I’ve run out of ways to begin this particular memorial article. I have spent days trying to conjure anything that remotely feels like the right words, and I have failed often. I have been bereft, as many others have, at the loss of a dear friend.
So I’ll start with the facts – on August 7, 2024, we lost a titanic figure within this community.
Innominate – or Brad, to his real-life family, friends, and colleagues – was taken from us far too soon. Having spent more than a year bravely fighting an incredible battle against cancer, he was just 41 when he passed away.
Innominate was a close friend to some. A good friend to a great many more. And he was an open personality, always willing to strengthen existing bonds, forge new relationships, and give newcomers both a chance and an opportunity.
He would want us to remember that last part forever, I know that for sure.
Inominate’s EVE History
I use the word “history” here as a proper descriptor of his time in EVE Online. He was here forever.
Starting to play in the pre-release EVE Online beta, Innominate was an EVE player for more than half his life. If you take a look at his in-game character details, you’ll see that technically, Innominate’s character was created in the first minutes after the live servers became active, in May 2003:
Noms bounced around a little in the early years, moving through three corporations in three years (all of which still exist, surprisingly). Then, in 2006, he joined up with a crew of individuals who had decided this was their game. These were the original Goons, the ones who took a forum membership and made it into something bigger. While they moved through a series of corporations and alliances, the key members stuck together – and Innominate was absolutely one of those core community individuals.
He first joined up with GoonPlatoon in September 2006, then lived through the era of the original GoonFleet, spending three and a half years there. Then, following the 2010 Goon schism, he moved on to GoonWaffe, and continued to be a huge presence there. Eventually, he found his way to KarmaFleet, which is only ~40% of the Goonswarm directorate nowadays, and I know he loved every minute with us there, too.
His Goonswarm Roles
NomNoms wasn’t just a line member, though. He was an Alliance Director for many years, serving as the “Director of GoonFucking”, among other roles. For anyone who doesn’t know what that means, well – quite simply, if you thought somebody had wronged you within the alliance, you would go to Innominate, he would listen to your story, look into it, and make a judgement.
His judgements could be significant. There were points where an individual would choose to kill a friendly capital, for example, and the response would be that individual ended up dying the next time they undocked their own supercapital. People who broke the rules were, at times, dealt with very harshly.
But for every hard judgement passed on one alliance member, there would be a few others who were given a warning, and a second chance to do better next time.
Noms also served as one of Goonswarm’s main IT directors, a role which crossed over fairly heavily with his real-life work. He relished the challenge of building more and more robust infrastructure for IT services, going so far as to participate in designing clusters that would automatically fail over when a critical event happened.
He loved causing those events by stress-testing the infrastructure with our community during large-scale fleets though, too. The idea of knocking Mumble out for a couple of minutes because too many people were talking always made him laugh, and he would want us to remember those moments with a smile too.
His Time on the CSM
Innominate first joined the Council of Stellar Management as a member of CSM 11, back in May 2016. He went on to hit a record number of terms on the CSM – six full terms – retiring after CSM 16 and having equalled the record for the most number of terms served.
Innominate shares that record with only two others: Mike Azariah and Steve Ronuken. Only Noms and Steve have achieved that record in consecutive terms. It’s a hell of an accomplishment.
Over the course of his time on the CSM, Noms provided feedback on so many topics. Obviously, the big ones – Citadels, War Decs, Rorquals, capital balance, subcapital balance, the Triglavian storyline, and more. But everything you will ever hear about Innominate on the CSM, from those who served with him, was that he participated as a moderate voice, and as a person who wanted to strike a good compromise that would also be for the improvement of EVE Online as a whole.
Quite frankly, Noms was a significant influence on anyone and everyone who has touched EVE Online in the last 8 years, regardless of whether you play in nullsec or not. His six terms on the CSM showed both his tenacity and his willingness to work across all of the game’s community, for the betterment of EVE Online as a whole.
CCP Recognise His Contributions
Even CCP have gone out of their way to recognise Innominate this week, as we have all mourned together. This week, their fortnightly Community Beat blog post focuses on both Innominate’s huge contributions to the community, and also the topic of EVE Forever:
When we talk about “EVE Forever”, we speak not only of ensuring that this universe we’ve all built together continues to thrive for generations to come, but also of something far deeper. EVE Forever embodies the friendships, connections, and memories that transcend the game itself. These bonds, forged in the deepest parts of New Eden, often become a lasting part of our lives—etched into our very beings.
This week, we are particularly reminded of this truth. The loss of Innominate is a profound one, yet it also serves to highlight the incredible impact each of us has within this universe. Whether your accomplishments are grand or humble, short-lived or decades long, your presence and your contributions are what keep New Eden vibrant and alive.
