So I'm a nullsec blob grunt now

What happens in TEST Jabber stays in TEST Jabber
A couple weeks ago, I got dropped from my corp. This is the second time this has happened to me. The first time I wasn't pissed as there was a perfectly good reason (I stole all their stuff), but this time there was not. I'm not going to go into details as that's not the point of this post, but I will say that I'm bloody angry that all that fucking around sorting and naming three hundred shuttles turned out to be a complete and utter fucking waste of my time.

A short while after that, a short conversation led to Sindel Pellion, a fellow Tweetfleeter and EVE blogger, inviting me to join Kaesong Kosmonauts, a member corp of TEST Alliance Please Ignore [TEST]. TEST is a large nullsec alliance, perhaps most famous for being a FUCKING HUGE ALLIANCE (I honestly shouldn't need to explain this if you've been playing EVE for more than six months). I was delighted: NORK. (that's Kaesong Kosmonauts if you don't know every corp ticker in EVE) is apparently Good At Internet Spaceships - hopefully enabling me to learn how to be Good too - and the association with TEST would mean the potential for fucktons of ISK, and free access to a fair bit of nullsec. Finally, I would become a decent PvPer and also rich!


NOPE.


Upon arriving in HED-GP, I discovered that the highsec gate had a camp on it. This was fine: it was a TEST camp and therefore friendly. The warp bubbles did make moving tedious, but no big deal right?

Wrong. On my second day, I discovered (RIP Harbinger Dec 2012-Jan 2013) that the nullsec gate in HED was gatecamped...by hostiles. Uh oh. Better get some more stuff in, there could be fleets forming to sort this out! ...You know, later when I have time, and my Badger isn't hiding in Agil from ganky WTs.

Several hours later, I'm back and my Badger is free. Awayyy!
...Wait. I don't see alliance tags on my overview. Or corp.
They're grey.

OH GOD

Yep, hostiles had taken over the highsec gate bubbles. Not good. Luckily my clone was in HED; unluckily all I had shipwise there was a Rokh and a Tristan. Well, there has to be something I can do, right? Yep, fleets forming up to work on clearing HED. First one's a Drake fleet; might as well bring the Rokh since I don't feel like suicide-tackling with the Tristan. All goes well, and I get on several KMs (admittedly two are only with my target painter as they died too fast to land a hit on). Op success!

Minutes later, a second fleet is up: armour BSes and Oracles. Okay, well, Rokh again 'cause I'm on a spree. ROLL OUT! This goes less well, and I explode having landed only a few hits - the fleets managed to hover just further apart than my maximum targeting range for most of the fight, but I ended up within range of the enemy and died horribly. Oh well, I hear TEST has a good reimbursement program. To the wiki-mobile!

Turns out, reimbursement requires that you have the EXACT fit specified on the wiki, and it MUST be a ship requested by the FC. As my Rokh was a custom gunship fit, and it was in an armour fleet, I'm blatantly not eligible. The fleet type issue I can accept, but that exact fit spec? It requires gear I can't even use. It requires specialization, disregard for preference even where it makes no difference, and disregards the possibility that the custom fit was actually better for the situation.

I joined NORK. hoping to become a decent combat pilot, able to fit well and fight well. As it turned out, I joined TEST, and they don't do that. I'm a line soldier now, and as a result I have to follow those specific guidelines in order to have any ships to use. Maybe this isn't a problem for market-trading/PLEX-selling people who can afford their own custom fits, but it is for me. I'm going to have to shape myself to TEST's exacting specs if I want to survive, and I'm not sure if I want to do that.

I'll have to think about it.