[an0n]

They should add some higher-level statesmanship to the game.

Like letting a dozen or so Alliances form together into a Cartel, and 3-4 Cartels form into an Empire. With the game enforcing some kind of agreed-upon code of law between them.

That'd solve the policing problems and let players commit crimes without being instantly smashed to wreckage by Fed patrols.

[Mathwiz6]

That's a player based economy. Definately.

What really ticks me off is the bit about the IRS.

Nothing wrong with the game, it's part of the design, but the IRS taxing online games is just dumb.

You can't tell who's a U.S. citizen without making it part of all games,

and you can't enforce that out of the U.S.,

and no out of U.S. company would agree to it,

and the in U.S. one's would go bankrupt,

and the player's would get pissed off,

and the game devs would have to find some way to compensate that if you make money in a game, you have to pay for it with R.L. cash, no matter what....

[Bobboau]

a policeing force in EVE I'm thinking could go something like this, some large merc corperation changes it's busness model from 'pay me a **** load right now and I'll go kill that guy' to 'all you people pay me a little bit all the time and I'll woop anyone who ****s with you' that could be the bassis for the begining of a federal like state to form, after a while they controle a few systems and state that 'everyone in this system must pay us all the time in return for protection, don't like it get out' they only do this after they have garnered a reputation for doing a good job of protecting people who pay them. then they institute moderator services, a court system for finding guilt of people who it isn't emidiately apparent who is guilty.

[Flipside]

Operations not dissimilar to this do operate in Eve, but there is constant inter-system struggle, that frequently erupt into wars.

The thing about Eve is that it is a game, therefore, it will always reward you proportionate to the risk you take, that is how games work. However, being an MMO, it has to try and work at multiple paces at once, you have those who prefer to play the game as an Industrial simulator. They are often disparigingly called 'Carebears', it's not my personal cup of tea either, but they are every bit as much a part of the game as the Pirates.  Pirates have to learn to play in their own sandbox. For the main part they do, and apart from the odd Drama, things are fine. Carebears also have to accept that the Pirates earn more money because they take greater risks. If you want to make money faster. Go take risks.

There is, almost certainly, a problem with a massive 'power glut' in a few corporations in Eve, however, I think as the game matures, we may see a Tortoise and Hare situation arising.