start of my blogging days back in 2005-2006. In addition to that, there's still a ton of old links that use .com instead of my new domain CrazyKinux.ca.

That's still ongoing and will likely take me a few more weeks to finish up. In the meantime I still want to post regularly with updates on my new adventures in New Eden, share some of the cool artwork that I come across (as in the above), share short movies and trailers of what I'm looking forward to in the near future. All in all, just getting back to my pre-july-2011 days.

I'll try to push out one most post later today with ideas for my weekly blogging schedule.

Stay tuned!

Friday, July 22, 2011

The EVE Blog Pack & Banters are looking for a new home. Are you up for it?

Earlier this week I tweeted that I was looking for someone to take over the maintenance of both the EVE Blog Pack and the EVE Blog Banters. At this point in time I'm looking to enjoy the game more then to promote the EVE Blogging Community. Something I've not been much of these passed few months, despite trying!

Indeed, over the last 3 years the Community has become a healthy vibrant landscape of EVE Online blogs and Twitter personalities, far beyond what I could have ever imagined. And now it's time to hand over these two very special initiatives to someone (or group) who will give the care and nurturing needed. That might sound very "paternal", but when you've poured your heart and soul into something, it almost feels as is they're alive.

But let me reassure you, I'm no leaving the EVE community, au contraire! Being less involved in maintaining the Banters and Pack will free me to focus on playing the game, and even dare I say blog about it. There are of course other circumstances that have forced me to come to this decision. I've recently accepted a position within the gaming industry, and to prevent any conflict of interest with my new employer, I'd rather have someone else take over the role of caretaker for the Banters and Pack. At this point, I can't say more about this new opportunity, but you'll get to learn more in a few weeks. And no, it's not CCP! :p

So, who's up for it? Who's got the passion, the time and the guts to take this role? I don't yet know how we'll make the transition, but we'll figure something out!

Please use the comments below to put forth your candidacy and offers. Let's have a healthy, friendly discussion!

Friday, April 29, 2011

EVE Blog Banter #26: Beyond nebulas and shiny ships

Welcome to the twenty-sixth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic was proposed by @KatiaSae of the much praised "To Boldly Go" blog. Katia asks: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As an astrophotographer, I've found it in the stars and planets of New Eden. Where have you found it? Perhaps you've found beauty in the ships we fly? Maybe it's the sight of profits being added to your bottom line? Or maybe it's the pilot portraits you see in the comm channels? Where ever you've found it, write about it and post an image." Don't be afraid go beyond the simple visual aspects of EVE as well. Is the EVE Community in itself a thing of beauty? What makes EVE the game, the world, the Community, so appealing to you?

EVE looks stunning. It always has, and if the last decade hints to what we can expect in the future, it most likely will continue. Ask a friend, one who's never played an MMO to take a look at a few of your screenshots, and the likely reaction that you're likely to hear is "That's a game?". Followed by "That's the game you play?". Ever since I laid eyes on the universe created by CCP, I knew that this was something different. Way different then anything I had seen before. And this still holds true today.

I still remember being blown away by the trailer that was done to showcase the new Trinity II graphic engine, when all the ships got a visual upgrade. That video still gives me goose bumps.

And yet, the real beauty of EVE to me is beyond the visual aspects of this unique MMO. What really stands out when it comes to EVE is its Community and how supportive we are to one another. Though the universe created by CCP is one of the most hardcore MMO out there, the individuals that are part of it, those that make the Community what it is, the bloggers, podcasters, members of the Tweetfeet, have shown again and again to be one of the best asset of the game. It's the Secret Weapon by which EVE invades the minds of those new to this universe.

The Beauty of EVE lies within its Community.

List of Participants:

Monday, February 28, 2011

EVE Blog Banter #25: And by Alliance you mean.....?

Welcome to the twenty-fifth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's topic comes to us from @Tetraetc - "Tetra's EVE Blog" - who asks: "Have Alliances and the sovereignty system limited the amount of PVP and RP potential in Null sec? Imagine a Null Sec where anyone could build outposts, wherever. Would the reduction of the Alliance game mechanic, and the removal of the sovereignty game mechanics (and the modifcation of it from Alliance level to Corp level for that matter) force more PVP into Null sec, or would giant power blocs like the NC still form themselves?"

