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[Morwen Lagann]

To me it looked like the name got dropped to add further validation to the point.
"Tovil-Toba would disprove of the current State and I should know."
Add into that that this alt's sole purpose seems to be posting on the IGS.


While I agree that names themselves are rather unimportant I'd like to add that once you start using them to further an agenda that is related to them they tend to matter a great deal.

This is definitely what it felt like to me - "I am not yet important, so here is a name to make me so."

This doesn't preclude the character becoming a standalone character in the future, of course, but it's a rocky start.

This. First impressions are important.

When the first words out of a character's mouth give off a vibe of "I'm a special snowflake, hear me roar♪♫" as strongly as yours did, it's not an impression (taint would be a better word, really) that goes away very quickly, or at all.

Given your history with a number of your past characters, you really ought to be more than aware of this, and should be taking extra care to avoid it.

[Silas Vitalia]

None of us are related to anyone PF famous, and trying to shoehorn that we are has always been met with skepticism and general ignoring, for many many years.

Every once and a while someone pops up with a famous last name, and they are generally ignored or looked at as crazy.  I don't see this changing.

There's a big world out there, and plenty of stories to tell that are removed from established PF characters. 

[Victoria Stecker]

What Esna and Morlag said. That's the main point.

For sanity's sake, if the community only accepts what can be 'proven' (which is damn little) then there is really no point to RPing.  If someone says something, and if one is not sure whether their meant to be lying or grandstanding or what have you, a quick ooc, "yo duder, your character really such and such, or you just messing around."  Get to the truth and run with it.  Else, we can all quit RPing and just write fiction.

This depends on the group you are RPing with. Some of the friends I've played with in EVE have made up some exceedingly fantastic backstories (mine included) which would have been (and were) ridiculed if (when) they'd ever been made public - which is part of why they never did. We kept to ourselves, we had our fun.

The more people that are going to be exposed to something, the more carefully crafted (or simply harmless) it's going to need to be to avoid a chorus of "Prove it!" The IGS is about as wide exposure as exists, and it's basically the last place you ever want to make any claim that isn't backed up by in-game action, particularly backstory stuff. I remember when Merdeneth (I think?) claimed to have set up orphanages in the Republic, and people came out of the woodwork to attack him (including some truly heinous examples of godmoding). Claiming to be the distant relative of someone famous is almost as certain a way to be mocked/questioned/discredited as actually claiming to be that person. Possibly worse, as claiming to be someone famous will get you accused of insanity, while claiming to be related with get you called a liar.

RP is built on people working from a shared understanding of the world. Yes, it would be nice if people were willing to accept background stories at face value - and many of them are. But there's a reason that the IGS is a cesspit of some of the worst RP you'll ever see. If I weren't such an RP addict, the IGS would have kept me away from EVE RP entirely. If you say anything on the IGS that is more detailed than "I am a capsuleer," someone is going to try to say that you're wrong.

[Alizabeth]

None of us are related to anyone PF famous, and trying to shoehorn that we are has always been met with skepticism and general ignoring, for many many years.

Every once and a while someone pops up with a famous last name, and they are generally ignored or looked at as crazy.  I don't see this changing.

There's a big world out there, and plenty of stories to tell that are removed from established PF characters.

The "it's a big world" argument cuts both ways.  It's just as likely as there are some people related to famous PF characters out there.  Probably closer than first cousins, 9th removed.  Generally speaking, no one really counts as family past second or third cousins.  (This might vary with the upper tiers of the Heir's houses.)  As for Seraphia, there are around 150k people that can make the same claim as her (maybe more, depending on Caldari birth rates).  It is a big world.

[Silas Vitalia]

None of us are related to anyone PF famous, and trying to shoehorn that we are has always been met with skepticism and general ignoring, for many many years.

Every once and a while someone pops up with a famous last name, and they are generally ignored or looked at as crazy.  I don't see this changing.

There's a big world out there, and plenty of stories to tell that are removed from established PF characters.

The "it's a big world" argument cuts both ways.  It's just as likely as there are some people related to famous PF characters out there.  Probably closer than first cousins, 9th removed.  Generally speaking, no one really counts as family past second or third cousins.  (This might vary with the upper tiers of the Heir's houses.)  As for Seraphia, there are around 150k people that can make the same claim as her (maybe more, depending on Caldari birth rates).  It is a big world.

