On the FFXIV Community

[Jaywalker]

I'm unbelievably grateful for the FFXIV fandom. Even when arguments break out you guys are infinitely kinder and more respectful than the vast majority of fandoms I've been in or seen.

That said, I've been watching how people handle different situations and noticed a lot of fans tend to bristle if players raise ideas or gameplay values that are different. That seems really weird to me since it's not like any of us have a real say in what devs do.

To me, it seems like fans here feel afraid a lot. Might be fear that crazy people will enter the game and pull a hostile takeover of the community. Might be fear that SE will abuse its power. Might be fear that if certain players get something they want or enjoy things in an alternate way, it will come at the expense of others.

In that place of being worried, some people tend to get hostile whenever they see a person who does or thinks things that are different from them. Not only is that spreading bad vibes unnecessarily, I think it's part of a pattern I've seen get out of control in other fandoms.

Elsewhere, I've seen people lash out in intolerance to the point that it made other fans miserable... and ultimately quit. Activity stagnates, the fandom shrinks, less content of lower quality starts emerging both from fans and canon creators (tied to money or trying to please just one group of fans)... it doesn't work out so well.

You guys aren't at that point or anything. I don't expect this post to magic away all arguments either, since people are gonna be people. But I'd like to invite you guys to keep in mind that while some players might enjoy things that are different from what you enjoy in the game, or might have ideas you don't agree with, they're not in a position of authority here and they're not sharing this stuff in order to screw you. Talking over different positions or concerns doesn't have to be a hostile thing.

[Cincierta]

There's reasonable fear about change here, if only because of 14's spaghetti coding when it comes to patches. Sometimes it works, other times it causes someone's computer to possibly catch fire.

Other than that, it ultimately depends on which part of 14 you're in.

[SomeRandomHuman]

This community has a very broad range. It ranges from completely and totally civil all the way to childish name calling, bantering, and whining over the dumbest thing and then everything in between.

I'm glad you've had positive experiences though. Its a nice reminder that not everyone in this game is toxic.

[TaiyoShikasu]

Great community btw.

[Theodric]

At a glance, FFXIV's community is less openly aggressive than what you can find elsewhere. Yet here's a lot of people who have perfected the art form of being extremely passive aggressive and finding excuses to cause an uproar over what is essentially a difference in opinion or personal tastes. There's also a lot of players who are exceptionally flaky in their behaviour. I'm sure anyone who has attempted to find a group for the higher floors of POTD/HOH knows what I mean by that. As well as anyone who has attempted to form a static.

[Kazrah]

There's reasonable fear about change here, if only because of 14's spaghetti coding when it comes to patches. Sometimes it works, other times it causes someone's computer to possibly catch fire.

*Server crashes*

"Okay, who was fishing in Outer La Noscea after patch release again?!!"

In all seriousness though, this is one of the better gaming communities. Just have to remember that not everyone in the game is on the forums, not everyone on the forums is relevant, and go check forums for either LoL or Fortnite if you ever think it's bad here.

[NessaWyvern]

I hear ya OP, there is a lot of fear in this community. I once commented on the forums that PvP needs to be made better in the game, with more modes. You know what one of the responses were? "PvP is toxic, WoW is toxic because of PvP, and more PvP in FFXIV would make it toxic like WoW." its like people use WoW as a boogey man in this game. (I've played WoW PvP, and it's not even that bad)

[TaiyoShikasu]

At a glance, FFXIV's community is less openly aggressive than what you can find elsewhere. Yet here's a lot of people who have perfected the art form of being extremely passive aggressive and finding excuses to cause an uproar over what is essentially a difference in opinion or personal tastes. There's also a lot of players who are exceptionally flaky in their behaviour. I'm sure anyone who has attempted to find a group for the higher floors of POTD/HOH knows what I mean by that. As well as anyone who has attempted to form a static.

And that's what makes it a great community. No one will come right out and say your brain is velvet smooth, they'll instead ask how many wrinkles your brain has.

[AxlStream]

And that's what makes it a great community. No one will come right out and say your brain is velvet smooth, they'll instead ask how many wrinkles your brain has.

To be fair, you dont't need to ask on FFXIV. You sort of already know.

[Alucard135]

I just witnessed the quickest GM action ever. (Only a few would know what happened)