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[Seriphyn]

To start this off, I think the biggest thing that is a problem is that there are plenty of Gallentean roleplayers...except they all roleplay as another faction. Either as a Gallentean that is (apparently) a happily accepted State citizen, a Gallentean that converted to Amarr, or a Gallentean that "stepped down" and joined the Republic. If you ask me, that doesn't seem characteristic of Gallenteans at all; there are non-ethnic Amarrians who fight for the Empire, yes, but the tend to be Ni-Kunni, Khanid, Matari etc., and the State is marketed as xenophobic and the Gallenteans being their "hated enemies"...but I think that is another discussion altogether, and possibly sparked by my personal resentment over the fact you have more Gallenteans roleplaying a different faction instead of roleplaying their own.

EL-G attempted to provide, to which it worked to varying degrees, "militaristic" Gallentean RP. The tangible RP is all there; kicking out the State out of Gallentean systems and keeping them out so their can keep their corporate slavery blahblah to themselves. CCP provided an escalation to the war, a reason for the Gallenteans to fight, the same way that the Amarrians are fighting for the Reclaiming and the Matari are fighting against slavery. The Gallenteans are now fighting against corporations that will exploit their systems for material gain.

Why is it, then, in the face of this tangible RP goal, that the Gallente still are neglible in size? With the release of the Black Eagles chron, I was thinking of styling EL-G as a Black Eagles auxiliary. Lots of tasty lore that make the Gallentean secret police seem quite badass. Protecting Freedom by any means necessary. This has been discussed before really, but I am curious; the lore is there to be able to RP a Gallentean loyalist to the same degree as the other factions...so why don't people?

(also the Federation aren't Cosmic Catholics or tribes-in-space hurhur lolol kidding)

[Syylara/Yaansu]

To start this off, I think the biggest thing that is a problem is that there are plenty of Gallentean roleplayers...except they all roleplay as another faction. Either as a Gallentean that is (apparently) a happily accepted State citizen, a Gallentean that converted to Amarr, or a Gallentean that "stepped down" and joined the Republic. If you ask me, that doesn't seem characteristic of Gallenteans at all; there are non-ethnic Amarrians who fight for the Empire, yes, but the tend to be Ni-Kunni, Khanid, Matari etc., and the State is marketed as xenophobic and the Gallenteans being their "hated enemies"...but I think that is another discussion altogether, and possibly sparked by my personal resentment over the fact you have more Gallenteans roleplaying a different faction instead of roleplaying their own.

EL-G attempted to provide, to which it worked to varying degrees, "militaristic" Gallentean RP. The tangible RP is all there; kicking out the State out of Gallentean systems and keeping them out so their can keep their corporate slavery blahblah to themselves. CCP provided an escalation to the war, a reason for the Gallenteans to fight, the same way that the Amarrians are fighting for the Reclaiming and the Matari are fighting against slavery. The Gallenteans are now fighting against corporations that will exploit their systems for material gain.

Why is it, then, in the face of this tangible RP goal, that the Gallente still are neglible in size? With the release of the Black Eagles chron, I was thinking of styling EL-G as a Black Eagles auxiliary. Lots of tasty lore that make the Gallentean secret police seem quite badass. Protecting Freedom by any means necessary. This has been discussed before really, but I am curious; the lore is there to be able to RP a Gallentean loyalist to the same degree as the other factions...so why don't people?

(also the Federation aren't Cosmic Catholics or tribes-in-space hurhur lolol kidding)

I originally selected an Intaki ethnicity when I made Syyl'ara, fitting most of my natural outlook as a first roll.  This was before the recent strife that has taken place within the Federation, and I had no plans for any dischord in her relationship with the government.  Deeper understanding of Caldari-Gallente history and especially recent events lead me to this basic conclusion: from a narrative perspective most other factions offer a way for players to join their faction's antagonism while the primary route for doing so with the Federation is to direct it against the faction.

Its easy for people to roleplay an imperialist zealot (or cautious liberal reformer), it fits right?
Its easy for people to roleplay oppressed tribalists enacting retribution and spreading emancipation (or working quietly to bring their people into a more modern life), it fits right?
Its easy for people to roleplay bottom-line minded corporate meritocracies with meticulously streamlined logistics backbones and smart division structure (that looks super on a flowchart...I mean or the loyal provist soldier)

When it comes to the Federation, well...who ever sticks up for democratic bureaucracies with entrenched parties, obscured oversight, and the right to disenfranchise its citizens?

