Yet another thread about explicit pf's

The clubs don't really have anything explicit in message so i doubt those are as big of a deal but...
I'm talking about the more blatant onlyfans advertising shit.
https://i.ibb.co/tL6Mjph/ffxiv-02142024-161611-263.png
SE needs to change the 13+ age rating or stop letting this stuff keep happening. Only thing i can do is report and move on, but i feel like enough people aren't reporting, because this would stop happening. I know that jrpgs have always been sexual in nature and i'm not trying to pearl clutch here, but it's getting to the point where i'm embarrassed to tell people i play this game.

How am I supposed to get real life picture of cute bunnies when you block it out!?!?

Honestly everyone in the server could report and it will still happen, I am not sure what the punishment is, perhaps soliciting 18+ content needs to be rated higher.. on the other hand assuming everyone is a consenting adult (not a safe assumption I know) I really don't care what happens in or out of the game.

Remember titan man, and probably copy cats, they had expendable income and decided to spend it on this. Imagine if, for some wild reason, advertising on FFXIV net them approximately $15 in subscriptions for the month. Sold. Cost of doing business, even if banned. Now I have a hard time believing that is the case, but wow thirsty community if it is lol.

I think the only thing that could really help, besides auto filtering (slightly), is a fast review of adult oriented reports that are in the community's face- which could be facilitated by allowing players to report directly from the PF (so GM's will know). Like removing the restrictions from the portraits in FFXIV and adding a report button to portraits if you hover your mouse over them (invisible until hover). Then they get a "review this right away, this is public facing". To save the GM's sanity add an ability to mark similar reports from the same trigger (button in PF / portrait) as related (to better organize it and mark them cited / incompliance quickly, otherwise a coordinated attack would be really annoying to review and, especially already reviewed cases that tend to get a lot of false reports).

enough arent reporting because most of us dont go through the "other" section of pf looking for it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by missTori

it's not that i really go looking for it, but some people post things in other like "need to vent or help me level my blue mage? " Etcetera, and it's hard to not see it

---

There's no point in reporting this. There was a person who was selling feet pics a long time ago in primal and every time the person had a different last name meaning they created another account because the first one got banned. As long as they made over $13 a month selling them it was a sound business model and SE couldn't do anything about it.

On the other hand, I do agree raising FFXIV to M rating because it would lead to better stories and more mature themes rather than walking on eggshells over heavy topics. This was probably one of the best things about FF 16, that it wasn't scared of being too gritty.

Does that already qualify as explicit?
I'd laugh so hard if that person was just trolling and sending pictures of rabbits, but given how ...eccentric this community can get I realize chances of that are 50-50 at best.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ath192

There's no point in reporting this. There was a person who was selling feet pics a long time ago in primal and every time the person had a different last name meaning they created another account because the first one got banned. As long as they made over $13 a month selling them it was a sound business model and SE couldn't do anything about it.

On the other hand, I do agree raising FFXIV to M rating because it would lead to better stories and more mature themes rather than walking on eggshells over heavy topics. This was probably one of the best things about FF 16, that it wasn't scared of being too gritty.

---

Yeah that person has been at it for a year or longer unless I'm mistaken. I also agree the age rating should be at the M range and honestly I thought that it was for the longest time.

You can also.. yknow... not look at it ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by missTori

but it's getting to the point where i'm embarrassed to tell people i play this game.

---

Way ahead of you there. I've completely stopped telling people IRL that I play FFXIV. When a game is more famous for its ERP instead of its gameplay there's nothing good that can come from associating yourself with it. It's sad because I've truly enjoyed playing this game for almost ten years. I've heard wow is also starting to follow a similar path by catering to the furry crowd.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlexiaD

You can also.. yknow... not look at it ?

---

Of course you can, and personally I do. I won't waste my time reporting others for being trashy but at the same time you have to recognize that having trashy things happening in front of you is annoying. You wouldn't want people blasting hip hop and twerking on the subway every day when you're coming back from work would you?

If those people had an emote to convert the FF 15 car mount into a low rider with blown speakers you'd bet they'd be blasting music with them in Limsa too. It's not like they didn't prove it with the adventurer plates already either. God knows how many crotches I saw playing PVP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kes13a

enough arent reporting because most of us dont go through the "other" section of pf looking for it.

---

Did you see which tab they are in? It is the default All tab.

