The people currently blackmailing Devs over cosmetics are a disgrace

[WhiteArchmage]

SE made and survived through things like Spirits Within and spent years worth of money and development time on XV. They aren't fragile.

I am agreeing with you but just want to point out that Square actually didn't survive Spirits Within, it was such a flop and they spent so many resources that Sakaguchi was forced to resign and it opened up negotiations for Enix to buy them, hence the merger.

On the topic: I've already cancelled my automatic renewal, because my sub payment went through last week (6 month sub and I sure as hell am not gonna throw that money in the trash). We're constantly told to put our money where our mouth is, mocked that people won't actually do it, know that the only way to show discontent (since a favorite is also "the devs don't even check the forums!"), that...is it really a surprise if people actually follow through?

[Serenno]

The end. the rest is bad faith sorry. You understand I didnt mean the strict meaning of black mail but the broad, but you are still reproaching me to accuse people of a criminal activity.

The conflict is between you and you, not between us. I hope the part of you with good faith wins the argument

I...what? You said:

Please understand words have strict and broad meanings.

and I told you that I understood that. And then I went on to expand that while things have meanings, context is important and as such the term "blackmail" doesn't apply to this situation, even providing you with different dictionary entries of the word "blackmail" to show you that it's not the same. I also made a post afterwards to clarify that I wasn't trying to insinuate that you'd call the police or something, but that the world blackmail carries a certain connotation. It's not my fault or my "bad faith" or whatever that you're standing by the term "blackmail" when people have already told you that that does not apply and it's an inappropriate term for what's actually happening. I'm not in conflict with myself over anything, my conflict is with you and you misconstruing the situation as something that it isn't.

[decoratibo]

I am agreeing with you but just want to point out that Square actually didn't survive Spirits Within, it was such a flop and they spent so many resources that Sakaguchi was forced to resign and it opened up negotiations for Enix to buy them, hence the merger.

True! But ultimately people unsubscribing from XIV isn't going to be anywhere even close to that level of catastrophe, even though some people are acting like it is lol.

[Imuka]

I am agreeing with you but just want to point out that Square actually didn't survive Spirits Within, it was such a flop and they spent so many resources that Sakaguchi was forced to resign and it opened up negotiations for Enix to buy them, hence the merger.

On the topic: I've already cancelled my automatic renewal, because my sub payment went through last week (6 month sub and I sure as hell am not gonna throw that money in the trash). We're constantly told to put our money where our mouth is, mocked that people won't actually do it, know that the only way to show discontent (since a favorite is also "the devs don't even check the forums!"), that...is it really a surprise if people actually follow through?

This is right, but such things start to make people leave in small Groups. Just look at WoW.
There was never a gigantic catastrophe that made millions leave at once, even with the worst Addons. But they made people leave in Groups over the Years and now the only have less than 10% of the Playerbase compared to their pinnacle.

[Violet_Galaxy]

Relax people, genderlock is just cosmetic. You are threatening to leave a game, its gameplay, its scenario, its community, over some lack of cosmetics...

Some people are disappointed by the fanfest. I am disappointed by how childish a part of this community is. Such an outcry for such a trivial thing...

I agree. I get the frustration but these attention seeking I'm going to unsub threads I'm seeing is a little too melodramatic for things that will come and pass by the time the next expansion comes out.

[Keddera_StormMoon]

All modern sensibilities aside, I'm hearing we used to not have fem roes or cat boys. When they undid that genderlocked, they said they wouldn't do that anymore.

Isn't going back on a promise a legit complaint regardless of your political stance?

[Duroy]

I...what? You said:

and I told you that I understood that. And then I went on to expand that while things have meanings, context is important and as such the term "blackmail" doesn't apply to this situation, even providing you with different dictionary entries of the word "blackmail" to show you that it's not the same. I also made a post afterwards to clarify that I wasn't trying to insinuate that you'd call the police or something, but that the world blackmail carries a certain connotation. It's not my fault or my "bad faith" or whatever that you're standing by the term "blackmail" when people have already told you that that does not apply and it's an inappropriate term for what's actually happening. I'm not in conflict with myself over anything, my conflict is with you and you misconstruing the situation as something that it isn't.

