EN24 sat down with Jin’taan to discuss his recent exit from Provibloc (read his leaving statement here), and the more general state of affairs concerning the conflict in Providence. Jin’taan is a well known and respected player, currently serving on the CSM, and was the lead FC for Provibloc for some years.
I was wondering, can you give a potted summary of your time in EVE?
I’ve been playing this game for a third of my life. But, sure, the general story is – Hisec -> Provi -> Razor -> Provi -> Love Squad -> WHs -> Provi -> TEST.
Provi seems to be a bit of a recurring theme here – was there anything that drew you back?
My corporation, Pentag Blade. And beyond that, I felt Providence was always one of the best places to learn in EVE.
So why do you think Providence was/is one of the best places to learn in EVE?
It was a place that always had content. Someone was always coming after you in Provi.
Do you think that its content heavy nature is likely to continue going forward, or is that as a concept somewhat dead now?
Probably, just not the content I personally find engaging. I don’t find hunting ratters fun. I left after finding out that the type of gameplay I enjoy (FCing large fleets/contesting strategic objectives) was no longer something likely to be a viable strat for Provi, as multiple alliances (MENTL/CF) were leaving alongside YF.
What are your thoughts on the NRDS [Not Red Don’t Shoot] set up in Providence?
I like the ideal of NRDS, but it’s not something I find differentiates Provi from anywhere else practically, outside of encouraging bueracracy[sic].
Was there ever a concerted attempt to improve Provibloc’s strategic capability?
No, and the lack of that is something I feel cost us a significant amount of equity in this conflict. Numbers were not a problem for us up until the very end when NC. got heavily involved. I tried to get stuff sorted on that front but there’s only so much one can do.
Do you think that said lack of strategic vision was linked to the reluctance of Provibloc leadership to permit actions outside Providence?
Not entirely sure there. Like I said in my leaving letter I don’t think the leadership is bad. They just have a different measurement of good to me. I was free to go do stuff where I wanted, but no-one in Provi was ever going to deploy, leadership or no.
On a related note, do you think that the separation of civil/military power in Providence is a good thing?
Not really. It encourages decision making which doesn’t work in this era – on both sides. Less reason to run defence fleets, as money making is someone else’s job. Less reason to want to make an economic structure to support your military. That sort of thing. Whilst the rest of EVE was using Rorqs, Provi couldn’t support them.
You mentioned in your leaving letter that this current conflict is somewhat linked to you personally – what happened?
I got in a pretty heated debate with Reza on the CZ podcast which hastened the deployment of WAFFLES (and later PL) to Provi in order to ‘punish’ me.
Do you think that Provibloc will exist in a recognisable form within the next 3 months, or will PL win a total victory?
I don’t think it’s possible to win total victory over Providence. That’s not IMO realistic. But PL can certainly sit on top of them until there’s very few left.
Legacy has been engaged fighting PL, but not in a very committed way. Do you think that that is likely to change?
No, though I wouldn’t want to talk for my new home, as I don’t know for certain.
Speaking of your new home, why/how did you decide on TEST?
I basically looked at the map for places to go. Wanted to be somewhere I’d have freedom to try new things, and other FCs to learn from, without immediately putting myself in the same position I was in Provi.
You are something of an EVE celebrity. Did that impact the TEST recruitment process in any way?
Outside of the exceptionally warm reception I received in TEST, not really. Though I do expect I’ll be allowed to FC sooner than most recruits.
