State of Raiding In Regards to Community/FCs.

[Vidu]

I know what you're talking about TC. If even just to let you know you're not crazy, I can confirm that its not as easy as most people (including this thread) think it is to find a static, especially in FC's. Just like you said, most people will just say "Sorry you didn't find the right FC, but that's on you. the right one is out there!" Well, "the right" FC is few and far between. It's actually harder than people realize to find a good FC, let alone one that has enough active players that are willing to make raiding statics. For me, its the only thing that has prevented me from even doing Savage content up to this point. Like you, I'm "casually hardcore". As in, I'm on most nights (but not every night, because there are other things in my life that are important to me), I have a couple lvl 80's, gatherers are 50 but no crafter is above 10. I play pretty much everything but PvP (not that I'm opposed to PvP, I actually like PvP in games, just not in FFXIV in particular).

For the record: I dont think its easy to find a static or a good FC - but I do think that a lot of people expect this to be far easier than seems realistic and I dont understand why.

Just to elaborate a bit what I mean: I view both a static and an FC as more than just 7 other people to clear raids with - to me they're friends, more or less good ones, some you're closer with, some you know less about, but they're all friends and its more a community than just the people that you kill Ramuh-savage with.
Joining a static is only the first step in becoming part of such a community - you need to understand that you're joining a bunch of people who know each other for a while already and who will be more familiar with each other at first than they are with you. Joining an FC doesnt mean you get straight into the inner circle or become part of the FCs static. It also doesnt mean that the FC is outright excluding people if they dont kick half the current static to make room for new memembers!
A community, an FC, a static is something everyone builds together - including (a general) you. Its something one needs to invest in - time, effort, kindness... on both sides.
I'm sorry if I'm missunderstanding things here, but often posts complaining about bad FCs read a lot like people were expecting to have 30 friends who are willing to do any content at any time with them - and thats just not realistic.

It takes a while to find a good fit - and it takes an even longer while to foster relationships within the static.
But suggestions like OPs wont help with that - forcing people to play together just because they're in an FC will more likely lead to FC you cant even get a foot in the door. It will lead to more gated communities, not better ones.