I guess the more important question is what such a relationship gets anyone? Character or Story-wise, what does it add to anyone's story to be such a distant relative as to make it meaningless? It colors people's perceptions.

[Valdezi]

I have to agree with Isis - Seraphia's last name isn't going to buy her any favors at all (especially since she's gone Gurista), and the relation is distant enough that I don't see the big issue.

There's a good handful of lesser Kuvakeis running around out there, last I checked, including an old Aurora character. To the best of my knowledge, not a single one of them has made the slightest bit of impact, unwelcome or otherwise, on Sansha RP.

It's a little different. Kuvakei is quite a common surname in the state. There are a number of significant Kuvakeis in PF beyond Sansha - Vorada Kuvakei of the RISE incident is an example.

From my perspective, I don't think linking your character to a known name is intrinsically wrong. The character Illoren Kainta who I've RPed with a bit and hangs around OOC from time to time is ostensibly Vorada's child, but he/she doesn't use it as an RP crutch, which makes people less inclined to call them out on it.

As opposed to Tovil-Toba using her name as an appeal to authority, which is the crux of the issue as I see it.

[orange]

As opposed to Tovil-Toba using her name as an appeal to authority, which is the crux of the issue as I see it.

This.

[Alizabeth]

As opposed to Tovil-Toba using her name as an appeal to authority, which is the crux of the issue as I see it.

Pure propaganda and can be dismissed just as easily.  I would see your point if she had tried to join any StaPro corp.  But she went Guri, losing any bit of credibility her name might have given her.  I would also say it's fallacious to assume that simply because of a relation, any authority is passed.  Shoot, look at the Fonda family.  I still watch Henry Fonda's movies. 

I guess the more important question is what such a relationship gets anyone? Character or Story-wise, what does it add to anyone's story to be such a distant relative as to make it meaningless? It colors people's perceptions.

Imagine joining the Marine Corps with the last name of Puller.  Or the Army with the last name of Patton.  Or the British Navy with the last name of Nelson.  Bootcamp/OCS/Service academies are hard enough without everyone knowing who your great grand uncle or what not have you.  Shit cuts deep in the military.  I was once personally told by a Sergeant that my parents failed the world by not having me aborted (I know, plenty of you agree.  So do I.)  I would imagine it's a million times worse when your last name/relation gets thrown in your face.  And no matter how well one preformed, it would. 

[Saede Riordan]

I have to agree with Isis - Seraphia's last name isn't going to buy her any favors at all (especially since she's gone Gurista), and the relation is distant enough that I don't see the big issue.

There's a good handful of lesser Kuvakeis running around out there, last I checked, including an old Aurora character. To the best of my knowledge, not a single one of them has made the slightest bit of impact, unwelcome or otherwise, on Sansha RP.

It's a little different. Kuvakei is quite a common surname in the state. There are a number of significant Kuvakeis in PF beyond Sansha - Vorada Kuvakei of the RISE incident is an example.

From my perspective, I don't think linking your character to a known name is intrinsically wrong. The character Illoren Kainta who I've RPed with a bit and hangs around OOC from time to time is ostensibly Vorada's child, but he/she doesn't use it as an RP crutch, which makes people less inclined to call them out on it.

As opposed to Tovil-Toba using her name as an appeal to authority, which is the crux of the issue as I see it.

you guys remember Sanchez Kuvakei from during the pre-incursion live events?

[lallara zhuul]

In EVE the background that you create to your character is pretty much irrelevant.

The other roleplayers will react to you by how you conduct yourself and who you are affiliated with in the game.

Which pretty much means that a background serves only as a tool for the player to guide their own interaction, to think that the same tool would be something that would dictate the flavor of interaction of the other players (whom are completely unaware of your background) is a bit silly.

It might be a habit brought over from LARPing or PnP roleplaying where you actually have a RP authority that will rein in the extremes of dictating the actions of other players or of a small roleplaying group that won't mind altering the behaviour of their own characters because the players themselves have shared experiences together.

To me, RP in EVE is about shared experiences with other players, ostensible backgrounds are just things a player has created alone in their echo chamber that do not have any purpose because they are not something that has been created through sharing an experience with someone.

Writing a blog about it, or an evelopedia article does not count.

There is no time for that stuff if you meet a new person in a RP venue.