Traders, opinions from a pirate

[Rocket.Mouse]

Might I interject a little help to some of the less appreciative traders out there. There has been some anger directed to pirates out there, I feel it will always happen, being the bad guys, I could just expect it, and since I live in an open mouth, closed mind country (U.S.A.) I am compelled to speak. If this is soemthing everyone enjoys then it will fade away into the threads of the graves, if soemone hates it, it will stay afloat in the river of flames (river Styx right?). Happy fun time reading!

As I have been driving the SpaceBall_3 for quite some time now, one pattern has emerged. When I scan my targets, my prey, I look for specific thing that validate the trade ships role play.

1. Do they have crew? Does your ship have a single life-form on it? Who manages the helm, who is the cargo master?
People are driving around in 3k+ cargo ships and have little room for a couple of space ship crew...sad when there are thousands of young "Mr. Crushers" on planets all across Sirius.

2. So some crew, no food?
Goodness, we're HUNGRY! your crew is happy rich and loves their fish eggs? Give me some, I'll feel more obliged to take food from a trader than cargo, because I have a crew, they have family, we need to eat. (especially my woman, she can eat more than most, she's got a neck so thick she could eat a brick if it was made by frito-lay)

3. Most profitable cargo wins eh?
I rarely see the lesser cargo, it's most a full load of one thing, one profitable thing that makes the most money in the shortest time. This tells me that, like a lot of traders, this guy will only trade until he/she has enough credits and more to purchase a super cruiser, battleship, and whatnot- so the few times to "get em" will be all there is before that money tree goes *poof* into a shiny new ship bent on destruction.

4. Complaints in space, "why don't you guys go and trade to make your money?"
I know, that's sad, a lack of understanding of out RP, as most all (and better be all) of us in OPG "trade ships" give our cargo to corsair and corsair allied bases. It's in our role to play. Sure, with our lovely OTC we could have a hand off to 'legal" traders and make uber cash by completing the runs for the trader we steal from but that fails the whole role play system.
I have enough money, I've had enough money, I do not do this for money, lately my cash has been going to banks to finance new recruits.

5. Faction alignment, ID...etc.
Bretonia corporations, they get it easy...wait no, we hate Bretonia, Rheinland, well, just a lot of people. So when I see a bounty hunter IDed ship come rolling in doing the mass cargo trading, I hit them a lil harder than normal, (yes I have seen that, and to send out reports all day is not a fun way to play)
Zoners, well, zoners seem even more popular than before, I give em a chance, and if I get "ur stupidd" or somewhat of the similar, bah, they get hit even more.

At the end, try it before you complain from it too much. It's not an easy task to be the bad guy, heck! I get PMs about Gamma getting raided, destroyed traders come flying back in bounty hunter orcas or freelancing Bombers, outcasts raids, red hessain and SCRA bombers and fighters trying to drill a new dock in Cadiz, BAF pilots chasing me all over bretoinia, and then the local bounty hunter battlecruiser who calls me a coward because I run away in my transport, let alone the escorted tradeships who send their escorts after me while they fly away, the trader who calls for help while they pretend not to know english, My sympathies for some excuses that I get and then get burned on, traders who decide to fly together and CAN and HAVE took me out, plus lately an IMG IDed lux liner who doesn't even wait for my demand....buggers!

Is a hard knock world our there, ask the BAF how many blue messages they've got with my ship's name in the beggining, I'm sure it is in the hundreds! Kudos to you guys (when you remember a CD) You've caught me many of times. But if anyone really hates this way of working, then we can see about going back to the "2millordai." I always though though if I took cargo, bought for aroung 1.5 mill or so from a trader, then I have to run it out somewhere to sell it for 2.5+million, and I have to survive the route, which doesn't always happen.

So, hate to start anything bad, just some Trader edicate I feel needs to be put to light.

your friendly Corsair who like to sing the pirate song

~Rocket Mouse