Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Jace]

How do you rationalize or conceptualize capsuleer public records? Some people put 'CONCORD Public File' on their bios and list a variety of details. Others make Evelopedia pages. Others provide nothing.

What is your IC understanding of this variation? The people that provide more literally allowed their public records to include more things than employment history and security status? Research of that character would easily find that information?

Obviously, detailed CONCORD records are not available for everyone because otherwise far more than employment history and security status would be discoverable about every single character - the only alternative is that all of it is generally public record but somehow the vast majority of capsuleers are bribing CONCORD. Obviously that idea doesn't work. The blank bios seem suggest a record status more along the lines of some of the fiction, such as The Burning Life where it was only through great lengths that the name of a capsuleer was discovered.

Thoughts?

[Havohej]

I think that, from an IC perspective, lots of things would be available through simple galnet search if the targeted capsuleer had engaged in certain activities.  For example, any egger who'd used their given name in a way that was associated with their callsign.  Those who've been more secretive, would be harder to find.  For that matter, upon receiving the capsuleer's license, there may be a check box for "Given Name Public/Private" much the same way you check off whether to be an organ donor or not when you get a driver's license.

I think if CONCORD/DED had a capsuleer on the bad list, they'd list the charges, so that sort of thing would be easily accessible.  The FBI most wanted list certain lists charges, I can't see why DED would be secretive about that.

I also think that "realistically" (I know, video game, etc.), a lot more than employment history and sec status would be ICly available.  Capsuleers are a special thing compared to the average baseliner - lots of their actions would be news items in tabloids if nothing else, much the same way as it's on the front page at every supermarket checkout that this movie star or that musician visited a beach last week or got their car washed or what have you.

As for bribing CONCORD to conceal information, bribing CONCORD can't be that big of a deal.  You pay a couple million to get them to let you shoot people in highsec.  You pay locator agents a pittance to review stargate jump logs and docking logs to tell you what system someone is in and if they're docked or not (of course, this doesn't work if they're in wspace, but you get a response telling you they're not in kspace).  How expensive could it be to make sure they keep a tighter lid on certain information?

EDIT: I know locator agents aren't a function of CONCORD, I include it only as an example of bribing NPC entities not being expensive.

[Mizhara]

As far as I'm concerned, everything other than what game mechanics deliver (basic char info, employment records, kill/loss records etc), everything else is in the hands of the Empires/CONCORD and can only be attained through very great effort or by the egger choosing to publicly display it. Public actions will quite likely be recorded somewhere by some media or another, but actual character data sheets would be held in confidence by the authorities that would actually have some use from it.

Of course, you might hear all kinds of things through the grapevine, but the veracity of the information will be suspect.

[Samira Kernher]

I would expect New Eden has its version of Wikipedia and that like Wikipedia a great level of personal details are available about influential people (of which capsuleers count as).

As for the CONCORD records, I consider only the basics to be available publically while things like history, psych profiles, and whatnot are private information that can only be found via dedicated hunting IE bribes/hacking/etc.

[Anja Suorsa]

On top of the wiki-thing, you have the supposed fandom of Capsuleers. Crazies find all sorts of information about the things (people) they're passionate about.

[Gaven Lok ri]

I think personal background also would have a lot to do with it. Some figures come from significantly more public pre-pod backgrounds than others and would have more information available about them as a result.

[Jace]

So for those of you that assume a decent amount of detail would be public, how do you ICly rationalize meeting a capsuleer you know nothing about and have no actual way of finding anything about?

[Samira Kernher]

So for those of you that assume a decent amount of detail would be public, how do you ICly rationalize meeting a capsuleer you know nothing about and have no actual way of finding anything about?

By assuming that that person simply hasn't had a whole lot of coverage yet, or has deliberately tried to withhold their background information from those groups that would be seeking to expose it. Avoiding the press, refusing interviews, etc.

Also, by asking OOCly if there is anything available on them that they simply haven't taken the time to write up.

[Jace]

It seems to be one of those weird areas where there is a delicate balance between dictating something about another character out of necessity or just brushing away mechanics. I haven't been able to find a nice balance of how I like to approach it. It is one of those areas where the universe irks me a bit, because from the necessity of a game approach there just isn't an answer that satisfies me.

[Lithium Flower]

I thought about this situation, when I decided to write my current profile, and I agree that CONCORD information might be hard accessible.

For my character I have used a "House of Records" hosting organization of profile, as my character is Caldari and I believe that it is this exact organization that should contain all records about Caldari citizens or ex-citizens (i.e. all capsuleers of Caldari(incl. Achura and other client states) descent).

On the other hand, I don't personally like this dossier-type info, as it consumes lots of space and provides little information. I will remove it soon, as I feel not lazy enough to rework my character profile. I have already decided, that instead of this profile, I will describe character physically, so players could imagine, whom they are speaking with, and how the character behaves in conversation.

As for current profile, I will save it for later, to rework and extend it, probably releasing in semi-public-accessible format in a picture... or....

I think about more interesting variant, if someone would RP with me about getting information about my character, I could give portions of dossier if they will be "hacking" or doing other information retrieval activities. Taking into account nature of my character, there would be two completely different profiles for her, and this information gathering could become a fun mini quest.

[Anyanka Funk]

Anyanka and I both see bios as autobiographies. No CONCORD records actually exist. We see and rationalize CONCORD records as capsuleers poor attempts to preserve their identity through false documentation.

We look at capsuleer NPC actor's bios for a legitimate use for bios other than dumps of information.

To answer meeting a capsuleer and not beIng able to know anything about them is easy for Anya because she knows CONCORD records are just lies made up by the capsuleers themselves.

[Saede Riordan]

I like to imagine that Saede's fanclub wrote her wiki entry.

[Jace]

Anyanka and I both see bios as autobiographies. No CONCORD records actually exist. We see and rationalize CONCORD records as capsuleers poor attempts to preserve their identity through false documentation.

We look at capsuleer NPC actor's bios for a legitimate use for bios other than dumps of information.

To answer meeting a capsuleer and not beIng able to know anything about them is easy for Anya because she knows CONCORD records are just lies made up by the capsuleers themselves.

So you don't think that the organization which hands out the licenses to even be a capsuleer would keep some sort of record of said capsuleers?

[Samira Kernher]

I think what she means is that whether or not CONCORD does keep such records isn't relevant in the case of capsuleer public bios, as CONCORD isn't in the habit of putting whatever records they might have on those bios. In other words, anything on public bios is written by the capsuleer themselves, which is an appropriate belief to have and a reason why I'm considering removing the CONCORD thing from mine and likewise avoiding the 'appearance description' thing. If we take the bio as capsuleer-written only then putting either of these things on her bio isn't something Samira would intentionally do.

[Esna Pitoojee]

Also, by asking OOCly if there is anything available on them that they simply haven't taken the time to write up.

I don't think this portion of it can be overstated. At worst you'll get a simple 'no', at best you'll get a toe in on an interesting and extended story arc.

Regarding the original question:

I imagine that CONCORD maintains a simple database of all capsuleers, with the basic information from each capsuleer's file accessible to that capsuleer. Some capsuleers, for whatever reason, choose to go get a copy of their files and post them in their bios.

Whether someone could access another capsuleer's file without their cooperation is another question entirely.

 What a capsuleer posts in their bio is their own business, and selected by them alone.