OUCH is readjusting itself

OUCH is no longer a member of the alliance we were part of. Things went chaotic very quickly after the alliance executor decided to create a new corp and effectively go his own way. He tried to drag OUCH along for the ride, and I was torn between doing what I felt was best for OUCH and the goals I had for it, and doing what a number of corp members wanted - which was to follow the new corp.

In the end it got quite messy after I ended up vetoing his attempts to take control of OUCH's destiny. He then tried to manipulate OUCH members into following him instead of me, and used comments taken out of context to 'prove' to everyone in OUCH how much of a bad idea it would be to stay in OUCH.

If one were so inclined, one might suspect he was even paid by some other training organisation in the game to do what he could to destroy us, as it looked like that was his intention. His attempts to manipulate OUCH's failure were very, very obvious. But it's a good thing I don't believe in such conspiracies.

Politics is a funny creature, isn't it?

Like anywhere in this world, there are people who will fall for the manipulations of others, and so it is in OUCH too. A number of members have left OUCH to follow the one that tried to destroy it. I wish them well.

I remember a time long ago when I ran another corp called Black Scorpion Ltd. I had a trusted Director who put so much into the corp to help it grow, but then he didn't agree with how I handled a war so he provided intel to the enemy in order for the corp to die in a screaming heap. I won that war, and I found out what he did and kicked him out.

Every time I think I can trust someone in this game, they prove to me that I can't, and that I shouldn't have in the first place. Corp thefts, political drama... It's all such bullshit.

So no one can be trusted any more. It's a real shame, but such is the nature of this game.

They fuck you and fuck you and fuck you, and just when you think it's over, that's when the real fucking begins!
- Conrad, The Game

So no one has full access to hangars any more. No one has access to the corp wallet. No one gets any major assets given to them for corp or personal use without first providing a signifcant collateral so that it's not in their interest to steal it. They get that money back after returning the asset.

I'm talking about freighters, in this case. The corp is still giving away free ships to its members, and that won't be changing in the short term, although we'll be moving to a different business model soon. Basically, any ships that get donated to the corp will be given to its members to fly and use for their training or personal use. Any ships that the corp builds for its members will be sold to them at 80% of retail value. So we'll be working on a combination of donated items handed out for free, and built items sold cheaply.

I rcognise this past month has made me cynical about the people behind the characters in this game, but that's not going to stop me from driving forward with the goals for OUCH. The nullsec training continues, and now even stronger than ever.

What we're left with is over 150 members who are committed to the ideals of OUCH. We've had our 'trial by fire' to see who is loyal and who's not, and I'm impressed with what's come out of it.

We have our blues in the area, who are happy we're staying. There will be continued training operations, along with joint training and PVP operations for the purpose of training and clearing out our own territory. We have 2 POS's for moon mining to help bring in an income, and we're looking at a third POS for building and researching over the next few weeks.

The corp is being restructured to facilitate a more focused and dedicated approach, and a lot of people are working together to help make that happen. In just over a month I'll be ready to create my own alliance, and our blues can come together under a single umbrella.

Our future looks bright! Where's my shades...