As many are aware, there has been a real problem with the local chat being down in numerous systems, not the least of which is one of the largest trading hubs in New Eden, Jita. There is rampant speculation as to why this is occuring, and a substantial amount of finger-pointing, but no real attempts at finding out the true cause of the issue—until today. Putting my best investigative foot forward, I dove head-first into the problems, and have discovered quite an interesting tale.



It turns out the largest contributor to the issue, as of late, is a rather large rift that began growing throughout the Caldari State alliance. Numerous reports of even the most minor of slights and offenses are being cracked down upon by upper management of the alliance. Massive fines for accidentally bumping a ship, demotions for not mining certain types of ore before others within the belt, etc.



With an increase in enemy movement as demonstrated by increasing Minmatar fleet activity along the Amarr borders, tensions are no doubt high among both the Caldari State and Amarr Empire. Rampant awox-related paranoia seems to be a big issue among the State as well. Over a dozen pilots were removed due to baseless claims of “association with a neutral third party.” These factors—along with several others—seem to be creating far more issues than outward appearances would reveal at first glance.



I managed to get a look at an alliance-wide mail sent by one of the alliance-level leaders in the State. It reads as follows: “To whom it may concern, It seems that in these trying times, there are those among us who are going out of their way to make things even more difficult. While I shall not be naming any names (yet!), this is an alliance wide warning to all alliance members: Rent is to be paid on time, regardless of circumstances. To most people, this will not come as surprising news, but to those few (and you know who you are) this is a generous heads up. There will be consequences, as per our contractual agreement…”



After some more deep diving and questioning of some line members of the various corporations within the State, the truth finally revealed itself. Upper management of the Caldari Navy have been away from the game for several weeks now, and no one remembered to pay the rent for Jita in advance. As per the contract, a majority of the non-critical functions have been disabled, including most chat functionality. If they don’t pay the rent plus a sizable late fee, control of the system will be taken from the Caldari Navy corporation and set as an available rental system open to other members within the alliance.



This rather shocking revelation has led to much more speculation about who may control Jita should the Caldari Navy CEOs not respond. No doubt there are several parties interested in the prime real estate. Cracks are clearly forming for the State—will anyone take advantage of them?