In the stickies above this thread in OOC Summit, you may see this thread:
Faction/Sub-Faction Discussions ListThe idea, originally, was to create a list of general threads about each faction and subfaction, the threads themselves to ideally contain some useful links to PF and even more specialized discussion in their op.
An example of a faction discussion thread:
Caldari StateAnd example of a sub-faction discussion thread:
Lai DaiOnce we had a list like that, they could be places for really general discussion of the faction or sub-faction, and if you posted a thread discussing a more specific item related to the faction (or if the general discussion took a turn for the specific that was split off into its own thread) you could link it in a reply to the appropriate faction thread (so people interested in that faction would see the new post, and thus check out your thread, even if they are reading through after your new thread is inactive for a while) and if it is particularly useful the mods or OP could even edit it in with the links at the start.
It's possible this whole idea is too complicated, or not useful enough, to implement. Among other things it would require people to voluntarily format new threads along certain general lines, dig up the links to PF, etc. I like it though because even though much of he information is on the wiki, for a lot of the sub-factions the more obscure bits that were in news items etc aren't. Nor player events or live events players participated in. Also, wikis are great but a simple list format for useful articles
on the wiki seems great too.
I think this could be be useful both as a handy one-stop-shop for players looking for that one thing they think the saw taht time in 2007 and also for new players who want to get a primer on their chosen faction - or their chosen faction's enemies.
You can see I started to do it for the Caldari State and for several of the megacorps. Unfortunately, I didn't have to time to keep going through and digging the stuff up, and when I came back to try and keep going sometime later, something terrible had happened!: CCP changed their website and all of the meticulously unearthed news bits had vanished from their links.
So, here's the deal: My time, never plentiful, is even more limited now than it was when I was trying this the first go-round. So I don't have the time to dig up the links etc - at least not in a very reasonable length of time. I'm also not sure whether or not the old news items can be found. (There are also some links to threads on the old official forums, mostly related to live events, IIRC. They would need to be updated, and would also be useful for any new factions added. Those should be simple enough to find with eve-search. I suppose similar threads from the current official forums might be handy too.)
So: First person who knows how to dig up news items and posts a simple guide that I can copy/paste into this post for other eve-PF-explorers wins a cookie and also a navy cruiser of their choice (contracted at Jita probably).
For those PF-explorers:If you post up a faction thread (with a format similar to the existing ones, including all the links etc) then you get a Navy Cruiser, or if you are particularly exhaustive with your research, maybe a Navy BC or BS. If it is a primary faction (Amarr, Gallente, etc) or someone else with a ton of material to find and link, I might even go Pirate BS - it would have to be a fairly impressive thread though. Keep in mind that we want the threads to be usable, and you don't necessarily need to have redundant links to stuff (like, if you link the Caldari wiki page, you wouldn't also need to link each thing on the Caldari wiki page in the thread - though things that are buried or obscure might need a link still).
Speaking of Caldari, faction ships would also be forthcoming to anyone who can post updated links for the news articles or other materials that are now broken, and for new official material as well. You would post it in the existing thread for that faction/subfaction and I'll edit the fixed links etc into the OP.
If you would like to be eligible for ships, post in this thread and call the faction/subfaction you will be working on. One faction/subfaction per person at a time, please. First come first served, but if there is no update within a month, someone else can give it a go. If you want to split the work up, or someone else is going to help and also wants to get a ship for their troubles, mention whoever is helping you in your post. You can edit those additional participants in later. If you would like to add a section for player created content/links, feel free but make sure it is clearly separate from the official stuff. If anyone would like to come up with a more organized template for people to use, also feel free (and I might give you a faction ship).
I don't have the wallet for actually unlimited faction ships, but I'll see what I can do to accommodate this however long it goes on or until I run out of money. Anyone who is interested in donating to the effort, let me know in-game or in this thread also.
You
will have to meet some minimum standards to get
anything, and for factions without much to dig up (see: CBD) you might only be looking at a frigate or something. However, those who have been around a while know I'm pretty comfortable giving stuff out, so if you put in a significant effort, expect at least some reward.
Feel free to post any questions you have here. I know that there has been some inflation in Eve, but hopefully the combination of faction ships and PF archaeology is still interesting to at least some folks! Happy hunting!