“When in Doubt…” Eve Politics and the Philosophy of NBSI

“When in doubt, shoot it.” Pretty clear cut advice from an old CEO of mine. One we took to heart. Back in the day, our allegiances were constantly shifting. We would pair up with wartargets to kill pirates, or visa versa. We’d jump into 3 and 4 way fights, semi allying ourselves with various parties while shooting others. We rarely ever had blues, which made out NBSI status that much more fun.

There’s nothing more frustrating to a pvper then losing an opportunity on a fight due to politics. I joined a small, NRDS alliance shortly after my stint in militia. I was going from a corporation that would occasionally turn on friendlies for the laugh of a good fight, to a corporation that would avoid altercations with neutrals due to their ‘not being hostile to us.’ It was hard to stomach, and I didn’t last long. (In fact, I think I only lasted a few days.)

Most of EVE is NBSI. For those that don’t already understand the concept, it’s a standings philosophy where if something is not on the ‘blue’ or nap list, it’s fare game for getting blown up. A smaller part of EVE pvpers operate under a NRDS policy, which says if it doesn’t have hostiles standings, then it’s a potential friend and should not be targeted.

Proponents of the NBSI philosophy often sneer at those following NRDS, and look at them as roleplayers and/or carebears. They laugh at their ‘missplaced space honor, ’ and cringe at the missed opportunities for a good fight between neutrals.

However, NRDS have their own opinions and often sneer right back. “It’s funny when a bunch of so-called carebears take out a bunch of trained, pvp pirates.” One NRDS told me once. “Some of these pirates just want easy kills—miners, etc. They don’t stand up so well when their prey shoots back.”