PSA: Don't speak or use emotes in the presence of a toxic clique.

[Gongoosus]

Because you might get mobbed and mass reported.

I want to start by saying this, in the 4 years that I've played this game I have not directly uttered a single word to anyone. Period. Much less have I ever been reported because I am an extremely reserved person. I often go weeks without even speaking to the friends that I'm lucky enough to have who also understand my need for regular and sometimes extended solitude.

Just a few days ago was the first time I've ever opened up and spoken within the game, and it was the first time I've ever used emotes outside my inn room for more than just to see what they looked like, and I ended up making new friends and having a good time as a result. I even chased a group of lalas with an axe all across the lower decks.

But another result I didn't expect was being attacked over it and mass reported by a toxic clique of bullies, and their discord, who don't even play the game beyond sitting in Limsa doing the very same thing they reported myself and my friends for. One of them even went as far as demanding the people I was talking with to blacklist and report me as well.

Being quiet and reserved didn't stop me from getting put into a jail cell with a GM telling me that I now have a caution strike on my account of 4+ years with hundreds of dollars invested into it, because I had the audacity to exist in the same space as these people and publicly speak while using emotes and abilities with my current friends and the new friends I made at the same time that day.

Instead of simply telling someone who actually regularly plays the game with zero history of trouble whatsoever "Hey, cool it." and telling said clique "Literally just blacklist them." I get punished over out of context chat logs and they remain free to abuse the vague and dated report system as well as continuing to push people around who aren't one of them.

It's very disheartening to know that a system like this is so readily exploited by bullies who only pay their subscription to pretend they're in high school again and use major cities as a chat room. Reports like this are purely abusive, as they aren't to better the community as a whole, rather they only serve to feed the egos and the delusional senses of power these people have as they use it solely to get back at people who aren't one of their own over petty nonsense a simple blacklist could solve.

I was already very withheld but now I'm not so sure I want to be anything but. Not only do I feel discouraged from playing the game for the first time, I feel as though I no longer have the option to occasionally leave my shell and make new friends- which is completely under duress at this point as opposed to personal struggles because apparently any mild annoyance can constitute a strike and possibly a total account deletion.

[Gongoosus]

Normally I would quietly let this go, but this is unacceptable and I need to vent. I don't even know how to dispute the offense or if you even can. I just want to play the game without a strike attached to me and without fear of having everything ripped from my hands because a group of vindictive people don't like me.

[KaimaSansun]

To be honest i've never had a situation happen like that to me because i usually get along with everyone i meet but, that seems a bit over the top to send ya to jail for something like that.

That being said I would say you should just report all of them back for harrassment because if you were not doing anything worth being considered as trouble, I would justify that as them harrassing you

I would also say if you want to find nice people to talk to and have fun, be nice in dungeons and such and add them to friendslist and such from there, because usually the ones sitting around town only care about themselves or their small cliques, i mean every once in a while you'll find good people around but most of the time it ends up like that.

Could also try rp servers, most of the time they seem friendly enough, but like i said i would report them if it was me.

[Gongoosus]

To be honest i've never had a situation happen like that to me because i usually get along with everyone i meet but, that seems a bit over the top to send ya to jail for something like that.

That being said I would say you should just report all of them back for harrassment because if you were not doing anything worth being considered as trouble, I would justify that as them harrassing you

I would also say if you want to find nice people to talk to and have fun, be nice in dungeons and such and add them to friendslist and such from there, because usually the ones sitting around town only care about themselves or their small cliques, i mean every once in a while you'll find good people around but most of the time it ends up like that.

Could also try rp servers, most of the time they seem friendly enough, but like i said i would report them if it was me.

The thing is, it wasn't a failure to get along so much as it was the simple fact that I was on "their" territory and they were looking for any reason to see that I paid for it. Not only did I not pay these people any mind I didn't even go back and forth with them, insult them or even use punishment worthy language towards them. I have literally never even interacted with them in any way before they took it upon themselves to go after me.

And as far as counter reporting them- I only just got scolded and given a cautionary strike by a GM today while this whole ordeal happened several days back, and naturally I wasn't jotting down names or taking screenshots and saving logs expecting to have to defend myself for what essentially boils down to simply existing in public alongside them.

[MitsukiKimura]

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. If people start harassing me, I'll blacklist them first. Usually solves all problems then I'll remove myself from the situation aka teleport or etc. Also for the Jail thing, I believe SE needs to have a better mod system in place. I had a friend that was put in jail for unintentionally spamming a warning mechanic for a party that happened 6 months ago. Pretty bad if you ask me.

[Lynesse]

I'm sorry this happened. I think most people agree that the system is draconian and needs an overhaul. It just does more harm than good sometimes.

I had a friend that was put in jail for unintentionally spamming a warning mechanic for a party that happened 6 months ago. Pretty bad if you ask me.

That's really bizarre. Like, wow.

[Iscah]

Honestly sounds like a caution strike is SE just saying "hey, cool it" but it's got some of that scary corporate / official protocol speak written across it lol. Not that I was there or anything but just imagining it, would probably feel scary no matter what to get called into the office even though in the principle's view (GM's) all they wanted to say is "eeeh.. careful now".

Sure, but their version of a "hey, cool it." is now attached to my account as a 1 out of 5 strike.

If I remember right from reading the rules, they don't have to escalate cautions to something else next time. They can give you another caution at the same level. It's only if you have actual strikes against you that the next 'caution' has to be treated as another strike.

[One_Sock]

I'd love to see the chat logs. There are two sides to every story, and I'm only seeing one. People are rarely cautioned by GMs without saying something that deserves it.

[Melichoir]

I'd love to see the chat logs. There are two sides to every story, and I'm only seeing one. People are rarely cautioned by GMs without saying something that deserves it.

Pretty much this. No offense to the OP but Im skeptical that you were just being friendly and having fun with emotes and all of a sudden a band of evil doers showed up and mass reported you resulting in a GM jailing you and talking to you. I say this cause if it shows up in a chat log, the GMs can see it, so I highly doubt the GM was just like "Yup, bunch of mass reports so this must be totally legit. Warning strike!"

Normally (from my own experiences witnessing this stuff), its cause it escalated beyond fun and games. Either there was name calling and objective language, or some level of harassment (i.e they asked you to stop spamming emotes and you decided to run up to them and flood chat with emotes.) Could you be completely innocent and this is all a terrible injustice? Sure. Its possible, but Im very wary of those claims.

[Shougun]

Honestly sounds like a caution strike is SE just saying "hey, cool it" but it's got some of that scary corporate / official protocol speak written across it lol. Not that I was there or anything but just imagining it, would probably feel scary no matter what to get called into the office even though in the principle's view (GM's) all they wanted to say is "eeeh.. careful now".