This is one of those rare occasions where it's hard for me to state my opinion. The reason is simple: I just don't think I know enough to grasp the various issues at hand when it comes to Alliances, sovereignty and how all this ties into 0.0 space. I do understand the basics, but to actually suggest that the current alliance game mechanics have a positive or detrimental effect on PvP or RP, and be able to defend my arguments is beyond such understanding. As such, I'll have a lot of reading to do, though I feel confident that I'll be in the know once I go through everyone's Banter! So, without further ado, here they are!

Participants:

Monday, February 14, 2011

The ever expanding EVE Blogosphere! - Part 12

Over the last few weeks the list of new blogs to add the the EVE Player Blogroll has steadily risen. And now it's time to roll up my sleeves and add all of them! Here's the list to be added:

To Boldly Go <-- URL updated

Tag: [NEW BLOGS]

Friday, February 11, 2011

Friday Video: Artificial Intellegence Neighbour [Lost Enterprise]

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Help me save "Fiddler's Edge" and add a great blog to the Blog Pack

Earlier this week I cleaned up the EVE Blog Pack, removing outdated blogs and adding a fresh new set of prolific EVE Online bloggers. In doing so, I turned down a few bloggers who had made the request to get added to the Pack. Last evening I set myself to the task of cleaning up my Unread emails that were related to this blog. Some of these dated back to last November.

You see, despite the fact that I may not be as productive in writing about my experience in EVE as I was in the past, I still get a ton of emails, which all warrant my attention. And sometimes, some of these request slip through the cracks. Just as great blogs can sometimes get overlooked. Fiddler's Edge is one of those.

Without realizing the terrible mistake I was about to make, I simply declined his request, once again, to join the Pack. And now, Mord seems to have decided to move on.

I've just spent the last hour, going through emails and evemails, from folks asking me to add Fiddler's Edge to the Pack. Mord even wrote about it and got a ton of comments to encourage him to continue and to disregard my blatant mistake. And indeed it was a mistake not to included him.

But hopefully it's a mistake that can be corrected. This is where you come in.

I need you to head over to his blog and add to the comments, and request that he reconsider and continue to do what he's been doing all these months; writing a great blog, for the benefit of his readers and the EVE Blogging community.

And Mord, if you're reading this, I hope you'll forgive this ol'time EVE Blogger, and provide us the privilege to be part of the EVE Blog Pack!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

EVE Blog Banter #24: Be, all that you can be, and so much more!

Welcome to the twenty-fourth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month's Banter topic comes to us from the ever helpful Eelis Kiy, capsuleer behind the "Where the frack is my ship" blog. She asks: How does your real life personality compare to who you are as a character in EVE? Does a good leader of people in the real world make a good leader of pilots in game? Or vice-versa? Do your real-life skills help you with the roles you fulfill in your corporation or alliance? Or do you behave completely differently? Does the anonymity of the Internet allow you to thrive on the tears of others in New Eden whilst you work as a good Samaritan away from your keyboard? Or are you as mean outside of your pod as you are inside it? Have experiences in EVE Online affected your behavior, skills or attitudes outside of the game?

In a world such as EVE Online, with endless possibilities, it's easy to see why the attraction of developing an alter ego would be there. Let's try to answer Eelis' questions!

How does your real life personality compare to who you are as a character in EVE?

I've got two characters in EVE, Treenara Mazouk my main, and CrazyKinux, an alt I created to prevent someone else from impersonating me in-game. In both cases though I'm pretty much myself whenever I log into New Eden. It didn't use to be like this in the past, but these days, a lot of my involvement in-game happens through the EVE Channel. I spend a lot of time chatting with a multiple of folks, some in channels, some in private convos. Either way, I'm pretty much the same out-of-game, than in-game. Makes you think though. Maybe creating a 3rd character, unknown to all, and completely different from me. Food for thought!

Does a good leader of people in the real world make a good leader of pilots in game? Or vice-versa?

I would not say that all great Corp or Alliance leaders are also great in the real world, but in today's global work environment, the skills one builds in-game, can certainly be applied if one works in an environment where your team members are spread out over multiple time-zones and geographies. There's a great research paper that was put out by the folks from @Seriosity on behalf of IBM on this very aspects of MMOs (see Virtual Worlds. Real Leaders). And though it's specifically takes a look at Word of Warcraft, it could be applied to other MMOs as well.

