To Alt or Not To Alt, That is the Question

A recent thread started on Eve's forums demanding that all alts be destroyed in six months and each account had one character.

My initial reaction was "FRACK YOU" because that would really kick me in the groin. I have six characters on two accounts, and 4 of them with considerable skill point investment. If CCP decided to delete 4 of those characters, my losses would be huge. Of course, I have no doubt CCP will ignore this crank poster and carry on because they do not want to piss off the player base and most players have alts.

But is it a good thing?

I'm guessing, but most players with alts fall into the simple combat pilot / supporting alt category, where the "main" does all the training and gets all the combat skills while the alt receives little training and is used for hauling, scouting, and sometimes manufacturing. Other players like me get two accounts so the industrial alt can train as well and really open up the other game play that 99% of the combat pilot characters cannot access: research, invention, and advanced production.

Of course, there are the CEO alts, characters that out of the box have sufficient skills to properly form and lead a corporation and typically receive little to no training. Then there are research assistant alts that get some training to be good at copying and research of Tech 1 blueprints. There are cyno alts who are trained just to the point where they can throw up a cyno field for carrier pilots. There are freighter alts who get a lot of training to fly a freighter and then stop. Miner alts are popular too but last on my list because I don't mine.

My point is that for one player to properly experience all the career choices that Eve has to off that player has to have alts or make hard choices about what he is and is not going to do in the game. If alts were disallowed, I would not be able to run Razor effectively without recruiting other players that raises risk and effort; it would be easier for me to fold. That would severely piss me off because I like running Razor, its like a side hobby within the game.

I say leave alts alone. It keeps the game fresh and exciting for players who like to experience all Eve has to offer.