Linkshell Management Recognition

[Keith_Dragoon]

That statement in itself is very telling since the very fact that he even has to "work around it" in the first place, means that the current solution is sub-optimal.

I tried to point that out but it would be easier teaching my cat how to fly a plane

[Poppa]

Thanks Rho for the shout-out edit on the first page ^^. This is a topic that should be addressed, however as I have been told several times that this topic is not important right now *cough - BS - cough*. As of right now (and I believe this) the focus is purely on the battle system. After that is implemented in 1.18 I think we (all LS masters and leaders get everyone in their LS's to post about this) should flood the forums with the dislike on how LS tools are not in game. I for one would back anyone up on this matter. I know (trust me by the post that Rho did) the amount of threads there are concerning this matter.

Its just a shame that this was not thought of in the implementation of the game. It also show the lack of competency that the original team and the current team has when it comes to LS management and playing MMO's. They claim they have played MMO's in the past, I do not believe them when this is a constant issue that has been posted since March.

I am not a LS master, just a leader that is very upset with the ghosts we have in our LS.

[Elkwood]

Bumping and will continue to bump both LS topics until the Devs get it straight the players want this now not just the battle reform, this has been complained about since beta and since every complaint in Beta was ignored SE better fix this now.

[Rowyne]

I am not a LS master, just a leader that is very upset with the ghosts we have in our LS.

There's something elegant about this statement. And catchy.

"Ghosts Of The LS"

[Alothia]

I agree. I will continue to bump this until we get some actual feedback on this topic instead of "It's not a priority." It should be a priority.

[Keith_Dragoon]

There's something elegant about this statement. And catchy.

"Ghosts Of The LS"

I know right? if I could rename my shell ghosts of Trabia I would because now 100% of my members are inactive including myself because I'm too attached to my ls name to remake it over and over.

That and I loathe solo.

[Pulseczar]

I'd like to hear an explanation out of a dev as to why they thought it was a good idea not to include a basic function of all MMOs — a freaking LS/Guild management system!

[Zenge]

Do we have to sacrifice a baby ewe for this to happen!? >.<;

It's rather annoying to transfer all the members from the old LS to the new and occasionally tend to have some of those members, who will not be back from vacations,finals, ect., coming back confused without a LS. It's really time consuming and not fun at all! Please SE give us that tool and please don't let us wait 6+ more months after the battle system changes to implement this.

[Keith_Dragoon]

I want to update my former statement and bump this topic.

The guy I mentioned was all for the remotely kicking players but he was against the ability to invite/tell members from the LS menu. So he was not against the administrative tools but the tools to make things less frustrating.

quote for those who care.

lsmessage and the remote things are great,
however if your in a fairly active Ls like elite and a tight-knit group all members should be on your social list
and the social list takes most of your invite/seeing whos online/talking to members directly a function like the one you describe takes the social thing to be worthless... if your real life friends are not in your shell then sketchy (45/57 active members in Elite is on my social list)
dont think general/master of a shell should be passed unless they leaving the game and atm if your leader is seeking to leave might as well start over or join a already active shell.
takes me 5 secs already to see what rank who is by checking pro or lodestone ~.~ ingame would just make things laggy. then check social list to see if there on.

Loyalty ? ? ? why have more then one shell, If you have a shell that can do everything from sping to End of content for you having multiple ls just causes more drama.
Maybe because im a leader in Elite I onry rock one crest. understanding everyone whos not in my shell is on my social list.
Maybe a function to have everyone in your shell on your social list.
Hiding your online is kinda meh, if you dont want to be talked to just go to a special place and dont respond.
and making the social list available for like 500 people vice 200 because maybe one day ill have everyone on the server on the social list as long as they not on my blist.

[Rhomagus]

Day #7 May 29, 2011

Thanks for the reiteration on that Keith but in a sense I'm a bit disappointed. It goes to show you that not being able to kick members at will is virtually an unjustifiable position. I was really excited to come across another argument directly against master's being able to kick their inactive online members but there still has yet to be one that directly addresses that point. Even the one we have so far is weak and certainly not representative of the game's player base.

The point that Merlin Omniking seems to address is forming a tight knit community. I think the only valid way to attack the implementation of broadening linkshell options is from this perspective, and even then it would require a highly rhetorical tone to support it. The argument loses it's ground as soon as you get into the carefree nature of play. The linkshell I'm in currently has such a recruitment policy, to an extent. The only reason it has to have a more closed recruitment policy is specifically because the lack of free will the master has over kicking inactive or insubordinate members. Otherwise, it's a join as you will LS and the innocents are caught in the crossfire whenever we have to remake a new shell.

