Secondly, this brings up the question of proper bitching. (Not whining, that's a whole other ball of wax.) Bitching properly is an art form in my opinion. And while complaining for the sake of complaining is tantamount to whining, proper bitching has its place in honest dialogue. One just has to know how to bitch properly. And why would you need to know this? Because proper bitching gets things done, makes changes that need to be made and motivates others. Improper bitching, moaning and whining make you annoying and get you into trouble.
So knowing the difference can be crucial. The fundamental difference between moaning and bitching is "having a point" or in other words, "moving the conversation forward". Whining, moaning and complaining have no point other than a self-righteous, self-centered, making yourself feel better agenda. But proper bitching, if you are doing it right, always has a point, always keeps the conversation moving forward. Sometimes things are just wrong and no one seems to be noticing, so bitching about it can make someone else see your point.
However, just like in the military, bitching goes up the chain of command and NEVER down it. Sergeants complain to Lieutenants, but Sergeants never complain to Privates. In Eve it is important to remember that, especially when you are a Director or a CEO, or anyone else in some position of authority. Bitch up but never down. Bitching down is a fail response, usually a miserable attempt to generate some sympathy for yourself. Which, if you need that, you shouldn't be in charge in the first place. The same holds true in Alliances as well. A properly formed Alliance/Corp will have established "bitch channels" set up, a channel for the bosses to complain to each other outside earshot of the privates. It is extremely important to the well-being of your organization to allow bitching, but to also control its exposure.
Now, what if that Sergeant has a blog? (Assuming one would even be allowed.) Then his responsibility would be to keep his negative opinions to himself now wouldn't it? Really? Yes, in a military situation where lives are actually on the line, I think that would be obvious. But in Eve?
I want to be clear. I spent some time recently bitching about the current situation in Eve, mostly in regards to my own personal lack of playing time. And some in regards to the Alliance. And here is the clear part, not one word of that had anything to do with my Corp. No one has said it did, but I want to make that clear. I am frustrated with my recent lack of playing time and with some of the decisions and lack of enthusiasm the Alliance has been making/showing recently. But that is in CONTEXT to the following: we've been at war for a long time. Sov War is a grind and it is hard to make isk, to trade, to run plex, to rat, everything is difficult and has been for a while now. Adding fuel to the fire was not my intention.
I'm not apologizing, everything I said was true. I don't apologize because I know how to bitch properly. I bitch to make things better, to improve the situation and I bitch up. (mostly, although I do realize that the blog does change that a bit. I have to be aware of that.)
I finally got a chance to play some on Saturday, contributed to some nice fleets and managed to kill eight ships including a Carrier. That felt good. And today I am fitting my new Curse, Zealot and Pilgrim and that feels even better.
So don't be afraid to bitch properly, and I hope you know I am using the word "bitch" to make a point. It really is about complaining about things that are wrong in order to see them fixed. And standing by your words and working to make things better yourself and not always relying on others to do it for you.