Small Edit: Maybe they should filter Other out of All in the future as on datacenters without many PF listings these can easily end up in All due to the lack of content being done.

All you can do is report them. The GMs do take action on NSFW/ERP PF listings and shouts.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xeronia

Did you see which tab they are in? It is the default All tab.

Small Edit: Maybe they should filter Other out of All in the future as on datacenters without many PF listings these can easily end up in All due to the lack of content being done.

---

Other only shows up at the end of all the listings so it's literally the last thing you'll see on the all tab. And if there's nothing else on pf, why are you there if not to look at the others tab anyways?
That also wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for everyone going to one DC for pf.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Astrus

Does that already qualify as explicit?
I'd laugh so hard if that person was just trolling and sending pictures of rabbits, but given how ...eccentric this community can get I realize chances of that are 50-50 at best.

---

You just gave me an idea.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thurmnmurmn

Other only shows up at the end of all the listings so it's literally the last thing you'll see on the all tab. And if there's nothing else on pf, why are you there if not to look at the others tab anyways?
That also wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for everyone going to one DC for pf.

---

Your case example is only true assuming the player in question is a max level with all current content unlocked and is looking for parties on Aether (assuming NA). Remove either of these elements and there is a high chance you will see the contents of the 'Other' tab as some of the first listings. The chances increases the lower the max level of a particular character is respective to the various capstone levels and how much content is unlocked as locked content has the absolute lowest priority in PF.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZavosEsperian

Your case example is only true assuming the player in question is a max level with all current content unlocked and is looking for parties on Aether (assuming NA). Remove either of these elements and there is a high chance you will see the contents of the 'Other' tab as some of the first listings. The chances increases the lower the max level of a particular character is respective to the various capstone levels and how much content is unlocked as locked content has the absolute lowest priority in PF.

---

Nah you misunderstood me. My example is for anything that isn't on aether.
If you're seeing other as soon as you open pf in the all tab, then there's nothing up in pf at all. No need to read the contents of what there is (unless you're there for the other tab).
Honestly people just need to get into the habit of looking at the tabs first and they can see if there's anything up other than other.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by missTori

The clubs don't really have anything explicit in message so i doubt those are as big of a deal but...
I'm talking about the more blatant onlyfans advertising shit.
https://i.ibb.co/tL6Mjph/ffxiv-02142024-161611-263.png
SE needs to change the 13+ age rating or stop letting this stuff keep happening. Only thing i can do is report and move on, but i feel like enough people aren't reporting, because this would stop happening. I know that jrpgs have always been sexual in nature and i'm not trying to pearl clutch here, but it's getting to the point where i'm embarrassed to tell people i play this game.

---

You're overly optimistic if you think more people reporting would stop this from happening.

You're also somewhat prudish if you think a 13 year old is somehow being exploited/corrupted just by seeing a non-explicit ad for 18+ NSFW content. They see far more explicit content on TV, TikTok, the internet, etc. all the time.

If the 13 year old goes to that Discord, that's on the parent for not teaching their child better or monitoring their online activity.

No need to be embarrassed to tell people you play the game when this is common in any online activity. You probably should be more embarrassed that you're going out of your way to look at these PF listings in detail instead of just immediately skimming past them when you see they're not what you're looking for.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Astrus

Does that already qualify as explicit?
I'd laugh so hard if that person was just trolling and sending pictures of rabbits, but given how ...eccentric this community can get I realize chances of that are 50-50 at best.

---

There's a running joke in our FC where someone keeps saying "send nude pics" so I'll send pictures of hairless cats, plates of plain pasta (no sauce so "nude"). etc. I even found an image of nude-colored guitar picks to use. I keep meaning to get a picture of a dormant rose bush (no flowers/foliage when they're dormant) to add to the collection so I have a larger variety of nudes to send on demand.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Swordsman

Way ahead of you there. I've completely stopped telling people IRL that I play FFXIV. When a game is more famous for its ERP instead of its gameplay there's nothing good that can come from associating yourself with it. It's sad because I've truly enjoyed playing this game for almost ten years. I've heard wow is also starting to follow a similar path by catering to the furry crowd.

---

Citizen, you should see some of the things FF14 fans post on Twitter. Some of these people do nothing but post lude photos and act like degenerates. It truly is conduct unbecoming of an Eorzean.




