What happened to the community

[sindriiisgaming]

This isn't an easy subject to discuss, especially since it's targeting the community itself directly, i am worried what backlash i will suffer following this tread. What might happen to my account, if i might get targeted in game. If It might reveal something I don't want to see all over again
But over the last 3 years throughout endwalker I've found myself asking too many times. What happened to ffxivs community and when did we change so much.

Search YouTube and you'll find a plethora of videos discussing this, the ffxiv community, scandals, toxic streamers who use there power to bully others or just raiding elietism basically becoming the norm in pf.

I want to know, and thus; understand.. where did it all start. When I joined this game some 6 years ago this month, I found myself taken aback how amazingly positive the community was and was how welcoming they were. Yes I did have a bad fc where I would often be told not to ask for help on msq because the quests were spoilers, and I did get bullied in df while learning tank and healer. But it was nothing that extreme. I could handle it.. I could escape it.. but now that isn't the case. I can now no longer escape the toxicity.

It's in every nuke and cranny. The novice network, Party finder. Duty Finder and free company's. The playerbase has changed.. and I don't know anymore what my place in it is. I don't feel like I belong here. I feel like I'm playing league of legends. I witness daily arguments in pf over small things like positions turning into fights, or flame wars over 1 or 2 mistakes. Demands to kick people, blacklisting over said small mistakes and intolerance to error being masqueraded as "wasting my time" not doing certain dps got considered "sandbagging" and being slow in a dungeon was considered "griefing"

Cloud was my biggest wakeup call that things had gotten completly out of hand, and if youve seen it.. you know what im talking about... The problem has gotten so severe I'm terrified to run my weekly savages or unreal incase I get an experience like it or have to watch it.
When did we become this? Why did we become this? We allways said we were the exceptions but. We've become the example. Many are going to think the examples I extrapolate are just my own. That I'm "mad" because I got kicked or I got bl.. but honestly. I wish this was just about me. I wish I was the only 1 who got treated that way but I am not.. I have seen too many ppl get so severely bullied.. my fc members, partners and friends.. one bullied out her ultimate static after years of friendship} I've seen my friends reduced to tears after being told they didn't deserve to live for failing mecanics in p10s ... but as a fellow player this games community has become alien to me. Reports following the behavior never leasing to any change is utterly demoralising

None of thos ever getting into how the community has treated the devs over dawntrails failures... while I understand some. Some are beyond forgiveness
I'm not sure if a post like this Is allowed.. because it can only lead to more of that same toxicity. But I also can't hold my tongue anymore. I want to show it for what it is.. I can't pretend anymore that it isn't a thing.. or that it's as bad as is really is. Perhaps I'm the issue, perhaps I am out of touch with the mmo playerbase.. perhaps I should leave the game and guilded memories behind because I am an outcast in this new place... perhaps xiv is no longer for me

I simply don't know anymore