Another qualm I have with the restriction of linkshell administration options is it lacks diversity from the get go. I think a lot of people want to be around that. I think it's the one of the primary draws of MMOs. I would say that it wouldn't be necessary but linkshell chat and chatter over vent has become almost my exclusive mode of meaningful communication. I think this is the case with other people as well. While Besaid is very talkative, it's only talkative if you're in the right LS. That and the roleplayers exclusively utilize /say, so it's great for roleplayers, but in general, it's been my observation that there is very little communication outside of the personal relationships people have forged in the game. It would be nice if people started communicating more in other channels rather than /linkshell but the unfortunate truth is that they do not, so having a linkshell is almost a requirement for socialization. Putting unnecessary restrictions on it only kills the socialization process as it exists today. I would hope that Naoki Yoshida would start pushing this notion a bit more as he seemed vocal about it in his very first "Letter from the Producer". I've already quoted it, but I will do it again here in case there are people out there that don't want to read the entire thread: (I'm lucky if I could get people to read my posts for that matter let alone the entire thread.)

I cannot help but be concerned over the 4.6% result for socializing. This leads me to believe that in its current state, the game is lacking group-oriented goals and means of communication.

I think auto-attack will help alleviate this a little bit. It's aggravating to type and battle/synth/harvest as it is now, especially when you try to type something really quick but the end of the action erases everything you've written. This is a thread for auto-attack though and I have other opinions on its implementation anyways. Regardless, as I've expressed earlier in this thread. It would be naive to think that the lack of linkshell management tools is not impacting socialization. To reiterate this point I'd like to direct everyone over to where posts should be made about this subject, but are constantly ignored, is the UI section of the forums.

I was looking through there the other day and by far linkshell options is the most recurring topic created. Problem is, no one posts in the threads. There is literally a topic in there that consists of nothing but an OP. I've expressed this opinion as well and is one of my condolences to the naysayers of the urgency of this particular issue. I think we really, as the English speaking community, have to be better at reviewing the already posted topics first. It's difficult to suggest that in a tl;dr type culture but I sincerely believe in doing so.

The only reason I'm posting about this topic is strictly because I feel it's not getting enough attention from the development team, not the community. I think the community has voiced itself very aggressively, but it's not concentrated. This is also why I post in the [Dev1024] Linkshell Administration Options thread as well, as it seems to be the largest one. I also think it would be a just effort if we'd start posting in the appropriate areas as well. Despite such a widespread need and vocal expression of this issue, it's rarely mentioned in the appropriate forum. I think there's even a dev-tracker post recognizing the unfortunate disregard for the rest of the forums.

Speaking of which, I would like to reiterate my appreciation for the English localization team and our community reps here on the forums. I think they're doing the best they can. The only qualms I have are with the dev team and this specific issue. To be more precise about it, the lack of a dev-tag is the main problem here. The post by Hvinire does a good deal to help alleviate frustrations, but in the end, we'd really like a dev response on it. Unfortunately his link to Rukkirii's post doesn't jive with the information we got from "Letter from the Producer VIII"
and all in all, it really just echoes our own sentiments rather than giving us something to actually track.

Wow that was off topic, but I'd like to pull another opinion from a community member, who not only has a decent discourse but also, gasp, posted in the correct part of the forums about it.

The post was made by Biggs on the 12th of this month. So it may not be that old, but it certainly does a fantastic job of highlighting the impact not having such a basic feature is having on our communities.

Help My Linkshell SE

First let me start by saying, I have stayed loyal to this game since beta, and I believe it is heading in the right direction. That being said: You have killed my linkshell SE, and I gotta say, I am pretty salty about it.

When this game first started I created a linkshell I was (and still am) very proud of. I loved the name, I loved the people that joined, it was everything out of a linkshell one could want. We quickly grew to max capacity. Then, sometime in Dec, a bug forced us to have to dump that linkshell and create another. (it had to do with certain people having a giant red x through their linkshell logo, but whatever).

Shortly after the announcment that the new team was taking over, and it became very appearent that changes would take a while, well over 80% of my linkshells members (and many other linkshells members as well) quit playing. Sad, but what could I do? I still chose to carry on. Problem now is, in order to gather new members, I need more room, and guess what?! I cant boot any of these people that don't play anymore.

Now I know that the dev team is hard at work getting ready to (hopefully) rock our faces off, but truth be told, this seems like something that could easily be fixed. I just feel like those of us that have been the most loyal to you all while you straiten all this out are getting the shortest end of the stick. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, its just, My linkshell is part of who I am, and after being forced to dump it once, I refuse to give it up again. Will I have to wait until sometime at the end of the year before I can manage my own ls? If so, please let me know so I can put a pot of coffee on and break out War and Peace, cause its gonna be a lonely year for your ol pal Biggs.

Cheers from the Altepan Warriors! -Kashuan

It's so free of malice, anger, aggression, demand, and overall murderous intent but still gets the same message across. It was certainly a welcome tone on these forums, and I couldn't help but laugh again. A bit different than day #5 but reminiscent nonetheless. I honestly have been doing a lot more reading myself and I think it's because I've started to come to the conclusion that this particular issue is a microcosm of XIV's development problem. Maybe I should go buy a coffee pot with my unspent reserves of income from not having to pay for XIV.

I'll be putting Keith's post as Day #6 in the OP. I don't claim this thread for my own just because I've started it. It belongs just as much to Keith and everyone else for that matter, but Keith is the one who initially inspired me to start taking a detailed inventory of my research on the lack of recognition on this issue.