For duty and valor.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

You're also somewhat prudish if you think a 13 year old is somehow being exploited/corrupted just by seeing a non-explicit ad for 18+ NSFW content. They see far more explicit content on TV, TikTok, the internet, etc. all the time.

If the 13 year old goes to that Discord, that's on the parent for not teaching their child better or monitoring their online activity.

No need to be embarrassed to tell people you play the game when this is common in any online activity. You probably should be more embarrassed that you're going out of your way to look at these PF listings in detail instead of just immediately skimming past them when you see they're not what you're looking for.

---

Oh, lovely, same old people, same old blaming other people for being uncomfortable with soliciting in a mainstream T-rated video game with a notable minor audience that managed to never actually have this problem until several years prior. "Going out of your way to look at listings", or possibly, just trying to use a basic in-game function while possessing basic reading ability.

It's equal parts disturbing and amusing how some of you will go so far out of your way to defend behaviour like this that you'll play off wanting to keep a 13 year old away from it as "prudish", full on yikes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WeebPolice

Citizen, you should see some of the things FF14 fans post on Twitter. Some of these people do nothing but post lude photos and act like degenerates. It truly is conduct unbecoming of an Eorzean.




For duty and valor.

---

I’m starting to think you guys are slacking. The degeneracy increases captain. Will this failed state be your legacy? Did the Lalas win?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

There's a running joke in our FC where someone keeps saying "send nude pics" so I'll send pictures of hairless cats, plates of plain pasta (no sauce so "nude"). etc. I even found an image of nude-colored guitar picks to use. I keep meaning to get a picture of a dormant rose bush (no flowers/foliage when they're dormant) to add to the collection so I have a larger variety of nudes to send on demand.

---

Nice idea. I tend to use bird images of blue footed boobies when someone is asking for a close up view of a woman's bosom. And that other bird with the latin name Parus major, for its more colloquial term. (Not naming it outright bc. I have no clue if I'd get an automatic warning for using it... xD)

Raising the game's rating to M wouldn't change anything. Look at how many kids play games like Call of Duty.
But assuming it did work, it would cause SE to lose sales because parents wouldn't be buying it as a distraction for their kids.
I think it was also an issue for their shareholders or something. I recall one live letter where Yoshi P was talking about mods and where they were on the brink of having to raise the game's rating because of user-made content, and if that were to happen, that's when SE would start exploring putting a stop to those mods. SE doesn't want to increase the age rating because it would hurt their marketing.

What happened to "online interactions not rated"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LioJen

What happened to "online interactions not rated"

---

Online interactions are not rated because they physically can't be rated. 'Online interactions not rated' isn't a substitute for "Rated A for adults" or anything else in-between. It more or less is the video game equivalent of "Viewer discretion is advised."

Also this:
https://i.imgur.com/5z2nTdH.png

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LioJen

What happened to "online interactions not rated"

---

You mean the warning that got changed to Users Interact which is on Mario Kart, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and several other E and E10+ rated games? Please show me where there is an Endwalker listing where "Online interactions not rated" is in the warnings.

Here is the Steam version with ESRB listing as funny enough the SE store doesn't even have the two Interactive Elements listed:

https://i.imgur.com/CPvNhhd.png

Oh hey look Users Interact, a warning that is on literally anything with an internet connection.

As for Sexual Themes bear in mind the ESRB lists that warning as "References to sex or sexuality" while they have a Strong Sexual Themes warning which is "Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity" so there is clear divide.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

You're also somewhat prudish if you think a 13 year old is somehow being exploited/corrupted just by seeing a non-explicit ad for 18+ NSFW content.

---

This isn't an argument and is just plain old ad hominem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

They see far more explicit content on TV, TikTok, the internet, etc. all the time.

---

What is the point of saying this? None of these things have anything to do with the argument at hand and are a false equivalence used out of convenience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

If the 13 year old goes to that Discord, that's on the parent for not teaching their child better or monitoring their online activity.

---

I am going to have to break this down since there are multiple parts:

Quote:

---

...not teaching their child better...

---

The only thing "teaching their child better" can do is lessen the odds of the prefaced event from happening, it cannot prevent it. For example, you can teach someone about the dangers of using tobacco products until you are blue in the face, but this by itself does not guarantee whoever it is that you taught will completely listen to you and not use tobacco products.

Quote:

---

...monitoring their online activity.