Do your real-life skills help you with the roles you fulfill in your corporation or alliance? Or do you behave completely differently?

My real life occupation deals with sales/marketing/communications, so in a way you could say that everything I do related to EVE Online, this blog, the blog community, Blog Pack and Blog Banter does in a way fulfill itself in part do to my real world job skills.

Does the anonymity of the Internet allow you to thrive on the tears of others in New Eden whilst you work as a good Samaritan away from your keyboard? Or are you as mean outside of your pod as you are inside it?

As I've stated above, I'm pretty much the same in-game or in-real-life. Though I'm curious to explore the darker sides of my personality in an online EVE alter-ego. Muhahahaha!!!

Have experiences in EVE Online affected your behavior, skills or attitudes outside of the game?

They've certainly grown my social network way beyond anything I would have imagined. As such, I'm much open to engage with other in or out of game, to create new friendships where none existed before. EVE has allowed me to develop a global (worldwide) network of friends which is integral to my enjoyment of the game and the community that we've built around it.

Long Live EVE Online. Long Live the EVE Blogging Community!

List of participants:

Thursday, November 11, 2010

EVE Blog Banter #22: The Belated Edition

We may already be in November - and the 10th at that! - but October's EVE Blog Banter was held back on October 26th and quite a few of you participated. Unfortunately I didn't not. Elements that were out of my control prevented me from participating this time, though not from lack of interest.

So here is the list of those who participated in this last Blog Banter, as well as the topic:

Welcome to the twenty-second installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week or so to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check for other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!

This month topic is brought to us by L'Dene Bean of Nitpickin's who asks: Why, and how did you pick your corporation? Is your loyalty solid or just until a better placed organization "recruits" you. The shorter version: Who holds your Unshakable Fealty and why?

List of participants:

Expect the email for the next - and 23rd - EVE Blog Banter to go out before the end of the week!

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Will we see each other at Fanfest VII (2011)?

With CCP Game's 7th iteration of the EVE Fanfest - thanks to Mandrill for the heads-up by the way - the most famous party at the top of the world moves from an early Fall schedule to early Spring. As most of you know, I had the opportunity to attend Fanfest V (Fall 2008) and had a blast! The experience is like no other in the world. This is the time where we capsuleers get to mingle, chat, interact and party with CCP Devs. This is also a time, where friends and foes get to finally meet face to face, share a few laughs, as well as a few drinks - ok, a LOT of drinks!

I look very much forward to this particular Fanfest, and hope to meeting with a great number of you who will also make the annual capsuleer migration to the land of Vikings and rotten shark! Since my last Fanfest over 2 years ago, the EVE Blog Community has grown quite considerably, and I've had the chance to virtually meet with quite a number of people whom I consider good friends today. During this Fanfest, I really hope that we'll get to meet with some of you and put a real face behind your avatar.

I think that @Mandrill's initiative to organize a tweet-up is a great idea, one that will surely be successful. Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there!

So will we get to meet?

Thursday, November 04, 2010

6 years, 800 posts, and almost a million pageviews later...

I'm still at it! So I may not post as often nor as much as I used to in the past, but I'm still here. I first started blogging over 5 and a half years ago - February 2005 - and the sporadic posts slowly became more regular, of greater length, and hopefully quality. Later the Blog Pack was born, as did the EVE Blog Banter - which reminds me that I still need to post October's Banter!

Over those last fifty-some months, this blog has seen a lot of activity. Here is some of those stats as of today:

801 posts
578,473 unique visitors
920,109 pageviews
1.6 pages/visit
Visitors 2005 - 2010

2005: 337
2006: 6,976
2007: 54,256
2008: 135,688
2009: 177,355
2010: 203,861 (as of November 4th)

And so, I write this post not to brag, but to thank you for being here, for reading this blog, for commenting, and for help this old blogger keep his edge. Even he seems to be losing it these days. I could not have done it without you guys!