CCP, Community Beat
Other Stories and Anecdotes
As Merk put it in the initial hours after we all heard the awful news:
Our community will never be the same without him around. Please say a prayer or send some positive vibes to his family. They do not tell you when you start playing an internet spaceship game that this is what you are signing up for BUT WE WOULD DO IT ANYWAY had we known. WE LOVE YOU BRAD, THE WORLD IS A DARKER PLACE WITHOUT YOU BROTHER. WE ARE NOT OK.
Merkelchen
I have spent the past week reaching out to members of the community who knew Innominate well – members of CCP, past members of the CSM who served with him, and also members of our Goon community who knew him and feel his loss. Here are their pieces of commentary, in compilation, as a testament to how far his memory reaches.
Mark Resurrectus / CCP Jotunn
Innominate was by all accounts the example by which all future members of the CSM will be measured. He was a dedicated champion of EVE Online and its global community, a seasoned negotiator who was able to skillfully navigate the complex discourse between EVE’s players and her developers.
The impact of his life can be seen plainly in the outpouring of love and grief from everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him during his time on this Earth. Whether it was on a stream, or at Fanfest, or just a casual gathering at a bar, the stories told of his generosity and easy going attitude paint a picture of a man who went out of his way to make the lives of everyone around him just a little bit better as often as he could. Would that the world was full of people like Nom.
He was a cheerful companion to his allies, an enthusiastic belligerent to his enemies, and a good friend.
Few like him now remain, and our world is a little smaller for his passing.
Dunk Dinkle
I met Nom for the first time in person at Reykjavik Airport after a long flight. It was early in the morning, and I was nursing a coffee as we waited for more of the CSM to assemble. He greeted me with a firm handshake.
We spent the rest of the day puttering around together at the CCP offices and around town.
After several meals together and an extended tour of Icelandic nightlife, we headed back to the hotel in the wee hours. Having known me less than a day, he said goodnight with a giant bear hug and told me “Tomorrow will be a good day.”
And he was right. It was a good day.
Innominate was good, kind man and I’m honored to have called him friend.
Jin’taan
On the day before the first CSM 11 summit, Innominate was the person who brought all of the CSM members together for a meal despite us being strangers, and in many cases Internet Spaceship opponents.
It may sound like a small gesture, but to me it’s emblematic of the positive influence Innominate has always been, seizing any opportunity to bring the community together and make people feel like a cherished part of it.
He was a real bridge builder in the best sense. I learned so much from that council which ended up being useful in my professional life, and I think gestures like this were part of what turned us into a proper team – and stopped me from feeling like the odd one out as the 20 year old in a group of professional 30-somethings.
The hobby itself is darker without him, but I hope that his memory will inspire all of us to continue that legacy of seeing beyond the game, and spreading joy among the people who we share it with. Fuck cancer.
Shingly
I’ve known Innominate for over a decade. I joined the CFC as a bright eyed, squeaky voiced 16 year old and not too long later ended up becoming friends with Innominate as we worked to set up a community radio-station on Plug DJ.
Ever since then, we’ve been good friends, hanging out and playing games through the years. More than that, though, he was a mentor for me in many ways. Helping me find my way through growing up, through difficult times and into my career.
Of everyone I’ve met through EVE Online, nobody has had an impact on my life even close to what Innominate did.
Anonymous
At one point after the death of my mom, I seriously considered suicide. I had just mentioned in chat about my girlfriend at the time and I breaking up, so he hit me up on discord to check in. I admitted that I was NOT doing well.
Brad dropped what he was doing and got me into a voice chat and just talked to me for close to 4 hours about life and how KF/GSF had a special bond where we watch out for one another, especially in the tough times.
He talked me down off of that ledge. I am forever grateful to him for that. Dude literally saved my life.
I’m doing well now, and I have Brad and Tony to thank for taking the time to make sure someone was OK.
BillyBop Bunnigans
This isn’t all that exciting, but when I was promoted to GSOL director in place of Tuzy, I would say “excuse me” in meetings when trying to break into a convo.
Noms just said, “Hey Billy, you are a director now, just mute the bitches”.
He was so right.
The Mittani
Innominate is no longer with us – gone too soon – and the world is a darker place for it.
Brad was at the very center of our internet spaceship community; he was my battle brother, and we spent many years in the trenches of one space-war after another together. I will miss his smile, his laugh, the wry twinkle in his eyes when we shared a joke. In so many of my pivotal memories both online and in the real world, Innominate was there, an active part of whatever we were struggling through, helping to make things happen. His absence leaves a palpable void in our hearts.
He is loved, and he is missed.
Fuck cancer.
