Unsubbing/boycotting/protesting is NOT blackmail.

Some people believe that these two are one and the same and are conflating the terms in order to discredit those who want to protest against Square Enix's current decisions.

A lot of those who think this is the case, then don't seem to know how economics work.

Boycotting is one of the only tools at the disposal of the CONSUMER to protest against a company's decisions.
The protest is made by also pointing out the reason WHY someone would be boycotting X product.

We are under no obligation to be SE's customers, as such we are not obligated to buy Shadowbringers or to sub. It is our own choice to make, whether we support SE or not.

Since boycotting is a form of protest, and protest means that it is meant to have an effect on the party that is targeted. It is at its very core meant to "hurt" the party in question, because of a variety of reasons on the customers' part by not buying the product.

In terms of legality, what people are doing is in no way "blackmail" and those who entertain such a notion, entertain a fantasy.

I'm sure some may be bluffing when it comes to unsubbing, but for me it's by no means the case. (Although it's mainly for BLU)

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Originally Posted by Anesteria

I'm sure some may be bluffing when it comes to unsubbing, but for me it's by no means the case. (Although it's mainly for BLU)

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More like 99%. SE will be fine. 5.0 will be fine.

I'm going to keep my sub for now, but I've never dropped my sub since I started playing in 2.0, even when gameplay was slow. I might decide to drop it during those times. I've (like many others) literally poured thousands of dollars into the game- subs, merch, fanfest, etc and thousands of hours. I'm going to voice my concerns, and if people don't like that, too bad. It's my money, and my right to do so. I really don't get why the people who are happy with everything can't let those who aren't happy be. It literally does not hurt anyone to ask for the devs to consider/reconsider these things.

It's just people throwing a temper tantrum right now, I'm a bit peeved over no new healer but whatever. I'll play BLM or something through the story whatever.

This whole #unsub thing is just a new form of childish tantrum that maybe 1% of the people saying they'll do it will follow through with. At most its a few hundred people on this forum and I feel I'm being overly generous with that number as a lot of the posts are from the same people just done repeatedly. Feel free to actually unsub. Aside from your FC and immediate friends in game its not likely anyone will notice. A lot of this noise is probably due to people realizing that.

I'm not giving you my money unless you succumb to my desires and implement that thing I want you to do. If you don't then you won't be getting the money I have that you want....

Seems like blackmail to me.

It feels more like a weird version of ransom to me.
It’s like: “You want to see this player again? Make male Viera/a new healer/female Hrothgar”

I don't think anyone is claiming that people threatening to boycott or unsub from the game are actually guilty of violating the law in some way. 'Blackmail' is not the word I would choose, but using it in a colloquial way to mean "threatening some action unless x demands are met" is not equivalent to actually conflating boycotting with blackmailing in the legal sense: hence why I don't think you'll find a single example of someone saying that the "xy bunnies or unsub" crowd should cut it out lest they fall afoul of SE's legal teams.

Canceling is just what consumers do when something is not up to a personal standard. Well run company will take it as part of feedback, when its provided.
People who think its some form of blackmail are strange to say the least. Unless you literally never plan to Cancel a sub for any reason and plan to never complain, its very hollow way to discredit people without putting in the effort to reply to them in any meaningful way.
It does a lot of harm to a company in the long term if you push feedback into more polarizing ways :(

No one ever told you to not voice your opinion or anything. You can stop your sub if you want to, no one force you to continue play a game if you dont want to.

I'm more against people crying about no male Viera ( weird i mostly dont see people crying about no female Ronso ) and call the devs " homophobic " for it. Who ever said a male Viera would be " feminine " ? like i have seen in some others topic. People blaming SE for something they never talked about, never announced. You hype yourself about something that was never announced, dont blame SE then when the thing that come isnt what you expected.

And be sure 5.0 will be very fine, most of people crying here will still play even if they say they will unsub, and be sure there will be a lot of new players, same for older players that enjoyed everything they seen.

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Originally Posted by Rhus

I'm not giving you my money unless you succumb to my desires and implement that thing I want you to do. If you don't then you won't be getting the money I have that you want....

Seems like blackmail to me.

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Boycotting and blackmail mean two completely different things. You might want to look the meaning for them words in a dictionary... Why are sooo many defenders of SE fanatics, ugh.

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Originally Posted by LiteBrite

Why are sooo many defenders of SE fanatics, ugh.

