Kirith Kodachi was old in blog years when I first took up the mantle of EVE blogger in 2009.

The then nascent EVE Blog Pack comprised a significant percentage of EVE’s blogdom at the time and they were an inspiration to the next generation of bloggers to come, myself included.

An Ancient Blogging Titan

There were those whose words I had been reading for some time, Kirith’s peers such as Crazy Kinux (Crazy Kinux’s Musings), Roc Wieler (Roc’s Ramblings), Mandrill (I am Keith Neilson), Rettic (The Chronofile), Manasi (A Mule in EVE), Shae Tiann (Sweet Little Bad Girl), Casiella Trusa (Ecliptic Rift), Hallan Turrek (A Merry Life and a Short One), Wensley (Rifter Drifter) and others.

Sadly, many have fallen silent as others have risen in their stead. It’s the Circle of Blogs (©The Line King), -cough- sorry.

A few tenacious buggers just keep blogging on to their own iambic beat, most notably Kirith and Roc. I paid homage to these “ancient blogging titans” late last year in my Blog Banter analysis, Knights of the Banter.

Although having been around forever isn’t a prerequisite of running the Blog Banters, a long, unbroken blogging run says a lot for consistency and reliability, which such a role does need (and ultimately, the reason why I fired myself).

The New Breed

That said, the same qualities are evident in many of the subsequent generations of bloggers and that is a healthy sign. For those of you who approached me with regard to taking over the Blog Banters, I am grateful that there is such an interest and a rich pool of enthusiasm and writing talent within the community. That tells me that the Blog Banters have been doing their job.

I’m just sorry I couldn’t hand it off to everyone. In the past, I had considered some kind of round table system to democratise the Blog Banter process, but that way lies pain and unnecessary complexity. It works well as it is, with one guy in the engine room responding to the voices of the community, monitoring the ebb and flow on a monthly basis.

This is also the reason why I don’t think anything would be gained by uniting the Blog Banters with The Blog Pack. Blog Banters are inclusive, the Blog Pack is exclusive. They represent different ideals – both valid, but not easy bedfellows.

The Blog Banters should continue to be for everyone and anyone who wants to participate. I think it would be unhealthy if the BBs were relegated to functioning as some kind of qualification pool for the Blog Pack, which I believe they would, by association if not design. Although ultimately, this will no longer be my decision.

All Hail Lord Moose-Beaver

In Kirith I see a man who has been consistent for an EVE eternity, both as a blogger and a well-rounded community figure. As well as delivering consistently incisive blogging, he has an excellent grasp of the entire EVE spectrum; from the technical aspects (he used to write the Test Pilot series for EON magazine), to the lore (he’s a frequent writer of EVE fan fiction). He can even combine the two (Project ATHENA – ’nuff said!).

Kirith isn’t afraid to get stuck into the heavy political and strategic morass which is null-sec (this always went over my head) as well as analysing CCP’s moves. He fights in Factional Warfare and he’s also a champion of the underdog, fighting the now silent EVE Tribune‘s corner for so long as it laboured in the shadow of EVE media heavyweights TMC and EN24.

Kirith also finds the time to produce a podcast, Broadcasts from the Ninveah, where he provides a handy overview of interesting blogs and community events. You can heckle him from the in-game “Ninveah” channel.

Handing over to Kirith also makes me feel a little better as I pretty much snatched the then dormant Blog Banter out from under his nose by relaunching with BB27 in August 2011 off the back of his blogpost comparing and contrasting EVE Online with World of Tanks. This feels like the right decision to me.

I think Kirith’s broad experience and maturity makes him the perfect man for the job.  It is important that the Blog Banter tradition remains a grassroots community service and I think Kirith’s experience and conduct shows he would continue to steer the good ship BB in the right direction.

Put simply, the guy is EVE royalty and an all-round solid fellow – leaving the Blog Banters in his hands takes much of the sting out of the decision for me.

“I don’t want to go.”

On a personal note, I write all of this with a twinge of sadness. I joked to my wife that I feel like David Tennant must have when he filmed his last episode of Doctor Who.

I really didn’t want to let go of the BBs for what are probably selfish reasons, but that’s not very community spirited.

Passing the responsibility on is.

I will do my best to make it a smooth transition (regeneration?) and I’ll still be around to help promote and support the initiative.  I’ll even try to participate from time to time.

I wish Kirith all the best and hope that the EVE blogging (and podcasting) community get behind him as he kickstarts the third era of Blog Banters.

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5 Comments

helenakhan · 27/06/2013 at 23:01

Hi Mat,

Thank you for everything you've done for the EvE Community and most especially the bloggers.

It's been a privilege to be able to take part.

Travel safe and good luck with the young one, especially in regards to sleep… 🙂

H

Rixx Javix · 28/06/2013 at 00:08

Good choice and I will do all I can to support his efforts as I always have. The Blog Banters are in more than capable hands.

And hopefully this isn't the end, I already miss far too many people you listed up there. So stay in touch and stop by as often as you can.

Scitor Nantom · 28/06/2013 at 05:26

Mr. Seismic, I'm just coming out of stasis and you are passing on this baton…

Yet, you pass it on to someone I've listened to for the past couple of years, and I agree, is one of the royalty.

I'll be stalking around, and looking for where I can contribute join in and give Kirith support, when I'm not called off to other duties.

Roc Wieler · 28/06/2013 at 12:12

That is fantastic news! Honestly, Kirith is an excellent choice and I have every confidence he will run with it with as much passion as any of us could give it.

Relicc · 01/07/2013 at 21:56

Thanks for keeping this piece of the eve community healthy and vibrant.

See you later, capsuleer.

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