I'll admit to being in the "mixed feelings" crowd here.
Having played quite a few other MMO games, I know all to well what "guild/clan/tribe/faction/alliance/whatever spam" is - those endless recruitment drives, often done to ensure one moves up the inner ranks of their organization. Plain old yuck. It makes me glad not to have these sort of systems or a global chat channel here in Elite, nor a mailbox to get filled with blind invitations for the same reasons.
However, we DO have Factions in the game - both purely NPC factions, as well as factions created by submission by players. These simply Exist. And while a full-blown Player Group can agree to work towards the common goal of a matching player-devised Faction, they are not considered, in game, to be "Of That Faction". So while The Winged Hussars may have an NPC-based in-game representation, and a supporting Player Group behind them, with any number of members, that player group does not really "belong" to that faction, no matter how much they support it.
In some ways, this isn't such a bad thing - If WH #228 becomes disenfranchised with the group, they're free to go without having to do anything in particular. Other Player Group members may not take kindly to #228 opting out, but the NPC's of the faction are generally not going to care one way or another, and #228 is free to go about with whatever.
Likewise, if I happen to find myself in favor of the WH, and want to aid them, I can do so, without having to go though any initiation, waiting on a leader to approve my membership, making enemies I never wanted, or any other impact on my day-to-day.
It's the sort of loose affiliation that makes faction association in game both easy and comfortable for the largest number of people. I don't want dragged into someone else's war/drama because the leader of my group broke up with their significant other, who then broke away and formed their own group and now the two attack each other on sight.. bleh. I left that kind of drama behind in High School. Yuck. And I've seen it happen in more than one game, so I certainly don't miss it here.
But, I am not unsympathetic either - a well organized, planned, thought out player-designed organization has its own rewards as well - comrades-in-arms when trouble comes calling, a reputation among other players, and can contribute greatly to the overall state of the game (look at The Fuel Rats for example). And I don't see pledging to a faction to really be all that different than what Power Play has to offer by joining a particular Power. In fact, the Power Play system could be scaled down, so to say, to allow for this very sort of thing - or revamped in such a way that this is how one engages Power Play entirely - by first pledging to a minor Faction that supports the Power for whom one wishes to Play.
For instance, if I decide I want to support Zach Hudson, I would first find a Faction that supports him - let's say LHS 221 Vision Systems, a Corporate organization based in LHS 221.
I devote some time to raising my Reputation and Influence with LHS 221 Vision Systems by taking on their menial tasks, putting in my time, until my status is updated to indicate my adoption as an LHS 221 Vision Systems member. Now I am given actual real and important missions, reserved for full-fledged faction members, and in the same manner of Rank Progression or Permits (only working), I am given a "Pledge Zach Hudon" mission - perhaps that "mission" is: "Go to the Livery and Equip an 'I ❤ Zach Hudson' Power Play decal to your ship", and when done, my status display is now updated to reflect my pledge to Zach Hudson, and by this I gain access to all the Zach Hudson Power Play options.
To simplify:
As a Nobody, I start working for a faction. In time, I win "Allied" status, and am given a "Join This Faction" mission, that brands me a member of said faction.
As a member of Said Faction, I receive different missions from That Faction - not available to the general public, who have not proven themselves.
After a number of successful Faction missions, I'm given a "Pledge Our Power" mission, and my status as a Member of Said Faction is replaced by a Power Play status instead.
Though no longer listed as a member of Said Faction, but as a member of That Faction's Power, I still receive That Faction Member missions, but I also receive Faction Member missions from other allied Factions, once I've achieved Allied status as well, without having to join that faction, and do not get "Join this Faction" missions, as I am now of A Higher Order - a member of the Power those factions support.
This would give depth and meaning to Factions and Powers that we simply do not have at this point, and really should not be all that difficult to implement, as the basics of these systems already exist.
And this should satisfy both the Clanny/Factiony folks, as well as their opposition, as both end up getting at least half of what they've wanted - those supporting a given faction be it purely NPC, or Player Submitted, can now properly see themselves (in-game) as members of that Faction. Those who fear player abuse of this can relax, as these would remain in the control of NPC's. And Player Group leaders can continue to lead their player groups without putting additional burdens on the servers - they still haven't recovered from 2.3 after all, and I'm not fully convinced they ever got over 2.2.
Today's Word: Compromise
: An arrangement no one loves, but everyone can agree to live with.
