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Uncategorized Wednesday, September 12th 2012 at 9:40 am

US Official Killed in Libya Was Major EVE Online Player Vile Rat

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Yesterday, September 11th, armed men raided the United States consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi. Ostensibly, this was in protest to a film with anti-Islamic views, but violent behavior is violent behavior. Though reports seem to conflict each other, it has definitely been confirmed that one of the casualties was none other than Sean Smith — the man behind Vile Rat, a well-known EVE Online diplomat.

Smith was working as an information management officer in the consulate when it came under attack. This kind of thing apparently wasn’t unusual, according to Alex “The Mittani” Gianturco‘s account, as Smith had previously been stationed in dangerous areas in the past. This time, however, when the man disconnected from their chat due to gunfire, he didn’t come back.

Smith’s legacy as Vile Rat is currently being regaled throughout the Goonswarm — the legion of EVE Online players originally from the Something Awful forums. Essentially, Vile Rat was one of the foremost diplomats during the Goonswarm’s formation and even elected to the Council of Stellar Management, which is the group that directly interacts with the developers of EVE Online, CCP.

Gianturco probably sums up Smith’s influence on the game the best:

If you play this stupid game, you may not realize it, but you play in a galaxy created in large part by Vile Rat’s talent as a diplomat. No one focused as relentlessly on using diplomacy as a strategic tool as VR. Mercenary Coalition flipped sides in the Great War in large part because of Vile Rat’s influence, and if that hadn’t happened GSF probably would have never taken out BoB. Jabberlon5? VR made it. You may not even know what Jabberlon5 is, but it’s the smoke-filled jabber room where every nullsec personage of note hangs out and makes deals. Goonswarm has succeeded over the years in large part because of VR’s emphasis on diplomacy, to the point of creating an entire section with a staff of 10+ called Corps Diplomatique, something no other alliance has. He had the vision and the understanding to see three steps ahead of everyone else – in the game, on the CSM, and when giving real-world advice.

(The Mittani via Eurogamer)

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  • Ty

    RIP Vile Rat.

  • http://www.facebook.com/dave.hammond Dave Hammond

    Only dealt with VR on a handful of occasions, but doing so was some of the most exciting times I had in an online game. Those few vent sessions were what really launched Dreddit (and eventually TEST) off from an unknown swarm of rifters to something slightly less unorganized.

    Fly Safe, Vile Rat. o7

  • Anonymous

    I just… can’t. It’s absolutely horrible Sean Smith was killed, but this is the most hilarious article I’ve ever read. People who play EVE should just lock themselves inside 24/7 virtual reality pods and be done with it already.

  • Dr. Coene

    You mean people like Sean Smith? A guy so awesome he was a United States diplomat deployed in Libya. Sounds to me like, in addition to being a famous Eve Online diplomat, he was a world traveling, real life diplomat, which in comparison makes you look like a troglodyte.

  • http://www.facebook.com/etiennestan Stanley Etienne

    RIP got to show respect…

  • http://www.facebook.com/Dariuas Tim Slager

    So, just to be clear; you reported on this, which is a tragic event, being a New York based company, I figured you would explain what happened to the terrorists who raided and killed Americans…….. maybe they died? Maybe no one besides VR was injured……..wtf

  • Stealthnugget

    Gotta agree with Dr. Coene here. Smith’s abilities, or talents, as a diplomat was not limited to an online game: he made a difference in the real world as well. The problem with diplomats is that they don’t get enough attention these days, but you can be damn sure that Sean Smith was as well-respected online as in real life.

  • Jack Bond

    The real news here is that the US apologized to the attackers for making an offensive movie. If only we were more spineless, people would stop trying to hurt us.

  • just sayin

    to bad he didnt have a jump clone….

  • Anonymous

    You’re really dumb Jack. Hate to break it to ya but you probably already know so I have a suggestion; there’s this presidential candidate that is dumb like you. You should vote for him, his name is Mitt Romney. Yeah he’s a criminal tax cheat but he’s got your mental prowess. He has no chance of ever becoming president but if you vote for him you and Mitt can sit around the next 4 years and think about how dumb the two of you are together.

  • Foghail

    SYOTOS brother, travel well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.l.rowley Michael Leonard Rowley

    Yes, believe it or not, Gamers do actually rule in real life as well. In fact If I had a choice I wouldn’t elect anyone that had not played Hearts of Iron and Victoria.

  • E D

    US Embassy personell in Egypt released a statement 6 hours before Seans death in Libya- it is not an apology, but a statement designed to defuse a situation brewing because of a really vile video that had been released by a right wing Christian group.
    The Romney camp thought it was released by the Administration after Seans death. They were mistaken- they jumped the gun- they screwed up. It was not from the US administration, it was released before any violence occurred anywhere and it is not an apology.

    “The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims — as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.

    Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy. Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.”

  • Modern1

    And you know whats really the only hilarious thing about the whole tragedy? The idiots who used that video as an excuse to do this probably increased the amount of people to see the video they were so offended by three fold.

  • Nate Wynd

    Vilerat was awesome as a moderator on the SA forums as well as a diplomat for GSF and the world is a shittier place now that he is gone from the world.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Patrician/100001811978280 Robert Patrician

    Damn it NO, it was NOT over some two minute Youtube clip. This was a planned attack and the clip just happen to be a convenient excuse. That the word of murderers is being taken as truth for ‘why they did it’ is garbage. Remember that “Mob rule” is a legal precedent in these countries: If a man rapes a woman then he’s a rapist, but if ten men rape a woman then SHE is punished for ‘provoking it.’ This was a planned attack on US citizens and should be treated as such, not as ‘protesting that got violent.’

  • Tom Moses

    “as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.” Doesn’t the koran itself offend other relegions, it calls Christians and Jews infadels! So then the official position of the US is to ban the koran

  • Arobaz

    This is an attack, the same as if those fighters had walk in our streets, and what will we do for it?.. Nothing else than negociate…