---

This one I may need some more clarification. "Monitoring their online activity" is extremely broad overall and can be done in a multitude of ways. For example, software can be used to block all sorts of content, take periodic screen captures, block the execution of programs, as well as all other sorts of ways to see just what the child is up to. Placing the computer in a public location can also be done as well, and the parent can also watch and observe what their child is doing. All methods listed above that are software-based can be defeated by a more tech-savvy child and, as such, are not sufficient with making your statement true in all cases should software be used. Moving a computer to a public location makes it less likely for someone to want to access something they shouldn't, but that does not mean it will work 100% of the time. The only surefire way to monitor a child's internet in a way where it is impossible for them to access content they shouldn't would be for the parent to hover over them at all times, which is unrealistic in many cases, especially if there are multiple children in the household or if the parent is a single parent who may not have the time to use the guaranteed method.

Within a game that is rated T, there is an expected responsibility of all players to assume the age of a random player can be as low as 13 years old, regardless of what the average age of the player base is. It is extremely irresponsible to advertise for age 18+ RP inside of a game rated T in PF, which is something players have direct access to extremely early in the game.

The responsibility of knowing who you are RPing with is on you and no one else. Should someone send something that is ERP to someone who is less than 18 years old, regardless of whether the minor told the truth about their age, the person who is an adult can be held accountable in court for sending sexual messages to a minor, as a minor lying about their age is not a defense against something like that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WeebPolice

Citizen, you should see some of the things FF14 fans post on Twitter. Some of these people do nothing but post lude photos and act like degenerates. It truly is conduct unbecoming of an Eorzean.

For duty and valor.

---

If you are willing to rid us of the degeneracy plaguing the lands of Eorzea, I will offer you my book, officer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

You're also somewhat prudish if you think a 13 year old is somehow being exploited/corrupted just by seeing a non-explicit ad for 18+ NSFW content. They see far more explicit content on TV, TikTok, the internet, etc. all the time.

If the 13 year old goes to that Discord, that's on the parent for not teaching their child better or monitoring their online activity.

No need to be embarrassed to tell people you play the game when this is common in any online activity. You probably should be more embarrassed that you're going out of your way to look at these PF listings in detail instead of just immediately skimming past them when you see they're not what you're looking for.

---

So true. If you ignore shout chat, Party Finder, tells, the RP community, the m*dding community, Crystal datacenter, and FFXIV players on every social media network, then this game is actually quite tame.

*opens brain*
*swaps microchip*

Just kidding, FFXIV is actually explicit...BUT, that's a good thing! If a dog humping someone's leg is considered acceptable, then why not people humping each other? It's educational, teaches children about the "birds and the bees", and gets adults in the mood to repopulate the planet! It's perfectly normal to have a game filled with that stuff so much that it becomes synonymous with it. Besides, what else is there to do in this game anyway?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lunaxia

Oh, lovely, same old people, same old blaming other people for being uncomfortable with soliciting in a mainstream T-rated video game with a notable minor audience that managed to never actually have this problem until several years prior. "Going out of your way to look at listings", or possibly, just trying to use a basic in-game function while possessing basic reading ability.

It's equal parts disturbing and amusing how some of you will go so far out of your way to defend behaviour like this that you'll play off wanting to keep a 13 year old away from it as "prudish", full on yikes.

---

I'm not defending behavior like that. Personally I think someone is in pretty pathetic condition if they're posting that sort of thing in PF. Please do report it so SE can take it down. It's not game content so shouldn't be getting posted there.

I am attacking stances like yours that treat it like it's an extreme problem unique to this game and that SE has more responsibility for what children do than their parents have. All of that is false.

Discord server addresses are not explicit material. Looking at a Discord server address does not corrupt or exploit a child in any way. It's nothing more than a series of random letters and numbers (or are you also offended by use of the alphabet?).

A 13 year old with good parents or guardians isn't in any danger. Do you know why? It's because the parents or guardian are monitoring their child's use of Discord. They've taught the child not to join new servers without approval so their parents can help them stay safe from bad people. They've taught their child how to react appropriately to potentially dangerous situations they might encounter.

If somehow a child ends up joining that Discord server, do you know what my question would be? What the **** were their parents thinking when they allowed them to do it?

FFXIV is not a babysitter that is required to watch and be responsible for their child's every action in game let alone out of game. Parents need to stop acting like it is. If a parent hasn't taught their child internet safety then they shouldn't let their child use anything on the internet, including games.

