SE, don't invite that journalist to Fanfest... ever.

[Freyar]

https://gamerescape.com/2018/11/17/f...ss-conference/
Seventh question down.

Thanks. The question is summarized, but the question is fair enough. "Players are doing this." ... well report it then? I suppose?

[Dyvid]

Sadly this is what journalism has become, click bait headlines rather then professionals interviewing people and reporting on the story behind the headlines.

Same Fan Fest, different take on the community.

[cakesphere]

As a cosplayer, the way this "journalist" treated cosplayers, who work extremely hard to make beautiful things as a tribute to the content they love, really activated my almonds.
I hope he or any other RPS "journalists" don't ever get invited to another ffxiv event again, and especially not for free.

Completely insulting and unprofessional, and exactly what I'd expect from a **** rag like RPS, whose articles are all about confirming their own biases and/or straight up clickbait.

[JackHatchet]

Those kind of erotic rp houses are quite frequent on Mateus and Balmung. I can see it being a question that comes up from someone unfamiliar to the game.

It'd be like someone coming to visit America and asking if America has a stance on illegal drugs? Or asking Yoshi what his opinion was on botting? We all know that people do illegal drugs in America (and any country really), and we all know some botting goes on. So the question is kind of silly, because it's a 'duh, it happens, but you shouldn't--right?"

Had he asked about botting, and Yoshi had responded with the "don't worry, the ToS saves the day"--everyone would be laughing at Yoshi for making such a stupid comment. The ToS don't mean crap if Square-Enix doesn't actively enforce it.

[JackHatchet]

The journalists article was terrible. He was clearly biased, and trying to push an agenda. I don't worship Haufrant. I can't even spell his name right. But idolizing a fictional character is nothing new. So while I don't feel the same way about that specific character--I've had those emotions towards other fictional characters from movies, books, and radio. Well-written characters are 'suppose' to elicit an emotional response. He should have given Square-Enix credit for writing something rememberable rather than trashing the fans.

[ArcaviusGreyashe]

Your level of apathy is part of the reason why "It happens all the time.".

Sure, because complaining on a forum where everyone will agree with you isn't apathy.

My "Apathy" gets me into spending time, IRL and IG, to introduce people to RP, through different means, with varying results, it got me into arguments with people that were opposed to the whole RP/cosplay thing because they thought that was a fetish, and it got me into convincing them that MAYBE, it's just something people do for fun, and maybe, they can find it cool as well. My Apathy is getting me into actually changing things, as much as I can. We can't change the way a whole website considers RP/cosplay, but if we make society change, then those websites will be considered trash, and THEN, it won't happen.

But hey, I guess it's easier to complain here than to actually get out of your way to try to convince people who do not agree with you. Can't blame you. But don't blame me when you don't know what you're talking about.

[Enla]

Those kind of erotic rp houses are quite frequent on Mateus and Balmung. I can see it being a question that comes up from someone unfamiliar to the game.

It'd be like someone coming to visit America and asking if America has a stance on illegal drugs? Or asking Yoshi what his opinion was on botting? We all know that people do illegal drugs in America (and any country really), and we all know some botting goes on. So the question is kind of silly, because it's a 'duh, it happens, but you shouldn't--right?"

Had he asked about botting, and Yoshi had responded with the "don't worry, the ToS saves the day"--everyone would be laughing at Yoshi for making such a stupid comment. The ToS don't mean crap if Square-Enix doesn't actively enforce it.

They really aren't though? I can't speak for Mateus, but you could go through all the wards here on Balmung and maybe find a grand total of five that actually focus on ERP. Not including performance guilds that might dabble or have players that focus on it, the latter is more common I will give you that, but the guilds and houses that focus solely on ERP aren't as common as people make them out to be. They also don't last long at all. I've been in the same ward for years and have had three come in since I joined, none of them lasted more than three months.

[Freyar]

I know of a handful here and there.. though to be frank, it isn't their focus. Does it happen? Yes. Is it "endorsed"? Eh.. not really.

[JackHatchet]

They exist, but even if you're an RPer--you might not know about them. That's why I related them to illegal drugs.

Saying there aren't ERP brothels and such is akin to saying "there's no illegal drugs in my town!" It's so short-sighted that it comes off incredibly ignorant. Of course they're not going to advertise in the public space or cold call you to advertise. But if you dig around some discord servers or branch out--you'll find them.

All I can say is don't take absence of evidence to be evidence of absence. I can live my entire life in my town and never meet a drug dealer or see drugs. But that doesn't mean that my neighbor isn't currently getting high or even a dealer himself. So before you go around boasting how there's no ERP on Balmung--maybe you should try to get behind closed doors and see what's actually there?

Ultimately, I don't think sex is bad. It's a basic part of being human. But when people freak out and act like it's taboo--I feel like more attention should be brought to it. Either normalize it--or condemn it. This gray area stuff Square-Enix does with botting, nude mods, and ACT is nuts.

[JackHatchet]

One of the reason FFXIV has become such a hot-bed for this stuff is because Square-Enix doesn't discourage it. It's true that it's not 'endorsed,' but Square-Enix provides some of the best avenues for these kinds of activities.

FFXIV has decent character customization, cat girls, provocative outfits, fan-service, and a pulsating modding community that's left relatively unchecked. I could see why someone would ask Yoshi P about it, because at this rate--it almost seems like he's specifically setting FFXIV up to be the next Second-Life.

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Yoshi P is 'the' guy who has authority on the direction of FFXIV. He's the game director. IF he wanted to curb ERP (or even botting)--you'd think there'd be more effort, eh?