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You sure showed 'em filthy white knights, heh? Who are they to dare say that toxicity is bad.
Besides, if threats, insults and labels went away, what would be left of these forums? It's clearly constructive criticism!

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Originally Posted by LiteBrite

Why are sooo many defenders of SE fanatics, ugh.

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Rage, Sadness and their opposites cloud rational judgement. Even the most rational of individuals may lose themselves in the moment and let their emotions do the talking if they're pushed enough.


Sadly, when an individual(s) do fall to that, it makes their case look rabid and incoherent than reasonable and thought-out.

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Originally Posted by LiteBrite

Boycotting and blackmail mean two completely different things. You might want to look the meaning for them words in a dictionary... Why are sooo many defenders of SE fanatics, ugh.

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You might want to look up the word dictionary in a dictionary, because it doesn't mean what you think it means. A dictionary is not prescriptive but descriptive with regards to usage, and that is why dictionaries often list a number of different meanings for a given word (in order to reflect how it is commonly used). A 'fanatical' position would be that 'the' dictionary definition is eternal and inviolable, and that if people are using the word in some other way they're transgressing some the sort of divine edict handed down by Holy Oxfordia Himself.

(By the way, I noticed that you don't have a problem with using the word 'them,' as in 'them words' in a colloquial way. Bit of a double standard.)

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Originally Posted by Fyce

You sure showed 'em filthy white knights, heh? Who are they to dare say that toxicity is bad.
Besides, if threats, insults and labels went away, what would be left of these forums? It's clearly constructive criticism!

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Cause clearly calling people that have a right to boycott childish(an insult), is constructive cristism. Oh and labeling them as blackmailers too. But whatever...

See y'all in early access lol

Blackmail...
*sigh*



That is analogous to calling drm malware...
You may not like it, but that doesn't mean it's intended to harm.


Let's not unjustly demonize people for exercising their consumer rights

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Originally Posted by Dualgunner

See y'all in early access lol

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...Right?

It's great that we can refer to this thread in three months and have a good chuckle.

Here the thing with unsubbing in this case.

1) You don't like the game and a healer/man rabbit/female ronso won't change that and you should indeed keep your money.

2) You like the game and will come back anyway.

With my opinions of the current state of the game and the future expansion aside...

On a definition side of things. Blackmail is more closely associated with extortion. "of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them." so I wouldn't align Unsubbing, boycotting, or protesting as blackmail. It is really more of a way to show displeasure of a product or service. Some may be more vocal about it than others but it really doesn't fall under the blackmail umbrella.

With that said, It is ultimately the consumers right to stop paying for a service if they do not feel that it is worth their money.

Boycotting this is rather distasteful. True that SE is a corporation and those typically listen to money. However, the FFXIV crew is actually rather small and have quite an intimate relationship with the fan base. The only thing some people are doing now is trying to bully them, they work very hard with their finite resources that SE provides them. When the resources are there i'm sure they'll feel inclined to finish the races if the demand is still there. A compromise was made, it implies they want to do both.

I'm going to stay here happily and give my two cents on how to make thing even better. And I got a good /slap for anyone who thinks they're too good to do that.

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Originally Posted by Dualgunner

See y'all in early access lol

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Got my copy! Hope we get a letter from the producer more about Gunbreaker and Dancer.

How are people conflating being an unsatisfied customer to that of black mail? Did I wake up in the twilight zone or something?

It'd be like McDonalds removing the Big Mac from the menu or changing it, and me going "Well that's the reason I come here, now that reason is gone." It's not Black mail, it's you; or someone, making a choice as a consumer. They're simply presenting their reasons for their choice.

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Originally Posted by Anesteria

Some people believe that these two are one and the same and are conflating the terms in order to discredit those who want to protest against Square Enix's current decisions.

A lot of those who think this is the case, then don't seem to know how economics work.

Boycotting is one of the only tools at the disposal of the CONSUMER to protest against a company's decisions.
The protest is made by also pointing out the reason WHY someone would be boycotting X product.

We are under no obligation to be SE's customers, as such we are not obligated to buy Shadowbringers or to sub. It is our own choice to make, whether we support SE or not.

Since boycotting is a form of protest, and protest means that it is meant to have an effect on the party that is targeted. It is at its very core meant to "hurt" the party in question, because of a variety of reasons on the customers' part by not buying the product.

In terms of legality, what people are doing is in no way "blackmail" and those who entertain such a notion, entertain a fantasy.