The problem is, it hits too close to home for a lot of people.  This game is naturally played in more advanced parts of the world who's governments are most easily identifiable with the Gallente...with varying degrees of the same problems portrayed (and in probably all of them, very clear examples of such across their history).  The natural position to take is one of antagonism.

We "know" brainwashed-from-birth generally leads to the prototypical Amarrian
We "know" formerly enslaved cultures have a hard time integrating and harbor deep resentments
We "know" corporate culture and supreme loyalty lead to questionable ethics

We know abuses of power in democracy must be met with indignation, not support or apathy

The first three most people have only experienced through anecdote or fictional/literary portrayal, the last we shy from "un-writing" from our conscience without grave consequences, so putting on the role of someone loyal to that institution might just be too far of a stretch for most of us.

Now with Yaan and the backstory of their Intaki exile heritage, my characters have a view equally critical of both for their irrational xenophobia and abuses.

[Kaleigh Doyle]

Some have made the argument that since the Federation shares many similiarities to Western Culture that the roleplay is too close to the real world. Obviously, that's selling Fed rp a bit short and clearly they have many differences worth presenting. What I find interesting is that Federation roleplay has the most vibrant internal conflict (intaki separatism) of any of the factions.

Before faction warfare started, Kaleigh had started the Egaltarian Movement and the Rue Lounge that brought together all the major fed roleplay alliances and independent looking out for the best interests of the Federation people and each other in space. Cyrene, and a couple other alliances banded together, they worked together on projects, and I think overall strengthened the fed rp movement because of it, despite all their minor differences.

Ultimately, Federation citizens thrive on individuality but need to learn the value of banding together as a cohesive movement. It needs a natural leader to bring them together, and that might be something you could pull off, especially if you're well respected.

[Casiella]

We "know" brainwashed-from-birth generally leads to the prototypical Amarrian
We "know" formerly enslaved cultures have a hard time integrating and harbor deep resentments
We "know" corporate culture and supreme loyalty lead to questionable ethics

I might suggest that points 1 and 3 show up more commonly IRL than we might like to admit. I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, but certainly one can think of various religious groups who've reached conclusions that trouble many who do not belong to their belief system, yet seem completely acceptable to large parts of the world. And if you don't think that corporate culture leads to questionable ethics and decision-making, I wonder where you've been for the last few years.

The second point is a little more complicated, but many of us have substantial experience interacting with individuals from the developing world (if not from there ourselves). Certainly the colonial pasts of many of these regions have an impact on their current situations, economically and culturally, so I can identify to a degree with the carryover into EVE.

I do agree that part of the issue described here with the Gallente is that it hits even closer to home for many EVE players and forces us to confront issues we face IRL, particularly in recent years. The other three issues seem a little more clear-cut, but ask around in the US about "enhanced interrogation techniques" and the current wars and you'll get lots of answers, some angry, with many varying viewpoints.

Carrying that conflict into a game that many of us play for escapism might defeat the purpose...

[Silver Night]

I would say it isn't unlikely that you would find Gallente pod pilots scattered around other cultures pretty frequently. If you have a culture that is all about individuals, then they will go and make decisions for themselves. It's messy, but there you are.

I disagree with the idea that there is once 'type' - or even a few - that people 'should' play based on their race or background. It's a big cluster, and everyone should be different, to one degree or another.

I think a lot of the trouble for Gallente RP has already been hit on, but to add: There is no unifying theme. No hook for new RPers to grab onto. That is something that someone or some corp might be able to fashion.

Also, it seems to me you have a lot of 'RP-lite' folks in the Gallente block, particularly involved in FW. Someone might try and make contact there, and see if they can find a few people who are interested in the whole 'RP' thing.

[Saxon Hawke]

As an adjunct member of the Gallente RP bloc, I think what is sorely missing are a few charismatics leaders to serve as the catalyst for a vibrant RP scene.

I've been doing the Intaki separatist thing for three years now. When I started the ILF there were already TWO, yes TWO, Intaki RP groups going. Placid Reborn leaned too Pro-Fed for me and INTAKI UNION was too, well, crazy PEW PEW for me.

So I started doing something in the middle. We advocate independence like Phantomas did, but also working with the Federation to improve things like Pytria did. While I didn't agree completely with their corporations, I was saddened to see them fade from the scene. They made it more lush and deep.

Similarly, where have the Bruno Bonners and other champions of the Federation gone? I remember the days when Placid was thick with groups like Strix, The Durandal Organization, Scrutari and each of these groups had a slightly different flavor of Pro-Federalism.

Julianus gave us some fun RP with Moira. and their brand of Federation RP, but sadly, he too has gone on to other things.

