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So you have this great idea...

First post
Author
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#1 - 2013-06-10 09:06:01 UTC
...or a big problem, or some interesting insight or a warning you want to make, and naturally you want your elected representatives to advocate your thoughts to CCP.

The first thing you'll want to understand is how the CSM spends its time interacting with CCP and the other CSMs.

We probably spend about half our "Skype time" talking to each other and to the people in the CSM Alumni channel.

Of the time that we spend talking with CCP employees, we probably spend ~90% discussing what they're doing or thinking of doing, or asking for perspectives on, or just commenting between each other on how things worked out.

Of the remaining 10%, we spend half or more advocating our own hot-button issues and viewpoints.

That leaves maybe 1-3 times per week that we might mention an idea that some guy on the forum mentioned.

Compare that figure to the dozens, probably hundreds of posts that will be made in that time by people who have a great idea, a problem, an insight or a concern. From the raw statistics alone, you've got about a 1% chance of your proposal even being mentioned to CCP. The good news is, you can increase your chances, and I say this as someone who's had several successes getting idea implemented outside the CSM. The bad news is, it's going to take some work. And by some, I mean a lot.

Here is an example of a basically good idea that will have approximately a 0.0% chance: "CSM Y U NO MAEK MORE RATS CLEVERAR RATTING IS BORING".

Ratting is boring, rats should be cleverer. The proposal is essentially correct and a good one, but as written this proposal won't be considered for a microsecond, because fundamentally, zero work has been put into it. If a CSM member is going to put the necessary work to get this proposal to be even looked at, why wouldn't he put that work into one of his own ideas and advocate that instead?

If you want the CSM to advocate your idea, then you need to do as much work as possible along the following lines. The better you do this, the more chance you have of persuading the CSM (and in turn CCP) that you're serious about your idea, that it's a good one, and that it's worth their while to consider.

(1) Identify a problem or an opportunity

(2) Propose a solution

(3) Explain how your solution would solve the problem/grasp the opportunity

(4) Identify possible issues/exploits with your solution

(5) Suggest ways to mitigate, circumvent or deal with those issues.

(6) Put in a bit about how your idea will either help Acquire new players or Retain existing ones. (Ideally, both!)

(7) Get lots of other people to support, comment on and offer various perspectives. Don't get supermad when someone points out a problem you hadn't thought of. Discuss it and incorporate the discussion into part (5). If someone points out some issue that's basically the death of your idea, suck it up.

(8) Accept that even if you do all that, and even if all the CSM like it and even if some devs at CCP like it, there's only a small chance that your proposal will be implemented. Ideas are cheap; dev resources are not. Furthermore, your idea might be the preserve of a team that's got an incompatible idea of their own, or they just don't have time, or they don't really talk to the CSM much, or it doesn't support the direction they're going with at this time.

Try and put some thought into structuring your idea so that it takes the minimum resources to implement, or at least so that it doesn't all have to be implemented as a monolithic entity, but can be partially implemented and then iterated on further at a later time.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Alphea Abbra
Project Promethion
#2 - 2013-06-10 12:17:55 UTC
Adding to points 4 and 5:
If it is a larger change, discussing how you get from A to C is easier if you include B. If a suggestion could require several steps, then it certainly does you a favour to include suggestions on the "in-between".
If, hypothetically, you suggest to remove all jumpbridges and cynogenerators in 0.0, but to allow 0.0 alliances and empire militias to construct their own stargates (together, A and C), a discussion of how the game handles the interim period (So, B) would probably improve the general reception of the idea.

And of course, the more specific about the design (either intentions or results) you can be, the easier it will be for other players to suggest improvements, add more food-for-thought, or point out flaws, and for CCP to "lift directly" from your idea, if they so desire.

Pretty good list, Malcanis!
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#3 - 2013-06-10 12:25:52 UTC
Good comment there.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Tiven loves Tansien
Doomheim
#4 - 2013-06-27 01:23:43 UTC
First time in my life that i agree, with something that you typed.

Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#5 - 2013-06-27 09:41:07 UTC
Tiven loves Tansien wrote:
First time in my life that i agree, with something that you typed.



Apparently it's uncomfortable and sometimes even a little painful the first time, and after that it usually feels pretty good.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Chitsa Jason
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#6 - 2013-06-27 10:49:49 UTC
I can confirm. It is easier for me to forward any kind of suggestion to CCP if a lot of work has been done on it already. It takes a lot of time to expand upon idea or explain it to CCP if it is just one line.

So please be aware that the more work you put into the idea the easier for CSM it is to pass it on and have healthy discussion with CCP about it.

Burn the land and boil the sea You can't take the sky from me

Two step
Aperture Harmonics
#7 - 2013-06-30 23:30:30 UTC
This is a very good post, too bad the people that will likely rage at you guys won't read it...

CSM 7 Secretary CSM 6 Alternate Delegate @two_step_eve on Twitter My Blog

Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#8 - 2013-07-05 06:37:28 UTC
Two step wrote:
This is a very good post, too bad the people that will likely rage at you guys won't read it...


I use it to link to people who send me evemails with 6-word proposals. It has already come in useful for me personally several times.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Marlona Sky
State War Academy
Caldari State
#9 - 2013-07-11 21:18:12 UTC  |  Edited by: Il Feytid
So after a player does all the work you described; what are the odds of there being an official confirmation from CCP that there has been discussion about the subject between the CSM and CCP?
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#10 - 2013-07-11 21:29:07 UTC
Marlona Sky wrote:
So after a player does all the work you described; what are the odds of there being an official confirmation from CCP that there has been discussion about the subject between the CSM and CCP?


Pretty slim. If your idea of boosting fleebles to be faster than flobbles is taken on board and slated for the next expansion, you're pretty much going to find out about it in the patch notes, or if it's a major change, in a devblog discussing fleeble:flobble balancing.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Marlona Sky
State War Academy
Caldari State
#11 - 2013-07-11 21:33:38 UTC
Good luck with your project.
Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#12 - 2013-07-11 21:52:05 UTC
Thanks. I think the new faster fleebles will really break up the stale metagame.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016

Grath Telkin
Amok.
Goonswarm Federation
#13 - 2013-07-11 22:27:01 UTC  |  Edited by: Grath Telkin
1) Identify a problem or an opportunity

Theres too many stations

(2) Propose a solution

Let us blow them up, all the way up, not derelicts, completely gone, scoured from space
(3) Explain how your solution would solve the problem/grasp the opportunity
Self explanatory


(4) Identify possible issues/exploits with your solution


People will cry when we blow up their station

(5) Suggest ways to mitigate, circumvent or deal with those issues.

Get a spine, it will mitigate #4

(6) Put in a bit about how your idea will either help Acquire new players or Retain existing ones. (Ideally, both!)

This will allow you to craft the space you take in your image, and not have to own space that was crafted by some guy who owned the space 7 years before you played EVE.


(7) Get lots of other people to support, comment on and offer various perspectives


People have been asking for this forever, its supported.


Now, please go motivate CCP, tia.

Malcanis - Without drone assign, the slowcat doctrine will wither and die.

Malcanis
Vanishing Point.
The Initiative.
#14 - 2013-07-11 22:41:15 UTC
For this specific issue, the case was made years ago, by one of the handsomest of all forum posters. CCP have accepted that it - and here I quote - "needs to happen" - at this stage the task is to make a case that it needs to happen before features/fixes x, y and z. Basically it's a coding/dev resources issue.

So it's a good idea not to waste time by making proposals that have already been aceepted but to focus on making the case that it's a particularly urgent issue or would reduce workload elsewhere.

"Just remember later that I warned against any change to jump ranges or fatigue. You earned whats coming."

Grath Telkin, 11.10.2016