Aryth – This one is a Story
Shared interests have power. They transcend geography, culture, social, and economic separation. In this way they bring people together that no other human mechanism can.
The shared love of EVE, the excitement of the rise of an empire, and the eventual intoxication of the meta brought Innominate’s life and mine together. I use his gaming name deliberately. Not because I didn’t know him deeply and personally, but because he came into my life as Innominate and was last in it as the same.
We had gamed together for years, only knowing each other as our gaming personas. A shared interest was all we had. Somehow EVE had the power to turn that into hanging out across three countries and some male bonding of Road Trip-esque levels of absolute hilarity.
The thing about Brad was he was deeply introverted. Shy even. His gaming persona was powerful, and ruled with the frightening power of judgement. Deep inside himself, though, he was a gentle soul. Generous to a fault, kindhearted in the face of emotion, always looking out for the little guy. But on the CSM, an almost requirement for the position is you must consume alcohol. This is where people truly bond over the love of the game. Not helping, of course, is the fact there is almost nothing to do in Iceland other than eat.
I have a clear memory of the first time I saw Brad inebriated. Sitting in a hotel lobby sitting room, a new Brad came out. Confident, extroverted, with ever the fountain of stories.
This was the version of him I saw the most. One of my top 5 memories of Brad is being in a Reyk cafe with him and Gobbins. I was talking a lot, as I am prone to do, and suddenly Brad says “Shut up Aryth” because he wanted to talk. For a moment I was stunned, and then suddenly proud. I watched on with a smile as he narrated a tale to Gobbins. This was the person at his core. Assertive, full of life, and probably a bit like a gamerwife. Hey, it is 2024, I can use that term.
So, to set the stage. One of the things Brad discovered, I believe on our very first trip together, was an alcoholic wine called Tokaji. This is a very sweet drink, a very expensive drink, and one he couldn’t get enough of. I have watched him haggle with a restaurant to buy out their last two bottles of this drink, as we are trying to pay the check.
Now imagine a bar crawl with Tokaji as the opening act. This was his mana, and elixir of heaven. On this potion, Brad came out and alive. The thing about Iceland is certain interpersonal things have far less barriers to entry and social constraints. Meaning, it is easier to engage in social connection than might be true in, say, the United States.
My most memorable and fondest memory of Brad requires all of these set pieces. For the record. I had his permission to tell this story and I told it over and over to each CSM, and I will leave out some details to keep it modest and work safe.
One year CCP decided to put us up in the Raddison Blu. We hadn’t previously stayed at this establishment. By this point we had shared enough time together that we were almost friends. To this day I am not sure why I did this, but for some reason I decided to try to make his trip a little more memorable. I was chatting up the hotel receptionist as I checked in. I requested that she be extra nice to my friend who was coming soon. Now, this is where I screwed up.
She knew it was a party of 10. This is how CCP books things. It didn’t occur to me that I should describe him extra clearly. I had no idea how amazing this mistake would turn out. I ended up going upstairs while Brad checked in to shower. We always powered through the first day to combat jetlag and essentially didn’t get any sleep for one night.
The next morning another CSM member comes into breakfast really happy. He tries to play coy for all of 90 seconds before telling us he got lucky that night and it was his first time. Rounds of back slapping occur and congratulations as guys are known for. Keep in mind this CSM member was one of the younger members on the council that year.
So obviously we are asking for gory details and who she is. He tells us it was the hotel receptionist. I immediately slap my forehead and realize what has gone wrong. Trying to salvage the situation, I wait for everyone to finish breakfast, and try to get to the lobby where we met prior to heading to CCP. Judge was there before me in a chair already talking to the same receptionist.
Sitting down, I mentioned that the aforementioned friend was not the same person she was with the night before and was instead older, from the United States, and wearing flannel. In my defense here, I am going to blame jetlag for not pulling up a picture and making the same mistake twice.
Dear reader, you can probably see where this is going a mile off. Sure enough, the next morning another CSM is being shy. This time for almost 10 minutes before admitting he too has been graced with a special trip. At this point I am flabbergasted. I catch the receptionist again and go “you got the wrong guy again”. This time I wait for Brad to enter the lobby, point, and go “THAT one”. Her next words will stick with me forever. “I will add him to my vagina donation list”
First restaurant that night, Brad has his Tokaji, is feeling alive and has no idea what is coming. At the third location of the night our hotel receptionist joined us. I didn’t coordinate this. I actually believe it was the Judge who gave her our location.
They are hitting it off really well. Now, in Iceland, I was the designated CCP’er for days if you will. My job was to handle primary on the CSM meetings themselves, and be clear of mind during the sessions. Nom’s job was to handle the social side at night. So I bid my goodbyes at location four and request from Brad to let me know when he got to his room safe. I didn’t like bailing as a wingman, but at this point it was already midnight and you need sleep if you want to be able to explain complex mechanics the next day.