I'm sure some may be bluffing when it comes to unsubbing, but for me it's by no means the case. (Although it's mainly for BLU)

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People should absolutely vote with their wallet when they are displeased with a product the are patronizing. Leaving a concise mature report on what you find as displeasing and how it has affected your enjoyment is ok too. However, a lot of the posts have been hyperbolic flames that resemble a toddler’s tantrums. This type of behavior is not ok. Also the posts of do what I want or I unsub are not ok either. They will never please everyone. Just maturely say your piece then walk away. It just seems like there are people who are trying to make those that excited miserable too. On the flip side the behavior of those antagonizing those upset is not ok either.

I honestly can't believe people are defending the idea that people unsubbing cause they don't like something is akin to blackmail. That doesn't make any sense in the context of a business because the goal of a business is to put out a product that people like and want to buy. As such, consumers have a right to have concerns and be disappointed regarding a product that they're paying for and if they feel as though they no longer like the product, then they can feel free to unsubscribe and stop paying. It's honestly asinine that this even has to be argued. Defend SE all you want, I understand there's people acting extreme on both sides of the argument but frankly, this ain't it. People have the right to stop paying if they feel like it. People likening it to blackmail are pretty much trying to pressure people into remaining subscribed, whether it be unintentionally or otherwise.

Please do unsubscribes to show your point. No one is here to stop them. It is just the fact that we are not 3 years old. Those people will not quit the is an act of childish. See you guys in the expansion

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Originally Posted by Divinemights

Please do unsubscribes to show your point. No one is here to stop them. It is just the fact that we are not 3 years old. Those people will not quit the is an act of childish. See you guys in the expansion

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But why is it childish to unsubscribe? I honestly don't think those that are unsubscribing are doing so solely because of the genderlock, or solely because of the lack of healer in this expac. I think it's more of a "broke the camel's back" scenario where there have been several very polarizing decisions by SE which has soured many people and so an individual might feel as though it's the last straw, and they want to send a message. Regardless of their reason, everyone pays for this game so what gets me is that people are judging those who want to unsub because they're doing what they want with their money. Frankly, I feel as though we should all practice empathy and not judge people for being upset. It's right to shun those who are being extreme and whatnot, but unsubscribing does not fall into that category.

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Originally Posted by Serenno

But why is it childish to unsubscribe? I honestly don't think those that are unsubscribing are doing so solely because of the genderlock, or solely because of the lack of healer in this expac. I think it's more of a "broke the camel's back" scenario where there have been several very polarizing decisions by SE which has soured many people and so an individual might feel as though it's the last straw, and they want to send a message. Regardless of their reason, everyone pays for this game so what gets me is that people are judging those who want to unsub because they're doing what they want with their money. Frankly, I feel as though we should all practice empathy and not judge people for being upset. It's right to shun those who are being extreme and whatnot, but unsubscribing does not fall into that category.

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Unsubscribing in itself isn't childish. Spamming posts all over the forum that basically amount to "Give me what I want or I'll unsubscribe" is though. Because most of said post do nothing but exhibit self centered and childish behavior that they believe what they personally want is more important than any other person's feelings or enjoyment or in some cases any professional deadlines given or needs of resource allocation.

Additionally some are going as far as to throw baseless accusations claiming certain people or the company are sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, etc.

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Originally Posted by Anesteria

Some people believe that these two are one and the same and are conflating the terms in order to discredit those who want to protest against Square Enix's current decisions.

A lot of those who think this is the case, then don't seem to know how economics work.

Boycotting is one of the only tools at the disposal of the CONSUMER to protest against a company's decisions.
The protest is made by also pointing out the reason WHY someone would be boycotting X product.

We are under no obligation to be SE's customers, as such we are not obligated to buy Shadowbringers or to sub. It is our own choice to make, whether we support SE or not.

Since boycotting is a form of protest, and protest means that it is meant to have an effect on the party that is targeted. It is at its very core meant to "hurt" the party in question, because of a variety of reasons on the customers' part by not buying the product.

In terms of legality, what people are doing is in no way "blackmail" and those who entertain such a notion, entertain a fantasy.

I'm sure some may be bluffing when it comes to unsubbing, but for me it's by no means the case. (Although it's mainly for BLU)

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blu is fantastic. dont touch it. finally a class that is actually fun and unique. oh...end game ...yay more of the same. finally with blu we get a new variety of endgame.

who cares

if you're unsubbing, then unsub. why all the talk?