Quote Originally Posted by Floortank View Post
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:
Quote Originally Posted by Theodric View Post
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.