Try taking your feeble moral outrage and do something useful with it like encourage parents to make better choices when it comes to their child's online activities. Encourage them to spend more time teaching their children how to identify and react to dangerous situations both online and off.

Also try talking to a real 13 year that wasn't raised in a sterile bubble. They know a lot more than you want to believe they do.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

So true. If you ignore shout chat, Party Finder, tells, the RP community, the m*dding community, Crystal datacenter, and FFXIV players on every social media network, then this game is actually quite tame.

*opens brain*
*swaps microchip*

Just kidding, FFXIV is actually explicit...BUT, that's a good thing! If a dog humping someone's leg is considered acceptable, then why not people humping each other? It's educational, teaches children about the "birds and the bees", and gets adults in the mood to repopulate the planet! It's perfectly normal to have a game filled with that stuff so much that it becomes synonymous with it. Besides, what else is there to do in this game anyway?

---

Maybe try playing the rest of the game instead of hanging out in Limsa or a housing ward with your friends that do nothing but talk about drugs and sex?

I do mostly ignore shout chat unless I'm in the middle of Hunts and we're relaying information. A good parent would have shout chat disabled if their young child is playing.

Why are you paying attention to shout chat?

I ignore the other section of Party Finder because if I'm looking for a party, I'm going to search under the appropriate category for the content I intend to do. A good parent will have taught their child not to use PF.

Why are you spending so much time going through the Other listings?

I'm not part of the RP community. A good parent would be monitoring their child to make certain the RP community they want to join is safe.

What part of the RP community you want to join is up to you though I wonder why you seem to want to focus on the ones engaging in explicit content.

Mods are against the ToS so that's a non-issue unless a parent is allowing their child to use mods. That's the parent's responsibility, not yours or mine or SE's.

Not certain where you're going that you think Crystal is nothing but degeneracy. It's not. I see worse on Aether and Primal (especially Aether) when I world visit than I will anywhere on Crystal with the exception of Balmung Ul'dah (and I try to avoid going there when I have reason to be on Balmung).

I don't use social media because it always has been and always will be a cesspool. SE has zero responsibility for what people do on social media.

Why do you spend so much time on social media exposing yourself to these things if they offend you?

Can you tell us where a dog is humping a human leg in the game content? Maybe it's in content I haven't done yet because I can't seem to think of any such situation. Though I wouldn't put it past you if it was an exaggeration in an attempt to demonize a game that you voluntarily continue to pay for and play.

The game comes with a warning about content and how player interactions are outside of the ratings review. It's up to parents to decide if their child should view such content and be part of player interactions. Try getting outraged at the parents who allow it if you're offended.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ath192

I’m starting to think you guys are slacking. The degeneracy increases captain. Will this failed state be your legacy? Did the Lalas win?

---

The city of Limsa Lominsa can only allocate so many resources to the Weeaboo Police Department, and we need new legislation on securing funding to support our troopers and the mission. Without sufficient manning and equipment, our Weeaboo Police troopers will only continue to meet bottlenecks on the road towards our department's goal.

The only other option in handling the rise in degeneracy and the rampant crime in our streets is to request that the Limsa Lominsa City Council declare a state of war against the Lalafell menace.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZavosEsperian

If you are willing to rid us of the degeneracy plaguing the lands of Eorzea, I will offer you my book, officer.

---

Thank you for your unwavering support, citizen.




Fight as one.

If I saw one that egregious I'd report it, but imma be honest, looking at "All" on Aether is like turning a firehose on your face so I almost never see these. I imagine that's true for a lot of others who don't frequent venues.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

The game comes with a warning about content and how player interactions are outside of the ratings review. It's up to parents to decide if their child should view such content and be part of player interactions. Try getting outraged at the parents who allow it if you're offended.

---

I want to ask how you think parents magically know these warnings they see on many other games somehow take on a completely different meaning when it comes to 14 and how strict or observant you are expect parents to be of a 13-17 year old. I of course hope parents did teach their kids to be weary of anything online but just looking over the ratings I wouldn't fault a parent for not knowing a 14 has a massive issue with 18+ content, especially if they never played the game.

Let's take a look at the SE store listing shall we?

https://i.imgur.com/hK9fKy3.png

Hmm nothing about questionable online content but it is sold out so let's check the list of other recommended vendors they themselves linked.

