A funny thing I stumbled upon I had to share...

[Karnyboy]

So the basic fill of the list was of things parents do(or fail to do) that keep their children from becoming leaders. It made me think of the degenerative state of wickedness that has been coming from online gaming communities since I started playing in 95, a decline in the general "attitude".

At any rate, I noticed comparisons I could make in the list to FFXIV (opinions in italics)

1. Talk over the issues you wish you would’ve known about adulthood.
Few explain encounters anymore, or very rarely
2. Allow them to attempt things that stretch them and even let them fail.
You fail, players rage quit, nobody ever gets a chance to learn. Why did we fail?
3. Discuss future consequences if they fail to master certain disciplines.
This stood out the most, rage quitting never explains why it's just "you suck."
4. Aid them in matching their strengths to real-world problems.
More often than not the quitters don't teach and help players get better.
5. Furnish projects that require patience, so they learn to delay gratification.
Again, the lack of patience to teach is astounding. Wait for content, etc. Instant gratification era.
6. Teach them that life is about choices and trade-offs; they can’t do everything.
This is a funny one that makes sense when you think of it in terms of large raid groups (CT) you have 1 role, do it and not all, you may have 6 tanks, but not all of you have to tank, etc.
7. Initiate (or simulate) adult tasks like paying bills or making business deals.
Nobody helps the players that need it get better by challenging them. Loot or die.
8. Introduce them to potential mentors from your network.
I have a group of great friends who are in a FC with me, experienced players, but we weren't on Coil so nobody joined, such a wasted shame. Again, loot or die mentality.
9. Help them envision a fulfilling future, and then discuss the steps to get there.
Funny relation to my #8 post, nobody ever wanted to join the FC to help it grow better if we weren't doing Coil, what was the point. There was no want to grow better and help out.
10. Celebrate progress they make toward autonomy and responsibility.
This ties it all in, why is there few tanks? Because it's responsibility, players don't seem to want it. They'll complain about queue times, but they won't put the shoe on the other foot, they'll complain that a FC has few in it, but they won't help recruit, I'll invite members and mentor, but then they leave soon after since I couldn't log in 1 day due to life. I would always go out of my way to help and to congratulate them genuinely. Gamers lately seem reluctant to do things on their own, someone has to spoon feed it to them.

Now it may not seem like much, but in all 10 points you can think on a larger scale of each rude person you've come across in your gaming experiences (not limited to just FFXIV) and I can bet 1 or more can easily explain WHY people are becoming the way they are.


Anyway, long winded thought process I'd share because I see the same attitudes in my online games that didn't exist in such large quantities when I was playing with 60/70/80's and some early 90's generation of players back in the 95-2005 range. It seems that since the WoTLK era of gaming in general the entire populace has become, for lack of a better word, toxic.