I proved that blackmail could mean what I meant to say (I've quoted the dictionary). But, you are right, context and connotation are important. However, the context is pretty clear. Its pretty clear I do not mean blackmail in a legal kind of way. What proof do I have that it is pretty clear? The fact that some people, as you have pointed out, called me out about the use of the word. Let me try to explain.

The use of the legal term of blackmail is so outrageous it got people calling me ignorant. It is this "outrageousness" which constitutes the context and let people know I'm not meaning the legal blackmail but the broad meaning of blackmail: it wouldnt be serious to think someone would accuse the angry people of carrying out the criminal offense of blackmailing, therefore anybody objective and honest would understand I mean blackmail in a broad kind of way, a meaning which exists, therefore a meaning I'm allowed to use.

[Fyce]

When did exercising consumer rights become blackmail?

Nobody is saying that you can't unsub if you don't like the game anymore.
The point is about using that as a threat to get what you want (even if you don't actually plan on unsubbing, like all the "fake unsubbers" usually do).

In short, unsub if you want, but don't act like an entitled snowflake taking their sub in hostage to say "I won't give you money anymore if you don't do exactly what I want!".
It's not hard to see why that's beyond "exercising consumer rights".
Or maybe you want niches of people who threat to unsub to be in control of what's the game is going to be? "I want [insert whatever] or I'm going to unsub!" Should SE listen to every single person who says that? Do you expect SE to say "Oh, no, a few hundred players are threatening us to unsub! We better do what they want!"?

"Do what I say or else..." is blackmail.

[decoratibo]

Or maybe you want niches of people who threat to unsub to be in control of what's the game is going to be? "I want [insert whatever] or I'm going to unsub!" Should SE listen to every single person who says that? Do you expect SE to say "Oh, no, a few hundred players are threatening us to unsub! We better do what they want!"?

Your backlash would make much more sense if people were actually asking for something that was detrimental to the game. Of course it would be odd for people to say something like "I'm unsubbing until SE removes raids!" but literally nobody is doing something that ridiculous, they simply want more content added. How is that a bad thing? How does this hurt SE at all? You don't need to defend them. They can take criticism.

[Novak_04]

Nobody is saying that you can't unsub if you don't like the game anymore.
The point is about using that as a threat to get what you want (even if you don't actually plan on unsubbing, like all the "fake unsubbers" usually do).

In short, unsub if you want, but don't act like an entitled snowflake taking their sub in hostage to say "I won't give you money anymore if you don't do exactly what I want!".
It's not hard to see why that's beyond "exercising consumer rights".
Or maybe you want niches of people who threat to unsub to be in control of what's the game is going to be? "I want [insert whatever] or I'm going to unsub!" Should SE listen to every single person who says that? Do you expect SE to say "Oh, no, a few hundred players are threatening us to unsub! We better do what they want!"?

"Do what I say or else..." is blackmail.

Except it's not a single player saying that.

Additionally, saying "Since this isn't happening, I'm no longer going to play" isn't any form of blackmail. You people are tossing around words you find in a dictionary and calling it fact without regard to context. A consumer not getting what they want, regardless of the reasons, and choosing to take their business elsewhere is not blackmail. It's the cycle of consumerism. "Threatening" (since you guys love using this word) to unsub is not blackmail either. It's expressing discontent for the projected direction of the game and the resulting outcome. Since some of you love quoting definitions... here's one for you:

threat
/THret/Submit
noun
1. a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done.

"You could say that the $15/ month they'll be losing is damage." No, no you can't. It isn't money they're entitled to. It's not THEIR money. It's our money that we're SPENDING on an item we currently enjoy playing. When that enjoyment runs out, we have the right to say "if x doesn't happen, then I will go to y instead." If Squeenix doesn't need/want our money, then that's on them.