Originally Posted by
Theodric
I don't think so. At least not in relation to FFXIV, since very vocal elements of the community are notorious for throwing absolutely anything and everything at someone critical of the game in an effort to intimidate or silence them. Multiple people have brought this up throughout this very thread, revealing that they and/or someone they know have been the target of credible threats of harm. It's alarmingly common.
Even not accounting for the threats, another common tactic is deflection. Post a source? A reason will be conjured up as to why it's 'wrong' even if it's a direct quote from the game itself. Tone and subject policing is very common. Quite a lot of posters - who are known to be exceedingly emotional or aggressive in their own posts - will often attempt to insinuate that there's something wrong with the individual they're engaging with in an effort to pass them off as hysterical or unhinged. We've seen this at play in this very thread, I believe, when a certain poster attempted to police the facial expressions of a content creator.
I've posted around these parts for quite some time. Particularly in recent years - and conveniently aligning with the game's major problems reaching critical mass - the backlash against criticism even when perfectly polite and constructive has become rather intense.
It's also a game that encourages people to self insert so there's a bunch of players who treat liking or disliking the 'wrong' characters as the worst sin known to man.