Linkshell and Free Companies

So I am very new to everything Final Fantasy. FFXIV is the first final fantasy I have ever played. Love it so far and very addicting to play. What is a Linkshell? What is a Free Company? I have watch some youtube vids and google search it but I still really would like the forums opinion. Thanks

Both are groups of players that (generally) do things together.

A Free Company is FFXIV's analog for the guilds/clans found in other games. They're larger (512 players max), and have more features. You can only belong to one FC, and other players can see which FC you belong to. FCs can buy a house, which they can decorate, and allow members to buy private rooms. FC houses can also have gardens for gardening and chocobo stables for chocobo raising. FCs also gain ranks, and can give their members buffs based on their ranks (things like XP bonuses, decreased gear wear, decreased teleport fees, etc.). And you get a dedicated chat channel for chatting with FC members across all zones.

Linkshells are smaller (128 members), and don't have many features. They're really nothing more than a member list and a dedicated, server-wide chat channel. You can join up to 10 8 linkshells. They tend to be used for more specialized purposes. For example, I'm a member of one (pretty much dead) LS for my geographical area, one for my FC's overall Frontlines (PvP) players, and one for our Maelstrom (Limsa Lominsa)-specific Frontlines group. There are also raid LSes, hunt LSes, etc.

@Bixby - Thanks for the info. That really helps me out!

You can only join 8, not 10 LSes