"Everyone's so open and friendly" is a lie

[Floortank]

To the people suggesting that the game is no better than others, that the community is just afraid of being punished... I think that's a jaundiced point of view.

The community is a reflection of the attitudes of the developers. This community is influenced by the models of humility and group cohesion that are set forth by the production of XIV. They have brought us in under a message of unity. They have given us an in-depth story. These are two metrics that, if you overlook their impact on a gaming culture, you are are either showing your bias or showing your ignorance.

Nextly, people in this game value their accounts well before the TOS was clarified; they generally go about in behavior because they want to be model citizens. Some people are simply like that, believe it or not. Some people are not inclined to sit around thinking of how to break the rules, but rather how to follow them. Shocking to some to read this, I know!

The final major aspect to why this community is better than the others, is because our characters and our time in this game has actual value. Unlike people who have wasted nearly two decades farming a trash fire game by a company whose developers constantly sow deliberate turmoil in their audience, this game has value. A large swath of the rule-following community of this game feels deeply invested in their character, their glamours, their progress. The many thousands of instances of cleared content. It's not work nor progress they want to lose. They did the mental calculation to be good citizens and not put all of the things that make them happy at risk many years ago, well before the rules were clarified.

If a game is fun, and the developers desire unity and harmony in a community, there will be a noteworthy difference in the overall happiness and tolerance in the community.

FFXIV is legendary for being extremely less toxic than other large games. It is one of the first things every major pundit to jump over from WOW has noticed about it.

Yes, there are toxic people everywhere. So what? FFXIV hits different, and the proof is in all of the media talking about how it hits different.

[Kaoru_Nagisa]

Yes, there are toxic people everywhere. So what? FFXIV hits different, and the proof is in all of the media talking about how it hits different.

People need to stop acting like there are no toxic elements, or that the toxic elements "aren't part of our community". That's what.

The lack of addressing the rampant passive aggression and incredibly immature behavior people from all parts of the game display does nothing to resolve those elements, and instead lets them fester and grow. An overwhelming majority of any MMO will be nice, wholesome folks - people need to stop acting like XIV is the only one out there.

It literally reinforces the fact there's an issue, rather than assuage doubts about it.

[Floortank]

People need to stop acting like there are no toxic elements, or that the toxic elements "aren't part of our community". That's what.

The lack of addressing the rampant passive aggression and incredibly immature behavior people from all parts of the game display does nothing to resolve those elements, and instead lets them fester and grow. An overwhelming majority of any MMO will be nice, wholesome folks - people need to stop acting like XIV is the only one out there.

It literally reinforces the fact there's an issue, rather than assuage doubts about it.

I've never seen anyone, on this forum or off it, who has suggested that there are simply no bad apples in XIV. The community is far less toxic because the toxicity in other games hits you in waves like a punch in the face the moment you log in.

I strongly disagree that all MMO communities are the same. I've been playing them since 1997, and no, they're not.

The first thing I'm struck by any time I return to Azeroth is how shockingly hostile and obtuse and shall we say "of a limited understanding of basic facts" that game's community is. If your game fosters a culture where any minor delay or hitch in a dungeon leads to a ONE THOUSAND PERCENT CERTAINTY that party members will ragequit, it's not the same community.

[Kaoru_Nagisa]

I've never seen anyone, on this forum or off it, who has suggested that there are simply no bad apples in XIV. The community is far less toxic because the toxicity in other games hits you in waves like a punch in the face the moment you log in.

I strongly disagree that all MMO communities are the same. I've been playing them since 1997, and no, they're not.

Oh I've seen plenty suggest there are no bad apples, or that the bad apples "aren't part of the community" - as if somehow they're not playing XIV the same as everyone else, involving themselves in the game's community by doing so.

And I've also been playing MMOs a long time. Most communities are actually overwhelmingly chill and nice, but once you start getting into particular segments of the community as a whole, you start finding the rancid elements.

This is just as true of WoW - the one time I gave the free trial a try, I didn't see a whole lot of open hostility and idiocy in chat. Does that mean it wasn't there? Nope. Just means it isn't the only thing people will come across, despite what basically everyone who has and hasn't played WoW will try to claim otherwise.

As to open hostility vs passive aggression, I'm just gonna leave Theodric's quote here - he sums it up best:

In my experience, passive aggressive behaviour is far more damaging than outright aggression. The latter is much easier to prove as an issue if it persists, whereas the former generally results in emotional manipulation, gaslighting, moving goalposts, goading and the weaponisation of the terms of service.

Considering the sheer insanity I've personally seen in the RP communities on Balmung and Mateus alike, I'd gladly take some open (and reportable!) hostility over this high school drama bull people take part in.

[MaikoRaines]

The community is far less toxic because the toxicity in other games hits you in waves like a punch in the face the moment you log in.
I strongly disagree that all MMO communities are the same. I've been playing them since 1997, and no, they're not.

Snipped a few pieces of your quote. I wanted to touch on the different levels of toxicity. A lot of people think Toxicity is limited to the art of berating and slamming people.

So lets talk about the gate keeping when people who are late to the game want to purchase or wish for a redo of certain seasonal or crossover events, the people who were putting up massive childish tantrums when the races they wanted lacked an XX or XY chromosome or how crossovers of any kind have no place in this game and when most people who don't get their own way threaten to unsub and never come back to this game ever again.

In game harassment is also an issue. I could write a book on the last 10 years of playing this game and the encounters I've had both in game and out. At least for Azeroth you can see the issues as clear as day (more so now) - FFXIV attracts a special kind of goblins.

I'd go as far to say that it's toxic with a different coat of paint. Toxicity isn't just limited to one situation. I'm glad we have GMs who are active and take action against abuse and harassers.

[Snorky]

Snipped a few pieces of your quote. I wanted to touch on the different levels of toxicity. A lot of people think Toxicity is limited to the art of berating and slamming people.

So lets talk about the gate keeping when people who are late to the game want to purchase or wish for a redo of certain seasonal or crossover events, the people who were putting up massive childish tantrums when the races they wanted lacked an XX or XY chromosome or how crossovers of any kind have no place in this game and when most people who don't get their own way threaten to unsub and never come back to this game ever again.

In game harassment is also an issue. I could write a book on the last 10 years of playing this game and the encounters I've had both in game and out. At least for Azeroth you can see the issues as clear as day (more so now) - FFXIV attracts a special kind of goblins.

I'd go as far to say that it's toxic with a different coat of paint. Toxicity isn't just limited to one situation. I'm glad we have GMs who are active and take action against abuse and harassers.

This^^^^ all day