The out-of-game aspects of EVE
Like many MMO's, EVE is not contained within the game itself. There are kill boards, forums, fitting tools, skill plan modeling/monitoring programs, industrial spreadsheets, jump planners etc... Since the game itself doesn't stop at the limits of the client, it's natural for players to pursue information and gather intel out of game for in-game use. I know for a fact that there are people out there that are EXPERTS at sifting through publicly available information, fusing information from various sites and creating a 'picture' of who is associated with whom in game, what they do in game and what their role in their organization might be.
Considerations for the EVE online blogger
When an author is developing a piece, you must remember your audience. Your audience is PUBLIC, which means if you're writing something you wouldn't be comfortable telling to the nearest red then you probably ought to re-think whether you want to blog about it. If you are writing a review of your latest roam, consider whether you want to refer to your FC by name. Do you want to advertise the name of your scouts? What about ship types? Do you advertise that you fly in a Drake with more gank than tank because you know you'll be the last to be primaried because you're flying a drake? Each piece of information is valuable to someone and even though by itself the information may be harmless, it's a piece of a puzzle and after awhile you may only need a few small pieces to unlock a much more powerful piece of information.
The realities are though that this is a game and a majority of people blog because they enjoy it. Operational security is important but it has to be kept in context. We're not talking about real lives at stake or something that would demand actual information security protocols be followed, but like everything else in life, too much of a good thing can have unfortunate consequences. Balance is the key here, there is no reason why you shouldn't write up a story about your latest roam but it might be prudent to be more general in your details. It's one thing to say " I was flying through Providence and Catch last night with my friends on our nightly roam" and quite another to say " We camped the Keberz gate in HED-GP last night for 3 hours with a drag bubble set up from the station and a drag bubble set up from the GE jump bridge POS."
Closing thoughts
It would be dull and take the fun out of being able to share our game experience with others if we were expected to keep it sterile. So much of what makes EVE our game is the user developed content that grows organically well outside the scope of CCP. As people take up blogging and become more involved in the social media aspect of the game (EVE gate anyone?) it's going to be more and more important that these risks are taken into consideration. Ultimately, how much you the author choose to share about your game is your business. Your corporation, alliance or gang may try to set policy or draw limits but at the end of the day, it's up to you the individual to decide how much operational security you can provide while still being able to tell your story. My litmus test is to consider whether or not I'd be okay with convoing a war target FC and sharing what I was about to blog. Your litmus test may vary.
Thank you for writing your blog, and thank you for reading mine. User content is what makes New Eden a community and for many a home away from home.