Fly safe, and be proud of the Community we've build!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Video: The Dronelands [2 EVE Online VIDEOS]

Just as I expected when I did my Top Ten EVE video post earlier this week, I've received a number of links to some amazing EVE Online videos. Out of all those I was not aware of, the 2 that I found particularly of great quality (minus a few typos in the narrative) and visual F/X are below, for your pleasure and mine! Hopefully you'll enjoy them!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Top 10 EVE Online Videos of all time! [VIDEO]

I was recently made aware of a top ten video listing (Top 10 Animated Children’s Movies of All Time) which got me thinking about all those amazing videos that have been released over the last few years, both from CCP Games themselves, bu especially those made by the fans. That got me thinking, what would a Top Ten listing look like for EVE videos? The listing below are my picks, but they're but a brief sample of the amazing talent out there in the EVE Community!

What's your Top Ten?

#10 - Day of Darkness (Original)

#9 - No Other Destiny (CCP)

#8 - Permaband - HTFU (CCP) Couldn't help myself!

#7 - War Has Come to Eve

#6 - DUST 514 (CCP)

#5 - Tyrannis Trailer (CCP)

#4 - The Butterfly Effect (CCP)

#3 - Tortuga - Lacrimosa

#2 - Future Proof

#1 - Day Of Darkness II

Monday, October 18, 2010

New EVE Online podcast in the works! We're looking for co-hosts!

Some of you may know, if not most of you, that I was once the co-hosts of The Drone Bay, a podcast that saw 25 episodes published, and a 26th recorded but never released. My fellow co-hosts during those twenty-some episodes were none other than Crovan and Alsedrech, with Crovan as the main host of the show, working with Alsedrech providing invaluable knowledge on EVE's game mechanics, and I focusing on the ever growing EVE Blogging Community. The show had a tremendous success and was an integral part of my EVE experience for over a year.

When we relaunched the show in last April, with hopes of returning to a regular schedule shortly, the trio evolved in a quartet when the talented Maeve Trinity joined us 3 stooges! Unfortunately for our fans, for Maeve and for us, the relaunch failed to take place, and The Drone Bay never again saw a new episode after its 25th, the only one in which Maeve was a part of.

That couldn't be the end of it.

After month of thinking about it, pondering the pros and cons, I've decided to launch a new podcast, focused on our very dynamic EVE Online Blogging Community. The exact content of the show isn't finalized, but Maeve and I have agreed that we want our focus to be on what the EVE Community does best - with such topics as the unfortunate death of Capsuleer (I'm writing a post on that for later this week), the First Person Fanfest Project, the EVE Blog Banters, the Hulkagedeon and other interesting initiatives within our blogging community. Of course, we'll have tips and advice for noobs and veteran capsuleers as well, but we'll do so by leveraging the expertise of the blogging community, by having them as guests on our shows.

But we need your help!

As I've hinted last week, Maeve Trinity and I are looking for a 3rd (and who knows, maybe a 4th) co-host to come along and spill their EVE guts for the Community's pleasures and delights! So if you've ever wanted to have your EVE Online podcast and feel as though you've got what it takes, then we need to here from you.

What do you need to do? Very simple: send in a 2 to 5 minute audio clip of you, where you either tell us why you'd make a great co-host, share some of the advice you'd share in a regular episode, or anything you think will get you noticed and picked as a co-host! You can edit the clip as you see fit, or send it in non-edited. Maeve and I will listen to every clip you send in and pick a winner!

The details:

The Deadline: Submit your audio clip from now until October 29th, 2010 11:59:59 EST.
The Format: An .mp3 file of 2 to 5 minutes in length
Email your clip to CrazyKinux@gmail.com with "Podcast Co-Host Contest" as the subject
Additional information: your tweeting/blogging name, your timezone and availability to record shows

The winner(s) will be announced by November 5th 2010.

Good luck to all!

Monday, September 13, 2010

So, you want to be part of the next EVE Blog Banter?

The last few months I've been getting emails from a lot of you asking me how to get into the EVE Blog Banters. It's a very simple process which involves sending me (CrazyKinux@gmail.com) a short email asking to be added. Once I've added you to the list, I send you a quick email to confirm this.

Though you don't need to be on the mailing list to participate, being on it gives you a heads-up on the next Banter topic with the date that it goes live. This way our EVE Banters have the greatest impact and best chance to generate a good discussion amongst us.