Amazon: Rating pending on listing (Picture shows T with no descriptors of why)
Best Buy: Rating Pending on listing
Gamestop: Actually has the T rating, No mention of Online interaction or Users Interact
Greenman Gaming: Rating Pending on listing
Humble Bundle: Another T rating without online warnings!
Newegg: Only show T rating on picture on the box
Mogstation: Can't verify as I have every expansion

Not linked too but other versions of the game:
PS4 & PS5: Actually has Users Interact
Steam: Has Users Interact listed

Please explain to me how a parent is supposed to know based off of this at all? I suppose a good parent could watch their child play the game but unless you started in Limsa or made a character on Balmung I imagine after a few hours a parent would deem it fine and leave their kid be, especially if the kid is an older teenager.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xeronia

I want to ask how you think parents magically know these warnings they see on many other games somehow take on a completely different meaning when it comes to 14 and how strict or observant you are expect parents to be of a 13-17 year old. I of course hope parents did teach their kids to be weary of anything online but just looking over the ratings I wouldn't fault a parent for not knowing a 14 has a massive issue with 18+ content, especially if they never played the game.

Let's take a look at the SE store listing shall we?

https://i.imgur.com/hK9fKy3.png

Hmm nothing about questionable online content but it is sold out so let's check the list of other recommended vendors they themselves linked.

Amazon: Rating pending on listing (Picture shows T with no descriptors of why)
Best Buy: Rating Pending on listing
Gamestop: Actually has the T rating, No mention of Online interaction or Users Interact
Greenman Gaming: Rating Pending on listing
Humble Bundle: Another T rating without online warnings!
Newegg: Only show T rating on picture on the box
Mogstation: Can't verify as I have every expansion

Not linked too but other versions of the game:
PS4 & PS5: Actually has Users Interact
Steam: Has Users Interact listed

Please explain to me how a parent is supposed to know based off of this at all? I suppose a good parent could watch their child play the game but unless you started in Limsa or made a character on Balmung I imagine after a few hours a parent would deem it fine and leave their kid be, especially if the kid is an older teenager.

---

dis you ?

https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/D4...sNa2w1SeL0drgY

Lmao, the drama just because of some PF's my god lol, get over yourself already and stop acting as if children dont see that stuff everywhere on TV, on their Ipads, on their phone etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xeronia

I want to ask how you think parents magically know these warnings they see on many other games somehow take on a completely different meaning when it comes to 14 and how strict or observant you are expect parents to be of a 13-17 year old. I of course hope parents did teach their kids to be weary of anything online but just looking over the ratings I wouldn't fault a parent for not knowing a 14 has a massive issue with 18+ content, especially if they never played the game.

Let's take a look at the SE store listing shall we?

https://i.imgur.com/hK9fKy3.png

Hmm nothing about questionable online content but it is sold out so let's check the list of other recommended vendors they themselves linked.

Amazon: Rating pending on listing (Picture shows T with no descriptors of why)
Best Buy: Rating Pending on listing
Gamestop: Actually has the T rating, No mention of Online interaction or Users Interact
Greenman Gaming: Rating Pending on listing
Humble Bundle: Another T rating without online warnings!
Newegg: Only show T rating on picture on the box
Mogstation: Can't verify as I have every expansion

Not linked too but other versions of the game:
PS4 & PS5: Actually has Users Interact
Steam: Has Users Interact listed

Please explain to me how a parent is supposed to know based off of this at all? I suppose a good parent could watch their child play the game but unless you started in Limsa or made a character on Balmung I imagine after a few hours a parent would deem it fine and leave their kid be, especially if the kid is an older teenager.

---

If they're trying to purchase Endwalker for their child, they already know that Final Fantasy XIV: Online is an online massively multiplayer game since they'll need to have that first and how conveniently you excluded that information from your cutout even though it was just a little lower down the webpage). It's an idiot that buys an expansion that can't be played because they don't already own the base game.

Then we look at the Ratings icon. Looking at that we see the game includes:

Blood
Language
Partial Nudity
Sexual Themes
Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
Violence.

Just what are you objecting to that happens in game, whether in the game content itself or in player interaction, that does not fall under one of those categories?

You're acting like every parent out there is an illiterate idiot. Guess what? They aren't. Guess what else? We can't help it if a few of them are. We are not responsible for them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

Just what are you objecting to that happens in game, whether in the game content itself or in player interaction, that does not fall under one of those categories?

