What is wrong with people on the forum..?

[TouchandFeel]

My thoughts on the general state of 3.15 and the Official Forums' reaction.

The situation in game is not nearly as bad or dire as the forums make it out to be. There are many players participating in the new relic content. It is true that there are some disgruntled players that make it known ingame, but I experienced far more players that were enjoying having something new to strive for. How long that enjoyment will last is to be seen.

Have missteps happened? Yes. Could improvements be made? Also yes. Is 3.15 the Eorzean Rapture calling players away to other games leaving the game an empty wasteland? No, some may leave, others will come back and many will stick around.

As others have already pointed out, forums, comment sections and a lot of the internet as a whole are vitriolically negative, so don't be surprised when you see mostly that on a game forum.

I fully support people voicing their opinions on matters and things, but pissing and moaning does get old and really accomplishes very little. when so many people resort to this type of "feedback" over seemingly anything and everything, it just turns into this annoying background noise that is always there and you wish would just go away, like a TV or ceiling light that puts out a just perceptible humming noise.
Speaking plainly, the fastest way to get people to want to ignore your "feedback" is to give it in a "whiny" way.

So I guess a caveat is in order.
I support people voicing their opinions when they have put some level of thought into it and present it in a constructive manner.

If you want people to take your opinion on something seriously and not see it as just whining, then just simply do the following: state what the issue is, state why it is an issue, deconstruct the greater issue so that the smaller parts can be evaluated, evaluate the greater issue and the smaller parts that make it up from multiple angles and viewpoints to gain a better understanding of the issue, use the greater understanding of the issue to then formulate solutions to the issue from the smaller parts all the way up to the whole.
This may seem like a lot to do but really it isn't, its basic critical thinking and is something everyone should practice and enact in their daily lives.
Some people on these forums are doing this, but also many are not.

Also, this goes beyond just posting your ideas and expressing your opinions, but when you also respond to other people's posts and opinions. Follow the same steps, be respectful and don't make just knee jerk, snippy and rude responses. Trashing others on the internet doesnt make you cool or win you any awards (at least none worth having) and if you have to do it to feel good about yourself, well then you have much bigger and deeper issues than someone disagreeing with you on a forum.

Now, if we as the players want the dev team to listen to us we will have to do what is seemingly impossible, agree.
Basically, the dev team can't make decisions based on biased opinions of individuals and small groups, they have to make decisions based on what they know they can do that will hopefully please the most people.
When feedback is not unified and is often times contradicting itself due to so many different camps of thought saying things have to be their way or else, how can you expect the devs to be able to make a decision that won't ultimately piss someone off?
The only way we as players can become unified is by being considerate of each other and trying to work together towards a greater common goal, helping the dev team know what will make the game better for us the players. That means getting passed our own bias and hang-ups, listening to other people's opinions (when they are expressed in a constructive manner) and most importantly making concessions and suggestions to help better integrate the desires and opinions of others into your own so that a solution that will benefit the most people can be reached.

Yes it is impossible to give everyone exactly what they may "want", but it is not impossible to please everyone if everyone is willing to rein in their own selfish desires to make room for others.

In game and in real life, we as residents of this world, real or virtual, are in it together whether we like it or not and we will always be stronger and be able to accomplish more and better affect positive change if we work together. Try to constantly force your own way and all you do is bump into everyone else doing the same. Band together and move as a unified group and the people that were previously obstacles no longer are, as they are moving with you and helping you to get to where you and they want to be.