Forced character display to post should be dropped.

[Pixela]

This has annoyed me and many others for a long time, ever since this was added to the official forums. Many people simply refuse to post here, of those that do some just pay for an alt. Myself included. There are tens of thousands of people playing FFXI and a few handful that post here regularly.

In a time when people can't just let things go and think they have the right to argue with you everywhere else because of something said on a forum somewhere, having an official forum for a product we pay for force us to display our game characters is a stupid decision.

There is no valid reason for us to be forced to display an active character to post on a forum our sub pays for. I have no issue with having to link an active character to the account to be able to post, but we should not be forced to publicly display it to all.

I'm personally not going to pay $1 a month anymore just to post here.

[Alhanelem]

The forums are here for current players. It's as simple as that. If you're not a current player, this forum isn't for you.

There is really no reason to object to having to select a character other than you've done something bad and have something to hide. Any honest player will not be harmed by having their posts associated with who they are in game.

I personally have never had anyone harass me or anything like that in game for anything I've posted here or vice versa. What are you afraid of? I have more posts than most of the of the other forum users combined and some of my posts and threads have bene pretty infamous. But not once has that ever hurt me in game (or vice versa). I own up to and answer everything I say. If anything, requiring people to use a character to post on the forums keeps people honest. Of course, it would be more true if people weren't allowed to use level 1 alts/jobs.

I agree, you shouldn't pay $1 to hide your identity. You should not pay it, and use your actual character. We aren't talking about your real life identity here, we're talking about a persona already.

Come at me bro, literally. Come on to Shiva and hunt me down to say mean things to me. I have nothing to hide, why do you?
<------- That is me, and always has been since day 1 of the game being available in the US.

[Haldarn]

I'd prefer if they just made additional characters free, up to a certain number per server, like we have in FFXIV.

Or one free character per server at the least.

Are the concerns about doing so only around botters? Or is the cash they receive for active mules really so high?

edit: One free character per server could even be a good idea to help those seemingly tied to Asura understand that not all of the other servers are as 'dead' as some people would have you believe.

[Alhanelem]

I'd prefer if they just made additional characters free, up to a certain number per server, like we have in FFXIV.

Or one free character per server at the least.

Are the concerns about doing so only around botters? Or is the cash they receive for active mules really so high?

edit: One free character per server could even be a good idea to help those seemingly tied to Asura understand that not all of the other servers are as 'dead' as some people would have you believe.
I mean don't get me wrong, I've always felt the extra fee for every additional character was dumb. My issue is Pixela's motive for the suggestion being the fact he's paying for anonymity on the forums, which is also dumb and something nobody here really should have any reason to do.

[Zehira]

10-day suspension was pretty a long time. Not your fault but wouldn't be more annoying if you just keep creating too many new threads that don't interest us? :)

[Pixela]

10-day suspension was pretty a long time. Not your fault but wouldn't be more annoying if you just keep creating too many new threads that don't interest us? :)

If you don't want to get suspended, don't do stupid things.

[Zehira]

If you don't want to get suspended, don't do stupid things.

That's not the point but okay.

Tragic, isn't it?

[Alhanelem]

If you don't want to get suspended, don't do stupid things.
Well, if you don't do stupid things, you shouldn't need to be paying extra to hide behind a mule on the forums.

[Pixela]

That's not the point but okay.

Tragic, isn't it?

I have zero idea what you're talking about. if you want to talk to people try to be more clear what you're trying to say.



Well, if you don't do stupid things, you shouldn't need to be paying extra to hide behind a mule on the forums.

It has nothing to do with doing stupid things (I'm not the one posting admittance of botting on official forums) and everything to do with wanting to keep things separate, it's ok though I'm well aware you lack the ability to see anything from any point of view but your own.

Let me suggest you do this:

Post your facebook page, post your twitter account, post your steam account. You have nothing to hide right, so why not?

Obviously you should not do these things and should keep them all separate.

The only difference between you and me is that you draw the line of your privacy in a different place.

[Zehira]

I have zero idea what you're talking about. if you want to talk to people try to be more clear what you're trying to say.

Sorry I don't mean to be rude but that's because you are from the UK so you kind of a person who has zero idea. I don't accept that.

Imagine interpreting the speech of Matsui and Fujito in every digest video? My eyes could get sore. Those SE staff are just a Japanese translator (not an interpreter which is a lot harder). I am sure they can figure out my grammar fine.

[Alhanelem]

and everything to do with wanting to keep things separate,What reason is there to "keep things seperate?"

