Why is everyone so silent in the game?

[Lunalepsy]

I know there *are* people out there that talk, but it seems so rare. Are people just shy of talking? Is it a cross-console thing so they can't do it effectively without it taking minutes at a time? Or is this another one of those things that discord effects?

It just doesn't seem alive, even in populated areas where the ambient chatter implies that there's a lot of talking and a cacophony of voices tries to add to what would be the discussions of other players.

What's the reason behind the lack of social interactions?

I don't know about you, but the Quicksand is super loud!

[Lexis]

I see a decent bit of chatter in cities like Limsa on the Crystal DC along with a bunch of emotes (which serves to make the place feel more 'alive'). Coming from an MMO that was incredibly chatty and equally toxic, I don't miss the random garbage filling my screen and much prefer FFXIV's more quiet but friendlier community.

I myself don't take part in random city chat nor do I try to engage socially in group activities such as dungeons beyond polite greetings and goodbyes. I've no interest in chatting with complete strangers and am completely content with a quiet dungeon run. No words need be exchanged for me to consider it a good social interaction. I'm the quiet type in real life as well, so my in-game behavior reflects that.

[Penthea]

One of this games dirty little secrets...

It has a lot of people who are very easily offended and will report people for anything that offends them. Many just don't want to risk getting reported. And the GMs tend to side with the reporter no matter how asinine the report was.

This idea that you will get into trouble just because someone was offended, not because you said something offensive, is so bloody stupid. You make it sound like I could get into trouble for saying my favourite colour is orange just because someone else claims that offends them.

I don't talk in public channels because I'm introverted. Not because I have any fear over how people will react to what I say. Half the people I know in the game are also introverted so I would say it's a safe bet that this is the case for many people.

[Breakbeat]

Imagine being a human who cannot communicate without offending someone else.

I am active in a lot of online communication, and always have been. Forums, video games ... shoot, this "boomer" (in the trendy sense, not the actual sense) still writes e-mail. I've actually been active in online communication since the mid-eighties, when my dad brought home the first modem I ever used (1200 baud? Less? I don't remember.) One of the first things I did is find BBSs and forums and begin to communicate.

That being said, I can count on one hand the number of complaints I've had over the past thirty-five years. Out of some 4,000 posts on the WoW forums, I think I had two removed for masked profanity. Woo-hoo. Out of 900 days /played, never been actioned in-game, never had an account suspended, and I never shut up in-game - I'm a chatterbox, for sure. Never got banned from a BBS, never got banned from an IRC channel, and I certainly haven't been actioned for communication (or anything at all, actually) since I started playing MMOs in the late nineties.

Not communicating out of fear of a ban or sanction or something is ludicrous. If that is truly one's feelings, then one needs to work on their communication skills.

And just as a quick aside: People aren't "more sensitive" now than they used to be.

From the first written communication 30,000 years ago, up until about 2010 or so, we communicated in small circles. Your friends, your siblings, your parents, your co-workers, your team members. Generally discussions were had in small circles unless you wrote a letter to a newspaper or a magazine or something. Maybe your "circle of influence" was 50 people total; you'd tell a joke to your family, then repeat a joke at school or to friends or at work. That's an insignificant pittance compared to how many people you speak to today if you speak online.

It's also worth noting that back in the day, your "circle of influence" would be personally chosen. Anything beyond family would be individuals that got filtered through the normal personal process of making friends. In other words, you didn't hang out and shoot the shit with people you disliked.

Post-2010, though, every idea we float online is instantly exposed to thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of people. So yeah, naturally, someone somewhere might be offended, because you aren't speaking exclusively to your brother or sister or close friends that "get your humor". Now you are talking to people so vastly different than yourself that you might need to put a bit more thought into word choice and communication skill, and have a bit more awareness of your audience.

[van_arn]

If things are too quiet, consider finding a livelier FC. I’ve found that to be the best cure for dead air.

[Penthea]

You sound exactly like the type I'm talking about that reports anything that goes against your opinions. Of course you won't call it a difference of opinion. People like you just label everything that disagrees with them as "hate speech", then you pretend to be all righteous over reporting it.

Thanks for the completely baseless accusation that you're hoping to serve as an argument because you're completely unable to actually make one.

[Sinavie]

I don't expect random people to be interacting or going into long conversations with each other while I'm shopping, I don't expect it in game either. I also never really pay attention to my chat box. I play with the volume off and my own music on. Or I'm chatting with family members irl. I try to say hi back if greeted, but usually the person had left already since I wasn't paying attention. (Whoops)

[Conundrum]

This idea that you will get into trouble just because someone was offended, not because you said something offensive, is so bloody stupid. You make it sound like I could get into trouble for saying my favourite colour is orange just because someone else claims that offends them.

No they just label anything they disagree with as hate speech and then feel all self righteous for reporting it. You can pretend it doesn't happen all you want.

[AlyaNimfa]

I've noticed over the last couple months it's gotten a lot worse than it was previously. In rolls I've even had sarcastic replies when I have said hello. Community has changed. I hate to say it, but I blame the WoW players.

[van_arn]

I've noticed over the last couple months it's gotten a lot worse than it was previously. In rolls I've even had sarcastic replies when I have said hello. Community has changed. I hate to say it, but I blame the WoW players.

The wow players have always been here. It’s not the wow players.