Lodestone Debate Etiquette

[Jaywalker]

This is more a question/thread tying to FFXIV community than game mechanics or anything. I'm still pretty new here, but my impression is that debates and arguments are really common on this site. Like you can sneeze and bam. There you go.

I personally think that's really healthy and a relief, and while I might disagree about something I don't think I've been actually bothered by anyone here. At worst just the occasional sense of "RELAX GUYS UR COOL JUST ENJOY YOURSELVES" or really mild reproach.

Most cases it seems like people are solid about not taking things personally or to heart, but if any passersby have an opinion--generally are you able to feel okay with people even when you disagree about stuff here?

Seen places where stuff like fandom turns into super serious business haha, just testing the waters.

[Enla]

This is more a question/thread tying to FFXIV community than game mechanics or anything. I'm still pretty new here, but my impression is that debates and arguments are really common on this site. Like you can sneeze and bam, there you go.

I personally think that's really healthy and a relief, and while I might debate or even disagree strongly about something I don't think I've been actually bothered by anyone here. At worst just the occasional sense of "RELAX GUYS UR COOL JUST ENJOY YOURSELVES" or really mild reproach.

Most cases it seems like people are solid about not taking things personally or to heart, but if any passersby have an opinion--generally are you able to feel okay with people even when you disagree about stuff here?

Things can get out of hand from time to time but more often than not I feel this site does tend to lean towards the more civil side of debating, at least compared to similar forums I've been to where blunt debate often devolved into a deluge of insults. Likewise so long as someone doesn't break out the insults I don't really see why I shouldn't feel okay with them. Even if said hypothetical person and I might never agree on anything that doesn't mean we can't respect each other's opinions or at least the right to express them in a non-toxic manner. And if I happen to come across the rare person who just shoots insults left right and center and rubs me the wrong way? There's a handy dandy ignore button.

[InkstainedGwyn]

Black/blocklist is your friend. I use it liberally (not when folks disagree with me, but when they're rude/obvious trolls - I enjoy having a decent debate or learning new things.) You'll find a decent number of trolls or folks who trend too handily towards the insults (or are just terrible, see the Tales from the Duty Finder thread recently) but there are far more folks who you can have a good talk with even if you don't agree. I find that most of the people I respect the most on the forums I don't agree with, but I find talking to them or reading their thoughts to be very interesting & informative.

[Gemina]

I've been on a lot of posting forums dealing with games, relationships, astrology, movies, physical and mental health/fitness, books, and politics. I was even a mod for a few of them. This place is by far the most civil of them all. Most is the keyword here as these forum are not completely devoid of asshatery. Generally speaking, so long as views are not extreme left or extreme right, discussions tend to remain amicable even when there's a lot of contrast and diversity.

It's definitely better than say, reddit which is filled to the brim with toxicity as I am pretty sure it serves as FFXIVs purgatory/limbo.

[Vahlnir]

There will be the occasional troll or person who simply can't be reasoned with but otherwise it's not too bad tbh but I would probably consider this forum like any other part of the internet: a mixed bag. I'm not really afraid of posting my own opinions on here. If someone agrees with me? Cool. If someone disagrees? Also cool. I don't take it personally. A lot of actual discussion and debate happens on these forums and it's good to see. You can kinda tell when a topic has reached the end of its life though since people will basically just keep going in circles or reduce the thread to insult after insult.

[Jaywalker]

This is delayed but just wanted to thank you guys for chiming in on this, really appreciate it a lot!

[purgatori]

I really enjoy debates/clashes of opinion, and think it's one of the best ways to deepen understanding of contrary points of view as well as one's own (perhaps unexamined) assumptions and so forth. Personal attacks and hostility are of course undesirable, but I don't see a whole lot of that here. There is a bit of snark from time to time, though, and I'm as guilty of that as anybody; I find it really hard to maintain utmost civility when I'm not extended the courtesy of being allowed to enjoy the game the way I see fit, and being allowed to advocate for the inclusion of more of the sorts of content that I enjoy—just like everyone else does.

If I'm dismissed with "this is an MMO [and so you should enjoy content designed around fixed/match-made groups and not want more solo/indirectly multiplayer content]" then I probably will develop a somewhat uncharitable view of whomever is issuing that dismissal, since I make it a point not to go around telling people who love Savage raids, for instance, that what an MMO is really about is crafting and so they should just shut up about wanting more/better/more difficult raid content. It's a basic reciprocity thing, but to be fair violations of such courtesies are much more frequent in other venues where this game is discussed (Reddit, YouTube, etc.).

[Arrhin]

Ya, I have to chime in and say that the troll level is pretty low here. I too am on many forums (not reddit) and this one is the least toxic generally. I mean it's a game forum, only about one game...no politics or religion, except for the ones in the game. I think that the limited topic scope keeps things on a fairly neutral playing field.

[Penthea]

This is more a question/thread tying to FFXIV community than game mechanics or anything. I'm still pretty new here, but my impression is that debates and arguments are really common on this site.

That's just gaming forums in general. I haven't seen a single one that wasn't riddled with debates. What you see here is actually pretty normal.