Such devastation... this was NOT my intention...

[Ronduwil]

Your time investment, the time spent to earn the gil and the time spent in the lottery system (counting consecutive lottery's here; as you will lose) will not be compensated in any way, and will only be further trivialized by their other design decisions here.

I think you've misunderstood their intent in respecting our time. The old system had you standing at a sign post for hours repeatedly clicking. This is the time investment that they're eliminating. The time spent earning gill isn't wasted. There are plenty of fun ways to make gil. If you choose to make the process unfun for yourself, then I don't know what to tell you. Clicking at a sign post wasn't fun. Earning gil is fine. Clicking at a sign post was an onerous job that came with an opportunity cost. Entering a random drawing has almost no opportunity cost. By all objective measures, this is a far better system for the vast majority of FFXIV players.

2. The lottery process for individual plots will take DAYS. (WHY???)

It takes days because not everyone can log in every single day. This gives everyone who wants a shot at getting a plot a chance to throw their hat into the ring. I don't understand this notion that it's trivializing player time. Unlike the old system, you don't have to stand in a single spot waiting for the lottery to pop. You get to buy your ticket and move on. It doesn't matter whether it takes three hours, three days, or three weeks because you're not bound to one spot for that entire time. You get to proceed with all the other activities that the game has to offer. In this respect, the new system respects your time far better than the current one does.

3. You're locked in to a plot once you submit your gil. (WHY???) To prevent foul play? What logical foul play does this prevent... I understand the decision to limit a player to one plot lottery per time. But why would they be unable to withdraw their participation at any point before the winner announcement?

You admitted that you know why each player is limited to one plot at a time. I agree that the inability to withdraw participation is frustrating. Maybe it was an oversight, or maybe they wanted you to be really really sure that the plot you were bidding on was the one that you actually wanted before placing your bid and potentially depriving another player of a plot that they really liked. I personally think we should be allowed to withdraw bids. I can definitely sympathize with you on this one.