Lowsec Pirating vs 0.0 Fleet Battles

Lately there has been an uproar in our alliance about whether our pvpers should be allowed to live in lowsec and pirate all they want. There have been certain individuals who live down in Amarr space in a dead-end 0.4 system, and killing everyone who enters that system almost every moment of the day. I have spent time myself in that system learning how to pvp as a newbie, but I never lived there for long as it bored me. It is an excellent place to get new pvpers’ feet wet, and unlike highly pirated systems near Jita, one won’t be so easily wiped out by say, a Triumvirate gang with capital support.

Here comes the drama: A certain pirate considers himself elite as he tops the kills and scores on the killboard from his endeavours in this very system he claims as his ancestral grounds. He would rarely ever show up for 0.0 defense or offense ops, claiming that there are few that he would fly with, and indignantly flaming anyone who questions his continual efforts in lowsec. When asked about his loyalties, he claimed that as he is not taking anything from the corp, he should not be expected to contribute.

(I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I used to like this guy IRL. He was the very same person who asked me what I was doing mission-grinding in empire when I’m in a 0.0 corp.)

Understandly, the majority of the alliance is highly annoyed with this behavior and against it, because it takes away talented pvpers from our 0.0 fighting force. It also makes our killboard look bad – imagine how easy it is to take space from a 0.0 alliance that had most of their kills in low security space! Of course the pirates themselves are against it, because lowsec ganking is easy and frequent. Who wants to work for targets when they come to you en masse? 0.0 fights are difficult to find and risky – a roaming gang could hunt for hours and die in 5 minutes.
For me, that only gives me an immense sense of achievement when we come out tops in a 0.0 fleet engagement. If we capsize, then it was a good learning experience for us. We are a null-sec alliance. Lowsec is a good ‘happy pill’ spot, but what’s the point of joining a 0.0 alliance when all you do is stay in 0.4?

Perhaps this is a direct reflection of my personality, but my current goal in Eve is to lock as many red icons on my overview as possible, hit F1-F8, in 0.0 space. Bonus if I get to call primaries in a 20v20 fleet battle. It’s highly addictive, and much healthier than resorting to those little red pills, or killing an unwary noob exploring low security space in his first shiny cruiser.

Yeah, I know what the dear reader must be thinking. I'm a little fiery. I think the men like it. ;) Oh did I mention that among the few female players in Eve, many of them are highly accomplished killers? Talk about hot chicks with guns...