I mean, really. If you are an honest player, nothing you say on the forums is going to hurt you in game or vice versa. In fact, more often than not it's helpful, more than once over the years I've had people ask me questions or thank me for something I posted on the forums because they only read the forums and don't post.

There is no good reason to mask your in-game identity on the forums. I mean, it's already a persona, it's not like we're asking you to use your real life name. The only reason to do what you're doing is to prevent people from calling you out for doing something wrong in game.



Post your facebook page, post your twitter account, post your steam account. You have nothing to hide right, so why not?

Obviously you should not do these things and should keep them all separate.The difference is something like facebook is attributable to my real life. It's totally different here, where you're using a persona of a persona. I keep it seperate because it's not connected in any way to what's going on here. But if I had a reason to direct someone there, I would share it because it's relevant in that situation. Again, I don't have anything to hide. If I have an actual reason to send people to my social media, I will. But I'm not just going to say "here's my facebook" without any context lol.

The forums are connected to the game by SE. You have to be a player of the game to post Thus, there is no reason to seperate the forums from the game. Again unless you do bad things in game and have something to hide, there is no reason not to use your real character. There is nobody here that doesn't have a character in the game. This forum is an extension of the game itself, it just provides a place to discuss stuff without having to spend 5 minutes firing the game itself up when you're not in the mood to actually play.

I've used it the entire time these forums have existed and it hasn't harmed me in any way. I am generally suspicious of anyone who does not use their main character here, I consider anyone who does this to be potentially an unscrupulous player who might do wrong things in game and doesn't want anyone to call them out for it (Which is against the rules anyway, so in practice it shouldn't actually happen)

I will take the word of a player on these forums who isn't hiding who they are in game over one who is.

[Pixela]

What reason is there to "keep things seperate?"


Because this is what I want, this is the only answer required.

[Zehira]

Because this is what I want, this is the only answer required.

Dear Pixela or whoever you are on Asura (even I suspected something said in /yell and for sure most of us are hiding),

Please allow me to introduce myself something a little on this thread.

I have played with my old 3 deaf Tarutaru friends from the UK (originally on Pandemonium) more than a decade ago. Remember I have posted the several PS2 screenshots on a thread somewhere? Yeah, that's them. While we all speak the same language, we can not communicate ourselves in our sign languages (video-to-video chat; ASL and BSL). Sadly, that deaf lady can't speak English properly. I spent a lot of my time teaching her more vocab about things. For some reason, FFXIV totally separated us when they officially got their EU servers. That's what I learned so much I have more rights than those deaf people in the UK and that's for sure.

Zehira is Zehira, that's who I am. Yes, I posted a lot on this forum and no one hurts me. Even some of members from my LS (over 150 members because discord said so) have read my posts try to kidnap me to do something. <3

Meanwhile, she couldn't stop thinking of me.

[Pixela]

I post on this forum to have some input into the development of the game, nothing else.

[Zehira]

I post on this forum to have some input into the development of the game, nothing else.

Then it's not okay to create a new thread targeting Square Enix staff. You have to have a debate with your fellow adventurers, nothing else.

[Pixela]

Then it's not okay creating a new thread targeting Square Enix staff. You have to have a debate with your fellow adventurers, nothing else.

Your posts make no sense, not sure if you're trolling with incoherent babble on purpose or if you're trying to say something useful and just can't bring it forward because English isn't your first language. Whatever the case, I don't know what you're trying to say and so I'm not going to waste any more time trying to puzzle it out.

[Zehira]

I'm not going to waste any more time trying to puzzle it out.

It's simple... We got 300 blacklist for no reason.

[Zehira]

Awesome random posts on Facebook, SE.

If I stop posting here, are you gonna regret it? But of course, Facebook has a better "reaction" feature. More free thinkers there than here. lol

[Haldarn]

More free thinkers there than here. lol

Those 'free thinkers' are the ones that repeatedly clamour for a 75 cap server and an HD relaunch on console? Don't see many other reactions to SE's FFXI Facebook posts.

[Zehira]

Those 'free thinkers' are the ones that repeatedly clamour for a 75 cap server and an HD relaunch on console? Don't see many other reactions to SE's FFXI Facebook posts.

I am sorry. I didn't mean any high demands they post on Facebook. For reactions, it's easier to see who like your post (FFXIAH for an example). This forum is very old and has too many twins I know.

[Haldarn]

I am sorry. I didn't mean any high demands they post on Facebook. For reactions, it's easier to see who like your post (FFXIAH for an example). This forum is very old and has too many twins I know.