Let me also add that you do not have to have an EVE Online Blog to be part of this. Though it's called the EVE Blog Banter, only your specific post has to be about that month's Banter topic, not your whole blog! So if you've got buddies that have blogs (not specifically about EVE Online) and play EVE, you can certainly tell them about the EVE Blog Banters so that they may participate!

I'll be emailing you all about September's Banter topic this week, so if you want a head start in writing your post, and have not been added to the list, then now's a good time to do so!

Fly safe!

Friday, September 03, 2010

Friday Video: Nashh Kadavr's Celebrity Death Match #20 - Arrhidaeus

I'm always amazed at the talent, entrepreneurship and dedication of members of the EVE Community.This gaming community is full of them, Chribba, Winterblink, Mynxee and the Nashh Kadavr! Nashh is the man behind the "Celebrity DeatMatch" an event where he goes one on one against other known figures in the EVE Blogging Community.

To this day, Nashh has face 22 opponents and survived to tell the tale! The video below shows him pitted against Arrhidaeus, the blogger behind the well written "Cogito Ergo Yarr" blog.

One of these days, when I have a few battles behind my PvP belt, I promise myself to give him a run for his money. I'll definitely try! :p

Well done Nashh, keep up the great work you do for the community!

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Making the Pack: 8 new blogs make it into the EVE Online Blog Pack

As I promised earlier this week, the Pack needed a little clean-up. In doing so I've removed myself from the Pack as well as two well know blogs Winterblink.com and Postings from the Edge (by EON's Editor Zapatero). My reasoning was quite simple, all 3 of these blogs are well known and I wanted to shine the spotlight on some new blogs.

Removing these blogs gave me a little more room to add fresh new blood to the Pack. So without further ado, here are the blogs that have been added to the EVE Blog Pack:

Now those keeping tabs will have noticed that this takes the total count of blogs in the Pack to 52. And why not! With the hundreds of blogs out there, why limit ourselves to just 20, or 40 or even 50 for that matter. I say the more, the merrier, as long as the quality and frequency is there. Speaking of which, I've noticed quite a few Pack members with outdated content. Unless they start posting soon, or inform me of a new URL, I might have a few more openings on the Pack in the not so distant future.

So, welcome to the members above. And Venom, since you're the only veteran to return, why don't you show the example to these newbie Pack Members and write a little something!

P.S.: And one last thing. Since I'm no longer in the Pack, I'll need at least one of the Pack Members to write a little something about this post. This is going to be interesting!

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Taking my leave...

In looking back at the last 2 years, I've decided to take my leave of the EVE Blog Pack. Not this blog, nor EVE Online of course! What? What did you think? :p

Indeed. It's time I applied the same rules I've forced other Pack Members to follow, to myself and my part in the Pack. As @casiella rightfully mentioned recently, this blog is no longer just about EVE Online. And though I'm not one to shy away from the traffic the Pack generates for its members, I'm no traffic junkie either. I write this blog because I like to share what I find interesting about EVE, about MMOG, gaming and geek related stuff. That's my nature.

When I created the Pack, I wanted it to be the elite in EVE Blogs. And I still do. This blog no longer needs to be promoted. It gets all the attention it needs, and then some! :D

Since I wrote about How to get into the Pack a while back, asking bloggers to submit their blogs, or blogs they'd see in the Pack, I've received a good number of great and interesting blogs.

Here's the list of potential new Pack members so far:

I'll be taking in new applicants over the week-end and will make my final decision Sunday evening. Expect an update on this by Monday morning! And don't worry if your blog is not on the list. I may, or may not, pull a few surprises up my sleeve!

So long EVE Blog Pack, you've been a lot of fun!

The ever expanding EVE Blogosphere! - Part 11

Another shot to the EVE Blogroll listing. Not as many as in previous updates, but that's understandable. Thanks to the help of two dedicated and very helpful readers, I'll soon be cleaning out the dead links in the list; removing blogs that no longer exist, or are simply dead.

And did you know we're Saturday today, not Sunday! Yeah I know, I went OMG another day off! Seems the brain gets confused if you take a Friday off! So enjoy the rest of the day, and your Sunday too! And welcome to these new EVE Bloggers!

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