SE, please designate a Role Play friendly server!

[Fensfield]

If I might quickly pop in, the community rep's do seem to take the weekends off.

I'm not saying we'll definitely see a response today now that they're back, but I do think we might see a response between today and Wednesday, assuming they saw and inquired on behalf of the thread when it manifested late last week. Which they probably did.

In the event they didn't, it's also worth remembering that in most cases the representatives don't post in threads until after they've heard back from inquiring about a thread's subject to the developers.

I guess the long and short is 'Don't give up, it could be a bit before we hear back yet' >.>

Although my money's on some time before Wednesday, I wouldn't be surprised if any reply came as late as Friday or even next Monday, depending on whether the response the inquiring rep' got from the team was 'We'll think about that after we've decided if hybrid-option-2 can actually be done.'

Sorry, but I want to play the game and make 'real' friends (as real as online friends get, anyways), not make friends with some guys alter-ego.

Sorry to dredge up an older post and not join in the present argument, but it's been nagging me that I didn't reply to this before (and the exchange with Coglin seems too bizarre to comment, anyway). Not that I can reply to the whole post; between structure and strange assumptions it isn't terribly easy to understand in more than it's negative-ish tone. But, one of those assumptions I really would like to pick up on:

Do you really think we don't communicate and make friends with the players behind the characters?

[Antipika]

Dedicated RP servers are something that has been done in the past already in other MMORPGs. That works, provided that there are enough players to fill the server.

Seeing current XIV population, that's obviously not the case. Cannot have 1 out 10 servers dedicated for RP. Not gonna mention that players speaks different languages and RP + Auto Translate simply doesn't compute.

So yeah the day XIV will have a decent amount of subscribers, then maybe we "may" ask for RP servers. Until then, it's just a waste of time.

Also someone compared that with Spanish players asking for their own forum etc. same as above. Most likely not enough Spanish customers to have SE supporting that language, it's not about opening a forum, it's also about having Spanish speakers among SE staff to handle it (hint: time+man power=money). With a game like XIV, you cannot expect these things to happen (yet at least)...

I am curious as too what country alot of the posters on this thread are in. Because in my country, segregation is illegal. Just because someone copiles a list of well worded reasons to segregate a section of players does not make it right, justified, or correct.

Saying that a server is dedicated to [some criteria] is perfectly legal. Call it whatever you want it doesn't change the fact that having server dedicated to a specific language, type of play (PvE/PvP/etc.) or Normal/RP is fine or that wouldn't be present in other games.

[Jinko]

I'm not a roleplayer but agree with this thread, a RP server would definately benefit those who swing that way..

[DeirdreTaea]

I defiantly think there are enough roleplayers to fill a server, or to at least take up a decent chunk. Of course we are outnumbered by those who do not RP, but even so we are not a small base.
In Besaid alone we attempted to make a pearl for all RPers to use. This pearl filled up much too quickly and cannot hold the new players who have joined us, plus many existing RPers. (Not to mention those who decided not to take up the pearl). And this is of course just one server. I know there's also a population on Lindblum, and a few other severs to boot.

Give us a server, let us mesh now. It will not go to waste when 2.0 comes around, and more come out of the woodwork.

[Rhomagus]

There doesn't have to be enough RPers to create a suggested RP server.

One would literally only have to edit in some html in the four languages to suggest an RP friendly server.

I don't think the population is large enough to create an "in character" ruleset for the server that includes naming mechanics and the like, but that doesn't bar the simple action of creating a suggested server.

[Majidah]

I kind of wish SE would acknowledge besaid as the role playing server somewhere. To inform people when joining.

[Fensfield]

I kind of wish SE would acknowledge besaid as the role playing server somewhere. To inform people when joining.

In many ways, that kind of would be the best case scenario - not least because it would completely neutralise the risk of future roleplayers being mislead by past news pieces about Besaid and the roleplayers being there.

[TheVedis]

I kind of wish SE would acknowledge besaid as the role playing server somewhere. To inform people when joining.

They cant unless the server becomes a role play server in itself

there is more to it then just saying its a role play server, by designating it one, it creates a new set of rules for a server which people have to follow

a server in which butt hurt RPists can report you for being out of character and ruining their immersion and actualy being able to have something done about it

no thanks, dont want that, they can go the unofficial route just fine

[Fensfield]

there is more to it then just saying its a role play server, by designating it one, it creates a new set of rules for a server which people have to follow

a server in which butt hurt RPists can report you for being out of character and ruining their immersion and actualy being able to have something done about it

Since when would simply, officially suggesting a server for roleplayers (present and future) to congregate on have any effect on the current rules? And since when were we asking for that?

Did the developers suggesting a server for European players generate spontaneous change to the rules of which I've somehow remained ignorant? Will I be able to go there and demand the GMs kick people for using American spelling? Because 'defense' totally ruins my immersion; I've dreamed of the day I can get back at all those uncouth yanks 'keep defiling the Queen's English.

Unless the developers specifically state 'The suggested roleplay server is for roleplay and roleplay only, excessive Out of Character is forbidden' or something to a similar effect, then the EULA and ToS remain unchanged with regard to that server. As far as I can tell, nobody in the roleplay community asking for an officially-suggested RP server wants such a rule, either; it'd be stupid and counter-productive and far, far too open to interpretation, difficult to enforce, and abusable.

As such, 'butt hurt' roleplayers can report you however much they want, it won't achieve anything. Saying otherwise in the face of anything but an openly suggested modification to the game rules is nothing but baseless scaremongering.

I'll point once again to successful mainstream MMORPG's which already have roleplay servers: I know damn well World of Warcraft and Everquest 2 don't have such a rule on their RP servers nor any parts of their End User License Agreement or Terms of Service specific to those servers. Largely because they realise it'd be a stupid idea and put off the vast majority of people would even be interested in playing on a roleplay server.


EDIT:
Curiously, and some research later, it seems WoW does in fact have rules specifically for it's RP servers. However, the point above stands - the rules merely allow GM's to replace improbable character names and penalise players who harass roleplayers for their chosen way of playing. FF XIV's rules actually contain similar, if somewhat more general clauses already, although targetted character names are either copyrighted or rude. They do not let 'butt hurt' roleplayers demand GM action for any perceived lack of in-character behaviour. I'll have to double-check if the same is true of EQ2 after all.

And again, I would reinforce: we are not asking for any server-specific rules.

[Kyri]

I know my dream of a actual RP server where even the gms would ask you to "be in character" isn't going to happen (/sadface) and no other MMO seems to wanna run like RP MuD's, but just as people would choose not to go somewhere due to RP there are many people who hear of it and decide to give it a try. People who have never really roleplayed before will indeed join to try and learn as they have in other games. I know I did. Before comming to XIV the most RP I had done was dabbling on MuD's and D&D. I originally started off in Saronia but left a week later after learning of this mysterious "Unofficial Roleplay server" and have been here since (minus a bit of dabbling in some higher populated areas to see what they were like).

So yes, some people might avoid such a thing as a unofficial RP server, but some will flock to it as well.