Grr Goons: A Conspiracy Theory

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This posting is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, though I have to admit I'm a bit surprised someone hasn't put this one up for reals yet.

Before I delve into this posting, first you may need some background. Poetic Stanziel did a pretty good job covering the recent change to the Terms of Service and will give you some background and insight into it. If you prefer to go directly to the source without getting someone else's frosting glazed all over it, you can find CCP's announcement HERE, along with an ever-growing threadnought HERE.

How about some gravy for the brain?

I'm personally quite shocked that no one has made the obvious connection. 1 month ago, on August 12th, TheMittani.com reported the opening of a new CFC rental empire. Part of that announcement was The Mittani letting his fellow goons know the following:

"Ain't gonna sugar coat this one. As a matter of policy, we do not allow people to present themselves as diplomats for the purposes of scamming. In the same vein, goons are henceforth forbidden from presenting themselves as "rental managers" or basically anything else. In fact, rental scams are just outright banned from now on.
Let me repeat that.
Rental Scams are forbidden, effective immediately."

Not even a month later, on September 9th, CCP updates their naming policy, adding the following line:

"You may not impersonate or falsely present yourself to be a representative of another player, group of players, character or NPC entity."

Coincidence? We ought to know better than this by now. Something underhanded and behind the scenes has obviously begun to rear it's head. The timing is just about right, taking a few weeks to cut through some corporate red-tape, and BLAMO! Goons don't have to handle this stuff internally anymore, dragging their misguided offenders out behind the shed for an Old Yellering. Now they can just drop a petition on their own membership, or anyone else trying to cut into their rental profits by scamming the masses as a "representative" of CFC Rental Properties.

Hey Boss, we got a problem with some rental scammers.

Of course, CCP have come forward to say that this is a change in wording only, and enforcement of the policy or it's intent have not changed. Well, let me float this one at you: before the CFC rental empire was announced, rental scams were both common place and encouraged. Now it's a business, and you can't have rental scams if you're going to be a legit landlord.  If I have been scammed I may have very little recourse, and plenty of people have lost billions on these scams, rest assured. What happens when you're scamming on my behalf though and ruining MY good name (or in this case, the CFC's good name)? That's a different petition entirely, and perhaps one that has only recently cropped up, in say, the last month or so.

The argument could be made that rental scamming while passing yourself off as a CFC rental agent is doing more than scamming one individual, but also costing the CFC potentially Billions... a CFC with members on the CSM and a bent ear with CCP. I'll leave the rest for you to put together dear reader, but it shouldn't be hard from here.