Quote Originally Posted by KaivaC View Post
Seriously, what even is the right definition of a White Knight? I've seen that word thrown around so much that it's meaning, to me, has been devalued to little more than a childish insult. I feel like this does warrant a discussion within the community. Much like toxic and elitist, I feel like the words are thrown around way too easily. Is it White Knighting for simple defending an aspect of a policy, system, or other thing that the devs introduce into FFXIV? Or is White Knighting much more than just a simple defense of one or two things, as opposed to defending SE, no matter what.

I'd like to keep this exclusive to FFXIV, and since I know this could potentially lead to heated discussions, I ask that you do not resort to personal attacks and be mindful of fellow members.
"White Knight" is used pejoratively against people who they objectively know are right, but think they're brown-nosing/butt-kissing/astroturfing rather than sincerely believe it. In a similar context "SJW" is used pejoratively against people who "white knight" social causes (hence "social justice warrior") without much understanding of the issue. Both are terms typically used pejoratively by people who don't want the status-quo to change, even if it would benefit them.

"Toxic" is used to describe people who present ideas, good or bad, but only the most disruptive part of it spreads without any validation. Such as many of the "meta" derp that happens around here. There is no one-true-way to play a job in the game, but a Toxic person will tell you that you to play a certain way because that gets them to THEIR short-term goal, but the damage is long lasting.

"Elitist" is used to describe people who advocate that everyone should be like them, because they are under the mistaken belief that they are better than everyone.

The only actual difference between the White Knight and the Toxic Elitist is that the White Knight believes they are being altruistic, where as the Toxic Elitist is only thinking about their own goals. The "White Knight" is "Lawful Good" where the Toxic Elitist is essentially Chaotic Neutral.