the last line of article says because the galaxy would be devoid of content or purpose without this zarek null. well... solo mode. zarek is null to me because he doesnt exist to me except if he decided to do powerplay, or there was a cg and he was working one side of it and i was working the opposing side.
solo beats zarek mode.
if he wants to roleplay that kind of psychopath he should die soon and his 'empire of a thousand years' will as always with these people fall apart. saddam null - sorry zarek nulll (meh genocidal dictators are all the same) adds nor subtracts NOTHING at all from the content of my game bar one thing : OPEN MODE. and i can live with that. hes not the only griefer out there. he may be truly roleplaying a character or just saying so to do some attention seeking, or have spun this wild tale to deflect criticism from victims which pricked his real life conscience when he suddenly empathised and realised not everyone has infinite rebuys to afford to lose their ship over and over, and that his actions risk killing the game if he manages to drive new players to quitting and demanding their money back in rage.
yes i know others say that kind of thing at the drop of a hat and others poo-poo it by saying it hasnt killed it yet - but FD know the threat is real, or they wouldnt have instituted the protection from open all new players have at first to prevent the baby seal killers doing just that.
Powerful ships, effective weapons, strong shields: credits, materials and time buy these things. Why spend valuable resources on them? Their value comes from their ability to mitigate threats. I am a threat. Thus, ultimately, the value of credits, ships, weapons, etc. originates, in part, from me. Obtaining a more capable vessel is valued by a sidewinder pilot in part because me and my kind exist. The fewer threats there are, the less utility combat-capable ships possess.