Ah, then I agree. Though in terms of FFXI forums, I think this one's still the newest of the lot ;)

[Alhanelem]

Because this is what I want, this is the only answer required.
"I have something to hide"

You made my point. You fear vindictive action to something stupid you said/did either in game or here.

Ultimately, there's nothing wrong with SE's forum policy for honest players. The only people it hurts are people who probably have done something wrong.

[Pixela]

There is no valid reason for it to be the way it is (feel free to give one), and all it actually does is lower participation. They can easily have character linking on this forum and keep the name hidden to the public, if the intention is to just make sure active players can post.

I reiterate, there is no reason for it to be the way it is and it is partially responsible for less of the tens of thousands of players posting on the forum. Ultimately we bypass it anyway, so even if we did "have something to hide" it's easy to work around. The point I'm making is that we should not have to just to give them feedback or suggestions.

There are so few people that post on this forum, that just a few examples prove my point that it is an issue.

Other than myself, that use a level 99 alt (and I'm not alone in this btw, so a level 1 isn't always a sign).

Here is someone else that uses an alt:

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/58155-Idea-Obtain-augments-as-usable-items-that-can-be-traded-or-sold-to-each-other

Here is another:

https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/9435-%E3%81%93%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E4%B8%8D%E5%85%B7%E5%90%88%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%8B%EF%BC%9F/page89

I could go on, the point is that there are a lot of people that do not like this and most of them refuse to post here at all because of it.

If you have a feature on your forum, that people have an issue with and that has no positive benefits you need to re-evaluate that system. This is not a feature the developers added, this is something the community team can turn on and off and as such the English speaking community team that are reading these posts are the ones responsible for it being as it is and can change it.

On FF14 this is less of an issue, because people get free alts. Every alt on FFXI is paid, as such this is far more unacceptable here than on there.


"I have something to hide"



Not at all, but you are free to think whatever you like.

Once free access ends, so will my alt so that will be one less person posting on the forum that already has very few posters already.

If you wish to defend a feature that has no positive benefits, that will directly lead to less people posting then you do you. Ultimately, posters are content creators and so less posters equal less content to interact with.

[Zehira]

Ah, then I agree. Though in terms of FFXI forums, I think this one's still the newest of the lot ;)

That's me! Another Pixela. Aren't we look alike?

This is kinda off-topic (bleh another thread that will never happen only just to cause us an endless argument).

Yep, between me and SE this is not normal yet hilarious when we are bored. It was more like "shh. Don't tell, just read my body language in the game." That has been going on for almost two years. Shall they continue then? They have their rules they must follow and we have our rules we must follow. I think they were glazing at me the whole time during my suspension until this thread created. What a perfect time, indeed! I let SE to take the credibility for all the actions they committed. Yup! SE themselves couldn't imagine why anyone would be so rude to me.

I mean, you'd think SE don't read this forum at all? I think they do but they just don't talk that much. We often read their words on both Facebook and Twitter.

Three important SE staff I know: Okieeomi, she is just a Japanese translator I think? Pixela could be right because I am more a dog person but she loves cats. Is she an experienced FFXIV player? Zhexos, he is more a web designer. He can help with this community if needed. Sicycre, she is a Twitch streamer. Like I wish I knew what she was talking about. She seems has more experience than anyone at SE. I am not sure about forum moderators. Maybe, some could be them too! I don't know. They are hiding too! :)

[Alhanelem]

There is no valid reason for it to be the way it is (feel free to give one),already gave plenty. It keeps the forums honest, when people aren't using mules. As noted, the weight of the words of someone who is willing to have their words attributed to themselves is a lot stronger in my eyes.

It helps people find friends on the forums and in game. As I said before, many people have thanked me or followed up on forum threads because they were able to tell who I was.

I have never seen this feature used maliciously by anyone. There is virtually zero harm potential from using your ingame name on the forum, unless you're the sort of person who likes to cause disruption in the game world / cheat / just generally be a jerk. i.e. people who have something to hide because they already have a poor reputation. Ultimately, you claim otherwise, but if you refuse to associate your forum self with your ingame self, it will always and forever look shady to others.

There's certainly a share of ppl on this forum who don't care for me. Have they ever come after me in game? no. There is no reason for me to mask my identity. And as to "seperating things," As far as I'm concerned the forums are part of the game, because only players of the game can post on it. So i see no reason why i should seperate them or why people should even be allowed to.



