The Forums is a good place to escape Toxic Positivity

Just something I felt like sharing. Sometimes I wish for a place to be able to safely express my grievances/opinions regarding the game and also be able to gauge the people's overall impression of certain existing/upcoming features, and the forums definitely is a place for me to be able to find that! :D

I don't have many friends that play FFXIV still, and the few that do are strong Dawntrail defenders (but not forum goers), so I am unable to state my opinion without getting a "Yikes :I" response, because it's a "hater" opinion :( even if I lean towards a bit more of a positive opinion on DT compared to quite a few forum members I've seen.

There's plenty of valid criticism that can be given to FFXIV right now, and I'm just glad the official forums exist as a small haven to be able to do that, so that it can be discussed, on either sides of the field! :D


Sorry if the post is a little rambly, just wanted to get this out. :)
Did you have a similar experience? Share some of your tales!

It's an echo chamber one way or the other, for the most part. Mostly the forums have always been full of toxic negativity.

It's really better to try and have some balanced and considerate debate that considers all perspectives and factors. For the most part, I try to inject that here so that it's not just an echo chamber of negativity.

I've never really shared my opinions outside the game...

So I can't really say either way with respect to other platforms or people (I don't share them with people in-game either, like, friends, as it's nice to just chill, do things whatever, and enjoy the social aspect rather than think about negativity too much)

Forums is just going to attract a bit more negativity though, just by virtue of the fact that if you enjoy the game, then you probably have less of a reason to actually engage with an online forum, especially when you have other larger places to go to for discussion.... If I was enjoying the game for just the game sake, then I probably wouldn't be posting or looking here much because I'd just be playing the game.

It is a double edged sword though because if you stay here long enough, and read things long enough, then you just come to the stark realization that nothing really changes.

No its not have u seen some of the takes here....this place just as bad as reddit but not as bad as twitter and bluesky thank god.

Hooray for echo chambers

At the end of the day, I feel it's important to have a circle of friends that you can be honest around.

Most people fall in where you fall in OP, not toxic positive and not a hater; but, someone who enjoys the game, yet have some grievances.

It's good to have a place to occasionally vent if you need to tho. Just keep what @Jeeqbit said in mind, balance is important. You wouldn't want to fall into the abyss after all :)

I also should say this: I've never had trouble saying negative things in the game itself, because I say it in an upbeat way that just acts like it's given ie. MSQ super long, congested menus, lack of voice acting in ARR, specific annoying QoL issues. And no one even challenges things like that. The key is really to just not to say it as if you are depressed generally and for it to be a relevant and logical response to the situation.

I think what happens all too often is the general vibe people give off when they have grievances isn't just a criticism here, or there, but more like doom and gloom about everything universally. Or worse, it crosses some lines and says rude things about developers.

I think the majority of people are actually just in the middle, enjoying the game and able to accept a fair criticism, but that people being critical a lot often don't realize the scale of the depression they've fallen into. There are some people who behave as if there is nothing wrong but often there are reasons for that too, such as still being a relatively new player, just not interacting with the parts of the game that depress them or don't interest them, actually playing other games enough to not focus on nitpicking issues in this one, or wanting to counter the general "doom and gloom" vibe which comes across as hating the game rather than just being criticical about one or two things.

I think another thing about playing the game itself is that, well, you usually play a game to have fun and enjoy yourself. Not to doom and gloom. So it stands to reason that people in the game aren't there to drown their sorrows about the very game they are actively playing.

Unironically, the forums are the most toxic thing, next to the time I was hospitalized for exposure to fentanyl poisoning at work.

Look me in the eyes and ask me if I'm joking.

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Originally Posted by MaikoRaines

Unironically, the forums are the most toxic thing, next to the time I was hospitalized for exposure to fentanyl poisoning at work.

Look me in the eyes and ask me if I'm joking.

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You're wearing shades, honey. Pretty sus when asking such a question.

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Originally Posted by MaikoRaines

Unironically, the forums are the most toxic thing, next to the time I was hospitalized for exposure to fentanyl poisoning at work.

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In this case I have some really good news for you: nobody forces you to partake in the forums, nor is there any risk of partaking accidentally.

Meh, FFXIV players are toxic either way. Hell, I am toxic. I like DT even though it's like, my third least favorite expansion, because I like Wuk Lamat and Sphene (ideally in the same room). It's whatever, just don't talk to hypercasuals and you won't encounter toxic positivity. same for ultimate raiders and people who unironically parse leveling roulettes.

Said this in the other thread:

Is this Forum even a good place to "hang out" and discuss anything other than negative feedback?

I don't think, because the outdated webpage engine/tech they use here actively makes the user experience unpleasant. It's hard to format the posting text, is hard to quote specific bits of someone, it's hard to keep track of posts, it's not even properly moderated.

