If no expense is to be spared on the game, that should include moderation.

[Amnesty]

Before anyone takes me in bad faith: I am not trying to imply that the current game moderators aren't doing their best with what they have. I am arguing that they need more resources and that the game's moderation system itself should be updated.

I can only speak to my experience as an English-speaking NA player, but we have a big problem with bots, scams, and RMT. It's blatant, and it's everywhere. I have gotten the same phishing link sent to me through tells three times in the past two days. Whenever you enter any of the three starting cities (especially Limsa Lominsa), you will see bots advertising RMT sites (though this has been reduced since the context command to report RMT activity was introduced; this was a nice improvement). There are savage and ultimate raid clear selling ads clogging up party finder urging those interested to communicate via Discord all the time, and it's common knowledge that those clears are being sold for real money. It's common to see hordes of bots teleporting through main story quests, and this is especially frustrating when we're experiencing such intense congestion with Endwalker around the corner.

In addition, I've seen a lot of frustration with the lack of transparency in moderation decisions. The story of the person who got a strike on their account for spamming Holy in Limsa Lominsa that made the rounds in the community a while back contrasts harshly with players who have made multiple reports about in-game stalking/harassment and never saw any changes in their situation. A friend of mine was suspended once and she has absolutely no idea what it was for; she tends to be crass, but what did she say that crossed an invisible line that she should avoid in the future? She will probably never know.

[Amnesty]

More resources should be invested into improving moderation in NA (and in EU as well, from what I understand, but I can't speak to that with any level of authority or experience). It seems strange to me that very obvious phishing links aren't blocked (if the link contains "forum.square-enix.com" but has something else tacked onto the end because it's not actually a .com domain, for example). Whether or not you see getting phished as the player's fault for not paying attention, it should not be this easy to spread phishing links in the game itself.

There also needs to be more tools for the moderation team to detect botting. Having crowds of bots logged in while subscribers complain about long queues is insulting, and I get annoyed when people blame players who go AFK before they blame bots. It's excellent that the development team was able to optimize existing server infrastructure to ease the congestion, but it's only going to get worse come November, and the bots are still here contributing to the problem.

Finally, the reporting and penalty system needs an overhaul. I understand the necessity of being vague enough to allow reporters to remain anonymous, but it is impossible to avoid repeating a mistake when you don't even know what the mistake was to begin with. The point of moderation is to enforce the rules so players follow them, not just punish them when they break them on accident. The inconsistent application of vague rules does not help players know where boundaries are, either. And on the side of being the reporter, it's frustrating to never even know whether your ticket got looked at, or if it did, when. I'd feel a lot better knowing that the accounts I reported as victims of phishing had action taken to lock the phisher out and return them to their owner, and people who are victims of targeted in-game harassment would likely benefit from knowing a moderator had seen their ticket.

To reiterate: I am not blaming individual moderators. I am blaming the systems in place that make it difficult for moderators to do their job consistently and effectively. If there truly will be no expense spared in making sure the game is everything that it can be, I think that should apply to giving moderation teams more people, better resources, and better guidance.

[Jeeqbit]

They are going to change the user agreement so that there is a rule to use against the party finder adverts before something is done about them.

RMT gets handled https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...b96e9db2cd2a71

I don't know what the plan is about the phishing tells.

[Bsrking5]

I don't know what the plan is about the phishing tells.

Its a bot so the STF handles it. And probably not going to see any change in that

[VelKallor]

she tends to be crass, but what did she say that crossed an invisible line that she should avoid in the future? She will probably never know.

...then maybe the lesson here isnt what she said...its that she needs to be less so in future?

[VelKallor]

Finally, the reporting and penalty system needs an overhaul. I understand the necessity of being vague enough to allow reporters to remain anonymous, but it is impossible to avoid repeating a mistake when you don't even know what the mistake was to begin with. The point of moderation is to enforce the rules so players follow them, not just punish them when they break them on accident.

The other side of that issue is that GMs dont want to have to deal with "rules lawyers". The rules are clear cut and very simple, in all truth.

Dont be a jerk to others, how hard is that?

If what you want to say will be over the top, or abusive, then dont say it. Bite your tongue and exercise a little self restraint. I gaurantee and agree there are times when others may push you or provoke you, we all have that, but the key here is to exercise more restraint than the other person is.

I can be crass, and sharp, and acerbic, I have been known to use language that would melt paint at 1000 yards..I just dont use it ingame.

[Larirawiel]

In addition, I've seen a lot of frustration with the lack of transparency in moderation decisions.

It might be frustrating but it is the only method to ensure that some rule enforcements are really in place. If you are transparent and predictable then the players will try to exhaust the limits you set to them. But if you are totally unpredictable then almost nobody will try it.

Cheers

[Sove92]

There are savage and ultimate raid clear selling ads clogging up party finder urging those interested to communicate via Discord all the time, and it's common knowledge that those clears are being sold for real money.

TOS update is on the way to combat this.

It's common to see hordes of bots teleporting through main story quests, and this is especially frustrating when we're experiencing such intense congestion with Endwalker around the corner.

These are disposable accounts farming gil. They exist in pretty much every 3D MMO (gilfarmers exist in 2D MMOs too, but they don't teleport as often) and get banned fairly quickly.

Finally, the reporting and penalty system needs an overhaul. I understand the necessity of being vague enough to allow reporters to remain anonymous, but it is impossible to avoid repeating a mistake when you don't even know what the mistake was to begin with.

This is really only a problem because of the permanently escalating nature of infractions. GMs should be able to use discretion in suspension times and look at things like how long ago was the last offence and how many account actions have been recorded in total. This throws the truly toxic people, who try to game the system, out of the game while keeping an occasionally tripping player outside the permabans, without being too light on them.

It seems strange to me that very obvious phishing links aren't blocked (if the link contains "forum.square-enix.com" but has something else tacked onto the end because it's not actually a .com domain, for example)

They do eventually get silently blocked, but the domain is constantly changing and you can't really make an intelligent word filter without risking legitimate messages being blocked.

[ICountFrom0]

Its a bot so the STF handles it. And probably not going to see any change in that

No expense.... 3 person team in charge of all bot like things.

[Ferra]

Well I know I haven't seen the person in Balmung Shout who went "I'm here to s******* assault women" ever again after reporting him.

I'm sure the team is doing the best they can and if FF14 is getting more funding will do better. I am gonna bug a GM about the item I requested to be returned when I accidentally removed it 'cause it never showed up...