Why is the North American community so much worse than the Japanese one?

[MirielleLavandre]

I'm Japanese/Chinese, and I think the reason you'll see or perceive the American servers to be more toxic is twofold. One, the US is far more individualistic than Japan, which is mostly taught from childhood to be more collectivist and focused on the good of the community rather than the individual (the whole 'nail that sticks out gets beaten down thing). Therefore, team play and making things comfortable and not embarrassing for anyone is a cultural norm and expectation. In a way it makes the harasser look very terrible since they are only losing face themselves and making the entirety of the community look bad at the same time.

The second is that while you might think the JPN servers are less toxic, they are still toxic in a different way. While we don't usually come out and say 'no', there are lots of ways to get the point across when someone wants to say something negatively or 'look down on' others, without outright saying it directly. This 'indirect toxicity' is something that may be hard for some to pick up, but it is definitely there (in the word choice people use, sometimes dropping honorifics or outright using insulting ones, etc.).

Soo - these are just a few of the reasons I can see why people may see JPN servers as less toxic, but remember that no matter what region you are on, people will be toxic regardless of area, since some people are just that way by nature. In the end, it is the individual who decides whether or not to be a terrible person - whether or not some countries allow it more than others is something to consider, though.

[Sesera]

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure Japan is about society over indivuduals which may explain the Japanese behavior.
For EU it's a bit different because we have a lot of nationality ( English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and more).

[Malzian]

Don't get me wrong na is toxic but if you have ever played overwatch or league of legends on eu you will realize they are way more toxic. Mainly due to their many different cultures colliding into one to two servers yeah no EU was always throwing way more racial slurs and extreme insults than na.

Every game is different, but the statement here was focused on XIV and MMOs in particular. League is different since it's purely competitive.

[Malzian]

The second is that while you might think the JPN servers are less toxic, they are still toxic in a different way. While we don't usually come out and say 'no', there are lots of ways to get the point across when someone wants to say something negatively or 'look down on' others, without outright saying it directly. This 'indirect toxicity' is something that may be hard for some to pick up, but it is definitely there (in the word choice people use, sometimes dropping honorifics or outright using insulting ones, etc.).

Is kind of funny, I work at a Quaker organization in the US and one of the main ideals is that you take great care with how you word things. The running joke among the rest of us is, "if a good Quaker is telling you to go to Hell, you can be damned sure that you'll enjoy the ride."

[Lium]

Snip

For some reason this reminded me of a comparison between New York City and San Francisco. New Yorkers will say, "GET OUTTA THE EFFIN STREET, YOU MORON!" and a San Franciscan will be like, "I'm silently judging you."

[Arrius]

The japanese try to be more useful and strive for improvement, whereas the people outside japan try to get carried in fights and whatnot, all for the sake of 'yolo'.
The former also have a 'community blacklist' going, where they tag bad people and deny them content.

It's a culture thing, I guess.

So unless the NA/EU community straightens up and give the toxic and lazy people a proper shakedown, you won't see a change.

[Sekkei]

Was trying to remember one of the main things but I just went with another way to try to explain it. Mirielle said exactly what I was looking for :x

[Rita1989]

This thread is pretty funny people put the jp community on this golden pedastle but having played ffxi I have seen just as many terrible jp players over the years and in fact the worst case of harassment I had ever received came from a group of jp players who didn't like the fact I was camping and NM and it lasted almost a month before a GM took action on them.

Just because we are culturally different doesn't mean one or the other is "better".

[Crescents]

Honestly, it's because Western people tend to be more entitled because western culture has become much more self centered as time goes on which is clearly referenced in every game, but in FFXIV specific it's not just trolling but it's so prevalent to the point of if you see several wipes in a party finder where a JP group would work with the player who isnt getting it to get by and actually see real progress an NA group will just spam some meme macro say "I thought this was a _____ party" and leave/ disband. so to fix it you really have to teac an entire region of people someone besides themselves are important, and thats just the people who are doing it subconsciously not to mention the people who act this way to get a rise out of people.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

Can I speak for the PvP community for a moment and clear up some long standing misconceptions, please?

A lot of people say PvP is toxic by design. . . It can be, but that doesn't mean it always is. Even Yoshi P himself said "competition stirs passions", and some people aren't so great at expressing themselves in a passionate moment (others like myself are a little too open/honest in a passionate moment). I know I can be a hothead if really pushed, but largely, the Aether DC PvP community is/was pretty chill. We have/had a few bad apples, I can't deny that, but we policed our own. Ran your mouth? Get dunked on next match. For those that cheated or did anything that really crossed the line, we did report, but you know how that goes. . . Still, for what it's worth, PvP is not just inherently toxic. Though I have seen many come in, readily defensive without cause, and spark the very toxicity they were so wary of in the first place. Honestly, if you're new/unsure of what to do, be honest, ask questions, and just be cool. You'll find we're far more supportive than argumentative.

On that subject, there's a LOT of misinformation out there, and more experienced players can't always readily make corrections to what can otherwise be costly behaviors or mistakes. Communication is key (Did you see that SE? Communication is key), and there's already a wealth of information out there from those of us who've been playing longer. I've written 2 Shatter guides. Nothing super complex, just real basic tips to help improve your experience; if you're new to it, please read them (I'll provide the links after the edit). There's nothing wrong with being new, there's nothing wrong with not really knowing what to do when and how. But if you refuse to learn, or are simply just rolling the dice after months, it's really time to learn, and while I can teach you in the field, I would not be able to play as well while doing so. So, again, communication is key, and consider the compiled knowledge of more experienced players to be the first attempt at communicating. Please meet us halfway.

Lastly, we who love PvP in this game understand that it doesn't have a very big draw. Some even just outright hate it based on experiences elsewhere. You're within your rights to feel that way, but please don't shut us out or make us feel unwelcome in the "theme park". Whether we like other features too, or only like PvP, we're a part of the community that SE (at least at first) saw fit to offer an attraction to. This doesn't take away from your preferred attractions, and the overall scale of PvE/PvP content and support is still very far in favor of PvE. So if anything, try to be a little more accepting and show a little empathy for your PvPers (the good ones at least). Just like Glamours, Eternal Bonds, and Housing, we're a part of the community that spoke up enough to get them to listen (at least once) and offer something we could truly enjoy. Just because the theme park has the Final Fantasy brand doesn't mean PvP has no place within it. And we're not asking for the world. Just a little more support, and a lot less scorn and neglect. From both SE and our fellow players.