---

You do understand you cannot compare what is portrayed in the game to the actions of other players in the game, right?

Before the ESRB clarified the meaning to 'Users interact', the old language was 'Online interactions not rated by ESRB' which was meant to be interpreted as that the ESRB has no control over what other users of the game will do, since this is not something they can control for when rating a game. The only people who are allowed to control what users are able to do online are the companies that run said games and who maintain the servers. As such, they are allowed to be more strict than what the ratings suggest should they want.

In addition, when you do interact with players in the game, 'Sexual Themes' would be insufficient to describe how the community behaves. Were I someone who was tasked with rating how the community of FFXIV conducts itself in relation to the ESRB rating system, the correct terminology most likely would line up with 'Sexual Content' or 'Strong Sexual Content'.

By the ESRB's own definition, sexual themes are "References to sex or sexuality". Unless things are considerably different in terms of reading standards from when I was in school, you could find things that would classify as such as early as 7th to 8th grade where I am from in the US, and seeing sexuality is in the mix, it could be even lower now based on the curriculum in my area. This indicator should not raise any concerns unless the parent in question is trying to avoid these sorts of topics all together.

The other two content descriptors, 'sexual content' and 'strong sexual content', are a more fitting description of what you will find inside the community. These two are described as "Non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior" in the case of sexual content and "Explicit and/or frequent depictions of sexual behavior" for strong sexual content. The more details that are given, the higher the rating as it becomes more explicit.

From my schooling, I do remember books that would fall into the 'Sexual Content' range that I would've had to read when I was in 10th - 12th grade. Books containing something like this would be few and far between, and when they did contain something like this, it was rather tame compared to what you would expect from the community as nothing can be explicitly said at all. As for strong sexual content, while I cannot speak to current schooling standards, books like this were not a part of the curriculum while I was in school. An example of a book containing something like this would be 50 Shade of Grey, which meets the criteria due to the contents of the book.

As such, your argument is faulty since it assumes what the players do is within the bounds of the ESRB rating, which is false. It is possible to encounter behaviors that escalate above the rating indicated on the box from the players.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

We are not responsible for them.

---

While you are not responsible for the failings of parents, you are directly responsible for conducting yourself in a way that is suitable for individuals who can be, at minimum, age 13 as per the user agreement you signed when you started playing this game:

Quote:

---

3.3 Profanity and Offensive Language. You may not use profanity or any language that a reasonable person would find offensive. The Game is for players aged 13 and older. You agree to behave accordingly.

Rules and Policies - Final Fantasy XIV User Agreement section 3.3

---

Whether or not the GMs want to crack down on the behavior is a topic for another day.

The only question I have for you is why are you so adamant when it comes to this particular discussion? If I am to take you for your word, which I am willing to do, it is clear you do not like the behavior of a fair chunk of members inside of the community. However, you seem opposed to having guardrails regarding the community's behavior as well. As such, what is your main concern when it comes to resolving this issue if you are concerned with resolving it in the first place?

That Community Influence clause is interesting and makes me wonder how a lot of games manage to keep their rating below M once they're popular enough to get picked up by certain - what's the word here, influencers, personalities? and their followers and/or certain communities while keeping really lax moderation standards.
If that's a valid criteria for ratings I certainly wonder how XIV keeps a T.

I still fail to see how the PF listing in the OP is in any way explicit on its own but the things a noticeable (as in visible/present, not neccessarily size) part of the community gets up to in the game could warrant an M rating as SE is quietly tolerating it by not doing anything to dissuade people. Is covering it with the ToS enough to protect the rating if the relevant parts of the ToS don't seem to get enforced?

I don't really follow ESRB ratings as it's not the system my country uses, have there been cases in the past where a game's rating (or maybe the rating for a new expansion for that game) was bumped up because of the game's community interactions?

i've seen more of these topics than 'explicit pf's'

and no thats not an exaggeration.

Ah yes, party finder for FFXIV, more like Tinder, Tik Tok, than a bloody game to play.

Such a sad state.

While reading this and that other thread I can't help but wonder how many of you people are actually parents or ever had to watch over a much younger child. Can't be many. My parents tried to control my internet hours with a specific router when I was a teen and I managed to disable it and later at least double this period quickly. Eventually my dad wrote the company and they said my parents already did what the system is able to achieve. And both of my parents worked in IT, they knew stuff. This was around 2002ish. I can't even begin to imagine how quick kids can outsmart their parents and their control systems today. If a parent tries to hover over them, they'll just do things in secret or find work arounds around tools and apps and blocks.

