Quote Originally Posted by Mike_Oxlong View Post
Not forcing logoff of AFK players is sheer stupidity, even if the game was functioning 100%. It was the dumbest part of FFXI. There is no reason for it. Trade functions can be setup for offline functionality, event calendars can be used, messages can be logged and redisplayed to players, etc. Having a substantial portion of the player population AFK ruins the feel of an MMO. One more item in the long list of MMO basics everyone expects.
How do you figure it ruins the feel? If anything it makes it feel even more populated. Do NPCs ruin your feel also? I mean they are just standing there 24/7. Notbeing auto kicked was a great feature in ffxi. Bazaars allowed you to personally sell stuff. Also since HNMs were on timers you could run to the store without worrying about having to log back in. Also pretty much every MMO has bots to it which allow them to stay logged in. So people will stay logged in no matter what.