From what I was told by others, they had a great time, and around 3AM people split off. Brad goes to her house, others go back to the hotel, etc. From my perspective I wake at 6AM and see no message from him saying that he is safe. I start to minorly panic. This is Iceland. They have one murder in a decade and the entire nation freaks out. This ain’t the USA, where Chicago resembles a sandbox warzone with several murders a weekend.
So minor panic at this point. But I am still fairly concerned. At this point I am furiously messaging the CSM groupchat, texting Brad, trying to get anyone to say “yes he got to the hotel fine” and was just too drunk to remember to check in with us.
Two hours go by, we eat breakfast and no Brad. Now I am ready to go to reception and welfare check him because he isn’t going to make the CCP meetings on time either way, and I need to confirm he is at least alive. We are discussing when to do that when suddenly discord has a message from Brad that I can never forget.
“My beard smells funny”.
The entire chat erupts in laughter and relief. So Brad, NomNom. Wherever we end up, we can meet again. I hope I see your glorious beard again and for each day until then, may your beard smell funny. Goonspeed brother.
The Rampage Continues
Last night, we saw Innominate’s cyno vigil take place. In 1DQ1-A, no less than six CCPers turned up to pay their respects, and hundreds of cynos were lit for him. We thank everyone who helped us create a beacon larger than New Eden for Innominate:
Also, Merkelchen and Brisc ran a Rampage Inc stream dedicated to Brad’s memory. They told stories, they laughed, they cried, they were present for our vigil… and we came together for it all. You can watch the stream back here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2226201119
For this incredible send-off, Srsli / LookToYourLeft created a new video for the “In a Fleet With You” song, first published in 2021. Innominate made a point of noting that this was his favourite EVE song, and you can watch the new video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHs8etqCN2w
But the stream also had an extra theme: FUCK CANCER! The aim of the entire memorial stream was to make sure we celebrated our friend. But at the same time, we took the opportunity to raise funds for the fight against cancer.
All Twitch subscription and bits proceeds are going to be donated to the American Cancer Society, and the Cancer Research Institute. Additionally, all direct donations to the crew last night will be donated. Furthermore, Mrs. Brisc released a limited run of prints she made in Nom’s memory: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1765345142/eternal-friendship. All proceeds after production and shipping costs will also go towards these two charities working to stop cancer in its tracks.
At the time of writing, the Rampage Inc. crew had raised $6,307.48 through outright donations and print proceeds, with more to come once the Twitch subscriptions and bit donations are tallied. Every penny of it goes towards cancer research and support charities.
Truly, our community has turned out to say, with one voice: “FUCK CANCER!”
My Final Tribute
I first met Noms as a young EVE diplomat, doing spacework and needing his help. He gave it graciously, every time.
Very quickly, I ended up spending hours each week drinking and playing Cards against Humanity with Noms and others from the “space-job havers”. We would get together on a Saturday night, once the meetings were all done, have a few (or more) drinks, and try to one up each other with how terrible a person we could end up being. It was hilarious.
This slowly ended up merging into the Saturday Night Swarm events, too. We would have a few drinks and then go on a fleet and be disruptive as all hell for the fun of it. It wouldn’t be unusual in those years gone by that we would be the last ones standing, chatting about anything and everything.
Brad would always end up ranting about something or other, and someone else would disagree, and sometimes it would get heated. But the next week, we’d all be there again, having fun together without a moment’s thought for what had gone before.
Others have noted his interest in the SR-71 Blackbird, which was a high-speed stealth jet operated by the US in the late 20th Century. The man could talk on and on about that particular aircraft for hours, and did, frequently. Indeed, I can attest to this personally, having received the e-book for “Sled Driver” no less than three times from Noms – the first time back in 2018.
But what I’ll remember him for most of all is the point at which I was finishing university, and looking to move into the wider job market. After a while, a mutual friend suggested I apply for a job at the company they both worked at, so I asked Brad for a little advice and a quick look over my application. Brad spent four hours, in the middle of the week, chatting about how to make improvements, and also suggesting other roles that might suit, just in case. He cared and was invested in that with me. He was also one of the first to celebrate with me when I actually got that job, making it into a cause for toasts on a Friday night too.
I will miss him dearly.
Fare Well, My Friend
So now I say this to Innominate, and all those others we have lost along the way:
Fair Winds and Following Seas, on your journey beyond our shores.
I hope wherever you find your rest has a great atmosphere, great company, and great beer and whisky to boot.
We will all see you there someday, and be reunited in the Great Beyond.