If you wish to defend a feature that has no positive benefits, that will directly lead to less people posting then you do you. Ultimately, posters are content creators and so less posters equal less content to interact with. it has many positive benefits. I'm sorry you can't see them no matter how much I list them, but it's clear we will never find an agreement on this topic.

Because you seek anonymity from your ingame character I have no reason to trust anything you say. It detracts from your credibility.

This is entirely different from your examples like social media platforms, which are entirely seperate from this game and its forums already, and are also often attributable to a real life person. The forums are only available to post on for players and players alone. There is no valid reason to want to "seperate" it.

[Pixela]

One moment you say people won't bother you in the game because of a forum association, the next moment you say they do and that's a plus. You do mental gymnastics and goto polar opposites to be argue against someone. I've talked to you on here enough to know how you operate so was well aware of the futility of trying to have a proper conversation with you.

The reason I was responding to you knowing how you conduct yourself, wasn't to change your mind it was to try and make a case to the community staff that read the posts. Since I cannot talk to them directly, I have to try do so via you.

There are many people that post from alts on this forum right now, there are many people that refuse to post here because of forced character linking. This is a failure, not only are people bypassing it but they are refusing to interact because of it.

The point of this forum is to get customer feedback on your product, the system you have in place stops people wanting to use it.

[Zehira]

One moment you say people won't bother you in the game because of a forum association, the next moment you say they do and that's a plus. You do mental gymnastics and goto polar opposites to be argue against someone. I've talked to you on here enough to know how you operate so was well aware of the futility of trying to have a proper conversation with you.

The reason I was responding to you knowing how you conduct yourself, wasn't to change your mind it was to try and make a case to the community staff that read the posts. Since I cannot talk to them directly, I have to try do so via you.

Not at all, no one hurts me just because of my actual name. Yes, people know me, some GMs from a private server (I don't play) know me too. Still, they haven't said anything to me based on what I posted here. What would be more harmful? Personal attacks such as pointing out bots they don't know and other things.

All I can do is to respect the community staff. I was trying to bring them back here with all my heart to communicate with us. When they did, you sounded like a mean poster to me. No offense. They could have moved on to play FFXIV more.


There are many people that post from alts on this forum right now, there are many people that refuse to post here because of forced character linking. This is a failure, not only are people bypassing it but they are refusing to interact because of it.

Many people don't post here have nothing to do with alts or forced character display. If some are, they are shy. Moreover, it has something to do with between you and Alhanelem. I am not on either of your sides, I am just being rational. Yes Alhanelem has been posting a lot. I mean he almost could be punished someday but you definitely screwed up by attacking the community staff in my point of view. There's no turning back now. Live with it, unfortunately.

If you want to encourage more players to read here, all you can do is to post a link on Facebook, Twitter, Discord, etc. just let them know they can just hit the "like" button and carry on without forcing them to post.

I was once told on discord, "Do people still use the official forums? That's news to me."


The point of this forum is to get customer feedback on your product, the system you have in place stops people wanting to use it.

I take it you have never visited the official FFXIV forum but better feedback the community staff can get is to visit the FFXIAH forum. I have suggested them to do it a long time ago.

Out of all, you can not speak for everyone you know that? All you need to do is just be yourself.

[Alhanelem]

The reason I was responding to you knowing how you conduct yourself, wasn't to change your mind it was to try and make a case to the community staff that read the posts.I know that's what you're trying to do, and knowing how you conduct yourself, I am making a case to refute yours.The only reason not to use a real character for the forums is because you engage in shady business. Your argument about separating things doesn't hold water. The forums are for players only, thus it is perfectly reasonable for it to be connected with the game and for your active character to be used. Honestly they should just show the last character you logged in with. Then you'd only have posters here who are willing to own up to the words they type.



There are many people that post from alts on this forum right now, there are many people that refuse to post here because of forced character linkingAnd I think this is a good thing. Everyone who posts here with their actual characters are people who stand by their words and are willing to own them. If one is not willing to do that, then they honestly shouldn't post regardless. I firmly believe that the general standard of behavior here would be lower than it is if there was no connection with the game.

Aside from that, there are plenty of other communities that people who can't handle their already anonymous aliases being used on an official forum can post/troll in. This forum is for the benefit of SE as much as it is for anyone else, and I'm sure they expect the feedback to be better quality when they require this connection to the game. It's totally fine t hat not a lot of people post here. Jumping through the needed hoops to post here tells me that the poster is invested in their feedback and cares about it / believes in it.

Finally, a *lot* of players lurk here without ever posting. That doesn't mean they're mad about character linking, the only thing it clearly tells us is t hey like to read but don't have much to say themselves.