Solo mining = bad for server
Solo pirating = good for server
Quote:Want to know the cost and time it takes? Take a look at the below.
Core Upgrade - Cost to make 116M. 5k trips = 84 (per Upgrade)
Weapon Platform - Cost to make 27.75M. 5k trips = 16 (per Platform)
Storage Module - Cost to make 23.25M. 5k trips = 19 (per Module)
A lot of positive interaction went into building most of these things. (Where were the pirates when people were constructing them? That's a lot of material that needs to be moved.) People working together toward a common goal. And it's not about the money (though it's still a factor.) It's about the time invested vs. time not invested.
IMG is an all encompassing vanilla mining faction. Mining/Trading/Pewing/Pirating. (And hey, they have capships available for those players too.) They have something to offer everyone so an issue like this doesn't even factor into their mode of business. And more importantly, they have lots of people.
Disclaimer - I solo mine Scrap Metal right outside the Puerto Rico jump hole. No one has come to pirate me yet. I solo mine Premium Scrap by the Dallas Storage Container. No one has come to pirate me yet. I was solo mining in a Rhino in Alberta and got hit up for 35 million. I paid it. It was all in good fun. And it was fun, she had an hysterical RP set up for the encounter not just, give me money or die. (And I'm sorry if you are a miner not associated with one of these bases and too trigger happy to pay attention to where you are shooting.)
I'm not for or against this, I'm against unneeded, illogical rules handed down from on high, when there are in-game alternatives available. (Especially when my questions of what constitutes a mineable field as gone unanswered. [And as for Fortudine/Fortitusec, there's nothing on the mining tab at that location, so it must not be in a mineable field]). The POB is a service offered to those who roleplay with the owner as a means of protection and security.