EVE Evolved: World events in EVE Online, part 2

Solutions: Automated events
As running lots of long-term events would require too much manpower, the ideal solution is to have a small number of GMs that run a large number of mostly automated events. Oddly, the crux of the idea comes from the "World Events" that occur in fantasy MMOs but I believe it can easily be adapted for use in EVE Online. Instead of being seasonal festivals, these would be manually authored events that everyone can participate in for a few days to a week. They could be created using the game's current mission mechanics and could be handed out by temporary "Agents in Space".

Player participation in the event over the course of its duration can be used to determine the outcome of that part of the storyline arc. Players might fight for control of a system in low security space, for example, with control going to the faction that captures the most military installations over the course of a week. Or players might hunt rogue drones to collect data that would help their faction piece together the location of a massive nearby hive. The faction who finds the hive first may then make a discovery that gives them a military edge. Players needn't see the benefit directly but it would become part of the game's evolving storyline. Players may only see news stories and a star system changing hands or a station being destroyed in-game but they'll know they played a part in that event.

The system could even be used to introduce changes to the game world. For example, instead of releasing a new ship with a patch, there could be an arms race event in which a certain number of missions relating to the research of the ship must be completed. These missions would offer standard rewards but players would participate in order to unlock their race's new ship. After a few weeks, the event closes and the ship is unlocked for any races that haven't already completed their research.

Solutions: Who do we want as events staff?
The ideal events staff are people who can come up with interesting storyline arcs in segments. As each segment is completed, they will need to develop the next segment of that arc to go live as quickly as possible. In my opinion then, the perfect people for the job are experienced pen-and-paper dungeon masters and adventure writers, plenty of which are available to work freelance or available for hire. Good dungeon masters regularly run open-ended games in which they have to adapt their pre-designed adventure to the actions of the players. Given access to EVE's mission development environment, adventure writers should easily be able to devise some excellent adventure content.

Summary:
It is my firm belief that cancelling events was a massive step backward for EVE Online. The game's dedication to its evolving storyline was another thing that set it squarely apart from other games. Abandoning the in-game elements of the storyline and relegating potentially awesome events to mere fiction was a distinct disappointment to me. Given the competition arriving on the market in the near future, I think it's about time events made a big come-back. What do you think?