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Originally Posted by XtremePrime

I don't have many friends that play FFXIV still, and the few that do are strong Dawntrail defenders (but not forum goers), so I am unable to state my opinion without getting a "Yikes :I" response, because it's a "hater" opinion :( even if I lean towards a bit more of a positive opinion on DT compared to quite a few forum members I've seen.

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This is sad. The first sign of a struggling game is players complaining about it. One of the last signs of a struggling game is when the only people still playing it are the white knights.

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Originally Posted by BigCheez

This is sad. The first sign of a struggling game is players complaining about it. One of the last signs of a struggling game is when the only people still playing it are the white knights.

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The latter I'll agree with. The former...there will always be people complaining about a game. Every game. Every where. Heck, ShB is widely viewed as far and away the "best" expansion FFXIV had...yet if you were around the forums at that time, you'd think it was the worst thing ever. Same happened with WoW's forum during the WotLK days (which reached a peak of around 12,000,000 active players that will likely never be topped by any MMO). Forums by their nature attract complainers.

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Originally Posted by Striker44

The latter I'll agree with. The former...there will always be people complaining about a game. Every game. Every where. Heck, ShB is widely viewed as far and away the "best" expansion FFXIV had...yet if you were around the forums at that time, you'd think it was the worst thing ever. Same happened with WoW's forum during the WotLK days (which reached a peak of around 12,000,000 active players that will likely never be topped by any MMO). Forums by their nature attract complainers.

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Yeah, if anyone wants to enjoy the game, their best choice would be to ignore everything social media about the game. Avoid Reddit, avoid these forums, avoid Twitter/BlueSky, and maybe a handful of content creators from Twitch or YouTube; I think you'll be mostly solid. Ignorance is bliss.

I think a key part of the problem is that there's a chronic lack of uniform and consistent feedback.

"Make FFXIV a totally different game according to my whims" isn't feedback either, and that's what so many of the recent complaints have been about. That's not feedback you listen to, it's feedback you disregard.

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Originally Posted by ElysiumDragon

I think a key part of the problem is that there's a chronic lack of uniform and consistent feedback.

"Make FFXIV a totally different game according to my whims" isn't feedback either, and that's what so many of the recent complaints have been about. That's not feedback you listen to, it's feedback you disregard.

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This is a very good point. That's why in one of the other threads recently, I suggested Yoshi-P do what he did when he took charge during 1.0 and issue surveys to the playerbase, in the form of "yea or nay" and "a/b/c" questions, addressing the concerns and grievances people have had since the release of Dawntrail.

Questions like that can present more uniform feedback to the team, without the cacophony of noise. So it makes it easier to take direct and decisive action based on what players want. Plus, it will give Yoshi-P and CBU3 the opportunity to show that the players that they are taking feedback and listening, rather than leaving players feeling like they're unheard.

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Originally Posted by Shinku_Tachi

This is a very good point. That's why in one of the other threads recently, I suggested Yoshi-P do what he did when he took charge during 1.0 and issue surveys to the playerbase, in the form of "yea or nay" and "a/b/c" questions, addressing the concerns and grievances people have had since the release of Dawntrail.

Questions like that can present more uniform feedback to the team, without the cacophony of noise. So it makes it easier to take direct and decisive action based on what players want. Plus, it will give Yoshi-P and CBU3 the opportunity to show that the players that they are taking feedback and listening, rather than leaving players feeling like they're unheard.

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It would create goodwill and furnish SE with actionable information. The question at this point is whether they care about either.

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Originally Posted by ElysiumDragon

"Make FFXIV a totally different game according to my whims" isn't feedback either, and that's what so many of the recent complaints have been about. That's not feedback you listen to, it's feedback you disregard.

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This got me curious: what feedback do you consider as "feedback you listen to", and what do you consider as "make a totally different game according to my whims kind of feedback you don't listen to"?

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Originally Posted by Gwenkatsu

In this case I have some really good news for you: nobody forces you to partake in the forums, nor is there any risk of partaking accidentally.

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Hmm.

I like to check in here now and then, just to marvel at the sheer density of stupidity. It's like a motivational quote, but louder and dumber—really puts my own life into perspective. It's not all stupid but just enough.

I come here for the same reason people watch car crashes—morbid curiosity and the warm reassurance that, whatever else is happening, at least I’m not out here confusing opinions with facts in front of an audience. Nothing lifts the spirits like a front-row seat to brain cells being sacrificed in real time.

It's my personal gratitude journal, just with more public embarrassment

By being generally toxic?

I'm pretty open that I'm only playing for friends and community. I just don't go to the extra mile of shitting on the game when other people are enjoying it.