I don't want to join a Free Company because...

[Noshpan]

For me, it would be a matter of trust. That, and if I wanted drama, I'll go poke at my family members.

I have only one character in an FC/LS and that is because I have come to trust, and feel comfortable with, said people in my FC.

[Pugmalion1]

I'm not in one yet because I literally do not know another soul in any capacity that plays this game. In my circle of friends who play video games, I'm the only RPG nerd. I get off on grinding. It is most likely some sort of psychological issue. In any case, I would like to join a free company, but it's hard to gauge intentions and personality from the online listing, and impossible from the pop-up bubble during an in-game invite. I don't care about the size of the FC, I just want to be a part of a bunch of like-minded individuals, which is to say, a lot of levity and silliness, an emphasis on the casual, but not at the expense of understanding the game. When I find that, I will join one. Until then, Montucky is going it solo.

[Miner-2049er]

My reason for not joining a FC is a very personal one, and a little selfish too.

Firstly, in any guild I find myself getting too competitive. I start racing to get to the next level and can get into the cycle of playing more like a job. When I solo I'm just more chilled, less goal orientated but I feel more relaxed, which is why I'm playing the game.

I love gathering and with two gathering skills and cooking closing in on level 40 I am enjoying the whole trade aspect of the game. I'm over 300,000 Gil and it feels fun to have a healthy balance. The selfish bit is that I know in a FC I'll be under pressure to sell-cheap or give gathered/crafted stuff to other players. To be honest I don't mind this to some point, but there is a point where it can become a drain on time and game finances that I'd rather avoid.

TL;DR There's no rush to join a guild, I'll do so when I understand better what I want from the game and have achieved my personal objectives at my own pace.

[VanillaH]

Because every worthless little FC is worth to join right? ......right? Get a site, post recruitment in forums, get voice comms server, advertise your FC. Stop pestering people with your /tell FC invites.

[Fleur]

Well, I might transfer servers, depending on how population issues go.

Besides that, I find myself unwilling to give up my complete social freedom for anything less than just the right FC. Joining a FC means that no matter what my mood, I can never just log on and play without the potential for required (if I don't want to seem like a jerk) social interaction.

And it is hard to find the "right" one. So many FC's have great looking websites with elaborate statements and recruitment forms, yet I'd have to contact someone in-game for basic info like when they run events.

Someday though, I hope to join one!

[Naberrie]

I don't even get tells. I just get blind invites. Which is extremely annoying. A blind invite is one of my two biggest pet peeves in an MMO. The only time I'll accept one is in a FATE. (And never blind invite someone then queue them into DF without telling them. This happened to me once while in a FATE in Phase 3. I accepted the invite thinking it was someone in the FATE, then find the DF box popping up. I'm thinking "WTF is going on?" Turns out someone was desperate for a healer, saw me as CNJ, invited me without asking and then queued us. Not cool.)

Anyway, back to the subject, I will join one someday. But only with people I encounter on my server and find I want to spend time with. Not any FC that spams or blind invites me.

[Kennar]

I don't even get tells. I just get blind invites. Which is extremely annoying.

Yep. I've ignored four blind FC invites so far. I find it rather rude and presumptuous to send an invite without even a simple introduction. I want to know who is inviting me, and what kind of FC (or LS, or whatever) is wanting me to join. I think of a FC as a business. If I know about a business and think I might want to buy from them, I'll come in the front door and ask. If I don't know about the company, but the salesman is pestering me with cold calls, then they're just wasting everybody's time.

Back in my FFXI days, I hated blind party invites. When I was party lead and had to invite a replacement, I always sent a /tell first with a greeting and a simple personal invitation. First impressions are important, and I found that people who showed a little politeness with something as simple as a party invitation were the most fun to hang out with.


edit: This thousand character limit is killing me!

[Phaydra]

Because the last FC I joined was full of racist little children. There was even one guy named Black Slave.

[Reuskon]

I have yet to join a FC in game yet, for several reasons. The usual invites I've gotten so far, seem to be people just running around a city or zone and inviting anyone and everyone they meet. I'm sorry, I truly am, but I don't want to be just another +1 for your FC. I'd rather know that I was recruited based on who I am, or how well I play, or anything other than having a character logged into the game. This applies to the ones that spam shout chat in every zone they go in with their recruitment message as well.

Aside from that, I'll get someone at the end of an instance that asks if I'm looking for a FC, usually via tell. This happens even if there was absolutely no communication throughout the run, not a word spoken outside the obligatory 'hi' or 'hello' before beginning. Even after attempting conversation.

[Reuskon]

Another of the main reasons, for me and from the looks of the other responses, is that I'm antisocial. I also have a tendency to rub the wrong way with the majority of people just by being myself. So I tend to keep quiet and out of the way, usually only interacting with a select few.

I also like playing alone most of the time, especially in games like this that don't really promote any party play outside of a dungeon or rare FATE. I'm a slow leveler, I take my time and smell the roses along the way, so joining a FC makes me feel obligated to level or keep up with others, otherwise I can't contribute my share. Even when playing with friends, I'm the one that lags behind, or the last one to cross the finish line. I hate feeling like I'm letting people down like that.

There's also a lot of things I don't like, that guilds/FC's require like signing up for (a likely dead) guild website or having to use a VOIP.