Suggestion to Forum Mods: Copy ESO's Forum Rule

[ZephyrMenodora]

I would like to recommend that the Forum Mods copy an important part of a rule from ESO's forums, which is also similar to some other forums I visit:

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Inappropriate Content and Language: Certain topics and subjects are deemed inappropriate and not permitted on the official ESO forums. .... Inappropriate content on the ESO forums includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Real-world religion and politics

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These days it seems the forums are being taken over by identity political discussions. This topic is divisive and has nearly no relevance to sharing our love of and feedback for Final Fantasy XIV.

I don't need to know the political leanings of anyone here - and in fact I find sharing this to just be disruptive to a productive forum experience.

Thank you.

[LilimoLimomo]

I like the spirit of this request, as 95% of the threads that kick off their initial post by talking about things that would be considered "divisive and political" are clearly bait threads by trolls. And it would be great if those could be dealt with.

That said, I don't think this specific request is a great way to solve that problem, because so much of FF14's content is political. To remove players' ability to talk about anything under the umbrella of "political" would remove their ability to talk about aspects of the game that are meaningful to them.

Personally, I don't think the problem here can be solved by adding more rules: I think the problem is a lack of enforcement of the existing rules. Too much benefit of the doubt is being given to posts that are obviously just trying to stir things up.

[Sivante]

I like the spirit of this request, as 95% of the threads that kick off their initial post by talking about things that would be considered "divisive and political" are clearly bait threads by trolls. And it would be great if those could be dealt with.

That said, I don't think this specific request is a great way to solve that problem, because so much of FF14's content is political. To remove players' ability to talk about anything under the umbrella of "political" would remove their ability to talk about aspects of the game that are important to them.

Personally, I don't think the problem here can be solved by adding more rules: I think the problem is a lack of enforcement of the existing rules. Too much benefit of the doubt is being given to posts that are obviously just trying to stir things up.

This. It's a good idea, but may not be the solution in this instance.

[DynnDiablos]

I agree. I really am not interested in someone's personal beliefs or politics on here. This should be for the game, and that's it.

[ZephyrMenodora]

I like the spirit of this request, as 95% of the threads that kick off their initial post by talking about things that would be considered "divisive and political" are clearly bait threads by trolls. And it would be great if those could be dealt with.

But personally, I don't think the problem here can be solved by adding more rules: I think the problem is a lack of enforcement of the existing rules. Too much benefit of the doubt is being given to posts that are obviously just trying to stir things up.

(And beyond not solving the issue, an additional rule like this would stifle legitimate discussion, expression, and feedback because so much of FF14's content is political. To remove players' ability to talk about anything under the umbrella of "political" would remove their ability to talk about aspects of the game that are meaningful to them.)

I appreciate this response, but I feel the storyline of XIV can be discussed in the context of the fantasy world we are playing in. ESO is also very story-driven, with warring factions and rulers, but this rule did not prevent discussion in the Lore section.

(Elder Scrolls also has decades of lore to be discussed as well.)

[Midare]

That said, I don't think this specific request is a great way to solve that problem, because so much of FF14's content is political.

The "political" aspect of the game involves public and social affairs of fictional nations. Discussing that shouldn't go against what was proposed since they said specifically:

Real-world religion and politics

It wouldn't interfere with any discussion involving the game.

[Sivante]

I was thinking about this while I was working. In hindsight, I think I was incorrect. I understand the reluctance given the political nature of the storylines, I think it could be handled well enough to block out the more political junk on the IRL side which really would be a welcome reprieve. I worry about any kind of censorship of open topics classically, but this really has gotten to be a bit out of control.

[Axxion]

100% support this. It does get draining seeing the same thing over and over again.

[MartinFreeman]

There are pros and cons to speech restriction.

Even though you restrict the topics that bother you day to day, it also means you can no longer talk about those topics yourself. And no matter what, you will eventually have to talk politics in some way. Religion, too. FF14 has a lot of political and religious themes, so it's unavoidable on the onset.

Better to just ignore those posts/ topics if they bother you.

[ZephyrMenodora]

There are pros and cons to speech restriction.

Even though you restrict the topics that bother you day to day, it also means you can no longer talk about those topics yourself. And no matter what, you will eventually have to talk politics in some way. Religion, too. FF14 has a lot of political and religious themes, so it's unavoidable on the onset.

Better to just ignore those posts/ topics if they bother you.

My counter to this again is that you can completely discuss the story and it's themes without bringing your RL religious and political beliefs into the discussion.

Such conversations end up being very disruptive to the forum, creating a lot of situations that result in personal attacks and ostracization for some community members.

Every other MMO I have played have a "no politics" rule, as well as every MMO guild I've been in. Gaming should be a shared positive experience where the toxicity surrounding politics isn't needed or welcome.

Also not every topic is obviously about politics and easily avoided. Try to talk about Wuk as a character and politics is going to come up without fail.