Yoshi said they were going to take a "Conductors" approach to FFXIV.

I guess this means they will usher you through various quest hubs to level cap?

And then have some cross-server thing on the side (why?)...

FFXI had something similiar. There was a process where you went to valkrum, Jueno, Qufim, Kazham, etc. So it's not like FFXIV will be the only game in history to be on rails. They can still conduct people through content without it getting annoying. But at the same time, there's merit in the argument that too much coercian and forced gameplay just gets boring fast.

We need some content that lets us think for ourselves, and do things with the community our own way.

I wish MMO designers would realise that some people just want to log in and do their own thing sometimes. Fortunately there will always be crafting and gathering too, which is a playstyle you can always just do on your own terms, generally speaking.

I think it's pretty damn rich, though, how in that same China Joy interview, Yoshi P completely shrugs off ArcheAge as "just another Korean MMO", when in reality, it looks to be the only upcoming game which really invests time into developing content where players can create gameplay around what THEY want to do, not just what the game tells them to.