The burden of being in charge.

[Cthulhu]

It is true that we are paying customers and also that we are not childeren (Emotional children aside). However, Yoshida is there exactly to judge what is "for our own good". That's why SE is giving him the salary you mention in your post. I do see us as a community and while I might not view him as a parent, I definitely see him as our head of household. If an idea comes out of the community, be it from players or dev staff, it remains an idea until Yoshida says "Do it" and then it gets done.

Here's how I think this is "vegetables".

A+B-X = "new A"

This is the ever popular option 2. So you order them in terms of populations (JP avg peak, NA avg peak, EU avg peak, or total avg peak?). Axe the bottom 8, you now have 8 blocks to add to your 10 remaining servers. Your objective is to have about a value of 2000 at each peak time. Few of your 8 blocks fit perfectly to remaining servers, but you do the best you can and mash your 8 blocks on. You'll have a few that leave this new server and move to the popularly named server of their choice. The new server might have too many on at some peak times and too few at another because your 8 blocks can only fit together so well.

Pick 10 Worlds, set a limit

In option 4 all the players get dropped in to a pool. Within this pool people align themselves into communities of play style. There are many types of communities that could emerge here. Hard core endgamers what to challenge other elite linkshells to be the first to have 8 memebers clear the new patch content and do a naked run to Fogfens? Isle 1. You like being in a general linkshell and the familiarity of Mysidia? Isle 3. RP? Isle 9. This process happens separately across your 3 language bases, each able to monitor the others to avoid large conflicts. Everyone must chose which community they are going to follow in the merge and those who don't are sprinkled across servers to provide building blocks for new communities to form or old ones to grow on the server. I'm willing to bet you have much more balanced servers at the end of this process. Hence vegetables. Not as good going down as a candy bar, but healthier servers in the end for eating it.

[ShinChuck]

As if people didn't already want me to shut up, I missed your post. So, uh, I'll blame you. Totally your fault I'm still going. Alright, so let's see...

It is true that we are paying customers and also that we are not childeren (Emotional children aside). However, Yoshida is there exactly to judge what is "for our own good". That's why SE is giving him the salary you mention in your post. I do see us as a community and while I might not view him as a parent, I definitely see him as our head of household. If an idea comes out of the community, be it from players or dev staff, it remains an idea until Yoshida says "Do it" and then it gets done.

I'll give you this - to an extent. However, the fact that we're paying customers does change the field a bit. His goal is not solely to judge what is "for our own good", so much as deliver a product we desire. Now, some of his own judgement does come into play there, but this a transaction, and unlike children and parents, we have a right to ask for certain things, particularly standards.

If I ask for a cheeseburger, yes, there is an extent to which I must rely on the cook's expertise. But it's a two-way street, and if I know I don't like onions, the cook should be respectful of that. It'd be pretty cheeky for the cook, or the guy behind me in line to say, "You're not a cook, he knows better! Deal with the onions!"

So I understand what you're saying, and agree to an extent, we just need to remember that in a two-sided transaction, both parties can have valid points and concerns; the buyer should not simply have all his opinions invalidated.

But I think we ultimately agree on that point.

Here's how I think this is "vegetables".

I should apologize here, I'm sorry. I snipped most of that, because while you have some valid points there, absolutely, it's not really what I was referring to, and I should have clarified from the start. I'm not a one-issue "I want server names ahead of time!" or "I want Plan 2" type (as a side note, not sure why the community is thinking so "in the box" and limiting the possibilities to only four ideas), and my concerns spread beyond those.

My point is that you're still missing conveniences like linkshell transfers, and people who aren't playing during this small window will be thrust randomly into servers upon their return. It goes beyond waiting for 2.0 before resubbing; myself and many others have friends who simply cannot afford to play at this time or who may have serious life issues going on, and will receive a random transfer if they can't hit the window.

*Those* are what I'm talking about when I'm saying modern MMO standards aren't being met, I've yet to see it seriously addressed. Those are *not* ultimately good for us, nor are they meeting MMO standards. Other games typically will allow returning players to choose upon next login, whenever that might be, and it's shocking that guilds won't transfer either, a definite cause for more potential confusion.

So I do appreciate you responding in regards to vegetables and clarifying for me, and I do apologize I wasn't more clear from the start about what I meant. My bad!

[Cthulhu]

My point is that you're still missing conveniences like linkshell transfers, and people who aren't playing during this small window will be thrust randomly into servers upon their return.

I think you answer your first point. Your second, I would say is a somewhat valid criticism, but this small window of 20 days are right after the new jobs patch. Probably the patch which will have the most inactive players returning to check out the game since billing started and reaching until 2.0 launches. Even if they miss this window by 1 day people who really want to play together will only be separated for 7 months before getting another shot.

Other games typically will allow returning players to choose upon next login, whenever that might be, and it's shocking that guilds won't transfer either, a definite cause for more potential confusion.

A lack of what you called a convenience earlier should also not be shocking. Not excusing SE for not including them, but also not expecting them should be a good policy. After all, Yoshida is building us a new world while dishing out an exclusive plot to us at the same time (This shouldn't be a mantra to be used in every instance, but it does happen to be fact.).

He gives the most people resubbing before 2.0 a chance to pick their server. Miss it and you also get another chance in 7 months. I grant a golden ticket to move to any world that wasn't filled in the merge should be offered to every resub before 2.0, but even in a worst case scenario 7 months isn't too horrible.