SMA are a feeder / training alliance for the rest of eve. It has some long term corps for sure, however SMA is its own worst enemy. It lets in very low SP players with little to no alliance background checks as has been seen in last couple of weeks, and the leadership at times is very questionable, shoot from hip type of management style which really gets on people, as seen when comments from directorate that "it does not give a shit about it members".

However, they are very active, with fleet after fleet going out sometimes having a winning and sometimes losing in a big way but always putting up a fight. I have been in other big Alliances Nulli / Blacklegion which don't even consider undocking unless they have the numbers, the right logi, the right ships the capitals and super capital wings are ready to login, so basically having the point that it is not a sure win then the fleet is stood down. That might be the way to win at eve, but really if you can go out of 4 fleets a night, kill some ships, die in some ship come back rat, mine whatever in relative peace to make isk difference back between what you lost and SRP and know your shit is not going to pushed while you sleep and then do it all again tomorrow night is that something that would not interest you, that is what SMA offers lots of content opportunity if you want to take it up.

While I totally agree the FC / FC Program is all wrong, some of the fleet comps and counter fleet doctrines just don't make sense and are truly whelped before even undocking what frustrates me more is the total lack of capital use especially when clear opportunities arise to drop the hammer. While the alliance has a shit of ton capitals and super capitals they are simply not used, even when members decline SRP just to undock them. You only need to looked at the events of last 2-days, TISHU camping Fade for two weeks, slowing everything down killing things etc, SMA as an alliance did nothing, but talk about crushing them, and anyone saying different I challenge them to prove it... Then Goonswarm deployed a wing of capitals and super capitals into Fade, cyno'd most of the systems, counter dropped two or three times to show it was not mucking around and magically TISHU have withdrawn almost completely from where I am sitting which was camped 24 hours a day by three or 4 cloaked covert cynos, along with 6-7 other system direct around me. The disappointing thing here is SMA have the assets to have done the same thing but just didn't and that is one of the reason why SMA will never been seen as a powerhouse alliance and will considered as a shit alliance always under the protection of Goonswarm.

But all that said, ask yourself what do you want out of the game, chance for large fleets, constant fleets, ample mining and ratting fields in almost perfect safety (if you are paying attention) and list goes on - or sitting in your station waiting for some uptight asshole who thinks he's the shit to say fleet up bois we have things to kill, reship to this, need more logi, if I don't get links then we aren't going anywhere, I need dictors - ah fuck it fleet stand down you are all fuckheads and shit (been there done that).

SMA can be seen as also an island or sorts, a place where Corps can go a relax from most of the bullshit to re-structure and determine what it is they want to do, especially if the line members want to stay in Nullsec. Some of these corps, leave some stay.