So what advice do I have to give? Perhaps this is the best I can do: Build it and they will come.

The ILF started off as me and a bunch of day old trial account players. Members have come and gone over the years, but I never stopped building on the foundations. We've added depth and breadth to what already existed and now I don't have to recruit because players come to me. When they search for information about the Intaki, they find the ILF and see what we have created and WANT to be a part of it.

Those who want Gallente RP need to do the same thing. You're right, the cannon is there. The PF is there. The sandbox is there. Take ownership of it and build your sand castle.

[Merdaneth]

Gallenteans worship individuality and pleasing their own ego's. Capsuleers would be extreme examples of those. 'Bloc' would be a foreign concept to the culturally true Gallente. Gallente that like blocs go over to the Amarr or somesuch. The Gallente 'bloc' is al those crazy pirate leaders, wealthy philanthropists and hosts of other self-interested individuals.

I think it perfectly fitting that there is no 'Gallente Bloc'.

[Julianus Soter]

[mod]Please do not make personal attacks on other players. [/mod]

[Goshien]

The more individual freedoms in the culture, the more wild and varied the culture becomes. Even supposed to be French descendants, I really only compare it to the american culture of which I am a part. Which is were not unified on a single thing. Hell there could be a debate on something retarded like babycide and somebody would come up with an arguement for why it's a good idea. And it'd be even worse across different planets instead of different states.

Ditching the american thing, the Gallente don't really have that easy to spot characteristic that is just integrated into the culture. I imagine them being at their worst when they stop being individualistic and start with the mob mentality taking over. The FW is good for this, allowing the mob mentality into the mix, creating that unifying angle for somebody to sink into the team effort of driving back those devil Caldari and pillaging their hotties.

Which I assume was the Federations goal end goal all along.

[Ghost Hunter]

Gallenteans worship individuality and pleasing their own ego's. Capsuleers would be extreme examples of those. 'Bloc' would be a foreign concept to the culturally true Gallente. Gallente that like blocs go over to the Amarr or somesuch. The Gallente 'bloc' is al those crazy pirate leaders, wealthy philanthropists and hosts of other self-interested individuals.

I think it perfectly fitting that there is no 'Gallente Bloc'.

I would say they worship such things when they're safe to do so. Individuality and self-indulgence cannot survive if outside forces act against "individuals". In such a light, I could see even extreme individualist Capsuleers and the like banding together for the greater good of insuring their (cultural) survival.

[Merdaneth]

I guess the Gallente capsuleer society doesn't feel threatened enough yet to form a 'bloc'?

A thing I'm getting from Gallente culture is their obsession with media. Maybe a clique of Gallente media-personalities all using each other to remain in the spotlight would be a good form for a Gallente bloc? Seriphyn Inhonores characters is certainly a good start for it, but I also like Kayleigh Doyle and Verone as Gallente media-horny larger-than-life personalities.

However, if anyone wants to form a Gallente bloc of any persuasion and have fun, do so by all means!

[orange]

I guess the Gallente capsuleer society doesn't feel threatened enough yet to form a 'bloc'?

They were, they did, they lost.  And CAIN was not involved.

[Louella Dougans]

[mod]Had a couple reports on this thread. Please try to remain civil.[/mod]

[Zuzanna Alondra]

To throw out there there is a little bit of "folks made the wrong race RPly" for skills back when certain races were better at certain things.

And odd ball cases like mine - boil it down to the basics here:
Friends: "Play this game with us"  
Me: "MmmK.  So what do I do?"
Friends: "Make a toon - do the starter missions and we'll hook ya up."
Me: Made a Gallente-Intaki-Artist with a ugly blue backdrop- is that a problem?
Friends: "Nope - we're a Matari Terrorist group."
Me: "Did I mess up and shoulda rolled a Minnie?"
Friends: "Nah.  It adds character."

I had no idea what "being" Intaki meant when I started Eve and started researching to build her history.  More then once RPly she has seriously sat and considered "going home" - even ICly (never OOCly - love Havo and Miz too much) sat and almost opened coms with Saxon a few times and still have a lingering grudge on Moria for having war-decced the ILF.

Of course the lack of a Gallente bloc wouldn't be helped if Zu did leave, because oddly the Gallante players really have sorta split into the "Intaki bloc" and "Gallente Bloc" in my mind.

[Casiella]

I still tend to agree with your friends that say "it adds character". Having her ponder the inner conflict between Intaki culture and belonging to a Matari terrorist group should provide all sorts of interesting dramatic tension.