Do you know what the lasting effect of this was? I learned I couldn't trust my parents. When I faced disturbing stuff, I didn't tell them. Sometimes I didn't even tell my friends, the friends I found online and eventually met irl. If I would have been in the situation OP's kid was in, I wouldn't have gone to my parents and tell them about what occured. I had an okay relationship with them otherwise but things at school were really bad and I was terrified telling them about anything bad in the internet would make them pull the plug for good, cutting me off from the only people I ever met who were there for me, the only thing that kept me from running away or even harming myself very badly. (I didn't tell them that either, thought they'd blame the internet or games for this as well. Now I know they wouldn't have, but that's what it felt like at the time.)

Y'all are suggesting parents should monitor every discord server, every game, every chat the children have and consider this the bare minimum good parenting, as if this kind of helicopter parenting wouldn't cause a lot of harm (and being super unrealistic besides, considering adults are busy adulting most of the time.) I know OP of the other thread is a good badass parent because they have a daughter that tells them if something happens that feels kind of off. She trusts them she won't be the one to be punished for the online behaviour and events of other people none of the two have any control over. You absolutely can and should educate your child about not sharing their address or the one of their school online, be careful with photos and all. But a parent can hardly predict a game wouldn't be suitable for their child based on user behaviour if no official rating you can see in the store makes it obvious the rating is questionable. Only if they are gamers themselves and know these things in and out. It's on us as a community to accept the rating is what it is and we should have some basic decensy of not pushing 18+ stuff into the faces of random people who might not be of this age. It is on us to keep in mind this game is not solely made for adults only, no matter if the kids might see stuff on Tik Tok as well. This is completely irrelevant for how this is to be handled in this specific game.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jojoya

Can you tell us where a dog is humping a human leg in the game content? Maybe it's in content I haven't done yet because I can't seem to think of any such situation. Though I wouldn't put it past you if it was an exaggeration in an attempt to demonize a game that you voluntarily continue to pay for and play.

---

I was here before the degenerates from Second Life. Why should I move?

A dog humping a leg while everyone watches is the perfect analogy for FFXIV. Copes cannot erase how FFXIV has transformed into a cesspit. Square Enix has zero standards. It's not just about kids anymore, it's about our MMO turning into a Second Life clone for sex pests. This "game" is embarrassing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ZavosEsperian

The only question I have for you is why are you so adamant when it comes to this particular discussion? If I am to take you for your word, which I am willing to do, it is clear you do not like the behavior of a fair chunk of members inside of the community. However, you seem opposed to having guardrails regarding the community's behavior as well. As such, what is your main concern when it comes to resolving this issue if you are concerned with resolving it in the first place?

---

The guardrails are already in place. SE has done what is reasonable and customary within the online industry.

Why are you so adamant that players and parents don't have their own responsibility to fulfill in online situations?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by caffe_macchiato

I was here before the degenerates from Second Life. Why should I move?

A dog humping a leg while everyone watches is the perfect analogy for FFXIV. Copes cannot erase how FFXIV has transformed into a cesspit. Square Enix has zero standards. It's not just about kids anymore, it's about our MMO turning into a Second Life clone for sex pests. This "game" is embarrassing.

---

Yet you continue to pay and play a game that you find embarrassing to play because you choose to hang out with degenerates while the rest of us exercise our option to avoid them while enjoying the rest of the game?

You are way too sheltered if you think this is limited to FFXIV. This is the world now, both inside and outside of the gaming industry. There are no safe spaces outside of the tiny personal bubbles we create in our homes when unconnected to outside media be it television, radio, internet, cable, satellite or whatever else keeps us in touch with the outside world.

You also way too entitled if you can't put on your adult pants and find ways to deal with it on your own.

If you encounter something that is against TOS, report it and move on. It's really simple. The more you hyperfocus on it, the more it becomes your world and you begin to see it everywhere in everyone even though the majority are ordinary people engaging in ordinary activities that are in no way explicit or offensive.

As for why you should move, it's because you don't like what the neighborhood has turned into. You're not going to get your new neighbors to change for your sake and the HOA isn't responding in the way you want. Why would you stick around?