Thread: Roleplay/Partyfinder Discrepancies & Policy Enforcement by GM's

Originally Posted by Aslae

But you're forgetting something. I don't advertise in cities because I advertise in pf. And I'm sure many others are the same. If we all suddenly have to shouting in limsa to advertise our venues, that's going to be a lot of shouts. not even necessarily spam, just a lot of different venues shouting. It's not a feasible option. That's obnoxious and I don't want to have to do that.

The other thing is not everyone who is socially active in this game spends their time in the city-states. I avoid Limsa like the plague; you will only see me there if there's a quest or I'm server hopping for MB prices. Feels like you hit less people doing that then having an ad up in PF which can be viewed at any time.

Originally Posted by Solarra

I find it sad that most of the people arguing for the GM's take on this are equating RP with ERP, as if RP without the 'E' doesn't really exist, As people have pointed out, FFXIV has a story that explores some very dark issues (trafficking, murder, torture etc), any group exploring those themes is simply being responsible by flagging themselves 18+.

The GM in question has told RPers to advertise events in /shout. Are people agreeing with them really saying they'd prefer all the adverts they don't like, for whatever reason, to be spammed in a public channel in all major cities? If we are going to 'think of the children', I'd argue that keeping those adverts in PF is by far the best option.

RP might not be your thing, it's not mine in this game, but it does keep people subbed and the devs have gone out of their way to create areas that are RP friendly, e.g. the new Snowsoak Springs area in the Firmament.
I still think the best long-term solution is to give RP it's own tab in the PF menu, that way if you won't see it unless you go looking, but if you would like to RP you'd have a dedicated space to advertise or find events.

From my own experience of visiting some of these aforementioned 18+ Venues, many of them are Nightclub themed and suggest alcohol sales which is the reason for the age they post (the consumption and sale of alcohol outside the states is 18), ERP is not openly nor actively encouraged in a large number of them and they're very much of the partying nightlife atmosphere. It has been a lifeline to a lot of people in the Pandemic, somewhere for them to go and unwind, to be in a familiar atmosphere they're used to but have not been able to do for the obvious, stuck in quarantine or lock down reasons. People have made many new friends, some have even made new relationships and that's something that should be absolutely cherished at just how much the FFXIV Nightlife RP community has helped people through such a difficult time.

Does ERP happen? Absolutely and it's something you'll never know happens unless you actively look for it.

The majority of folks that go to the 18+ Venues do so to unwind, kick back, relax and enjoy themselves in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, the problem with going with a scorched earth policy is they're taking aim at everyone in the RP community and as another company quickly learned when they started pulling that kind of heavy handed enforcement...RP communities are the lifeblood of subscription bases.

If the tab is that much of a problem, something that can easily be turned off by switching to another tab that filters it out in PF, so I still don't get how it is, (except for the RMTers and that feetpic seller who are something that should be vigilantly removed) then a social tab is very much the way forward.

Originally Posted by Britha

You had to actively look in the "Other" tab to even see them so I'm not sure how they could be considered spammy honestly. Unlike clear sellers and weird feet pic advertisements which you see, no matter what, every single day just for opening the PF. They are all right there in a big list all the time in your face.

It makes it more difficult to parse through events/advertisements when there are several venues advertising the same thing at the same time. It's simply easier on the eyes and mind to see 4 event postings for 4 events rather than 12 postings for the same events where 2 places are advertising 4 times, 1 is advertising 3 times, and the last is buried somewhere in there advertising only once.

Yeah, we had that issue on aether with some places putting up like 4-5 pf's so we asked them as a community to stop. Having some level of self-regulation in the communities is helpful. But being from balmung i would see how that would be annoying for yall.

Originally Posted by Shuhannazy

Yeah, we had that issue on aether with some places putting up like 4-5 pf's so we asked them as a community to stop. Having some level of self-regulation in the communities is helpful. But being from balmung i would see how that would be annoying for yall.

Run sellers do this sometimes too... Yet they seem to be crackin' on happily with nary a word from the GMs.

And, of course, they use the 50/60/70 roulette option so they're always right in your face when you open the PF.

Fellowship Finder is a great idea and I was ecstatic about it when it was first announced, but as it currently functions it is not suitable for RP communities. Shouting isn't a feasible option either, I have a tab that turns off shouts that's active very often. And when I do see those shout ads, my friends and I have the connotation of the venue being 'desperate' that I wouldn't be surprised is shared by a lot of people interested in RP in the game. There's also predatory RP venues/groups that advertise in shout so often it could be considered spam that I would like to avoid being potentially associated with.

This game already suffers from a barrier of entry to get into RP, making the most easily accessible way in game to find RP venues is going to hurt it even more. Many people treat this game as a social outlet and I have spent plenty of evenings going through PF and checking out RP venues. I've made a lot of really good friends through RP. If it wasn't for the places being advertised in PF, or the ability to advertise my own coffee shop in PF, I probably wouldn't have made those friends or had some really memorable experiences in game through RP. I know many people that wouldn't be subbed right now if it wasn't for the RP community.

I really hope this is just a miscommunication/misunderstanding with one GM and not an actual stance that Square Enix will be going forward with. With COVID, the RP community has really flourished in the last year and I've loved the way I've seen RP venues develop and evolve. Square has done so much to service the RP community in the past--giving us the RP status tag for our characters and for houses, a lot of furniture that really helps with RP venue theming (stages, shop counters), performance, new areas with RP at least partially in mind (the Firmament), that making the most accessible way to learn about RP venues is really going to hurt it. Not everyone can use discord or knows where to go to find out about RP venues and events.

Originally Posted by Risvertasashi

Run sellers do this sometimes too... Yet they seem to be crackin' on happily with nary a word from the GMs.

And, of course, they use the 50/60/70 roulette option so they're always right in your face when you open the PF.

yeah, imagine being a gm and not seeing any of that but seeing the rp stuff AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE wow lol

I hope SE apologizes and revokes all the warnings for this. I don't know too many people that RP personally but they are actually part of the community and keep the PF alive with things to do. Maybe someday I'll be bored enough to go check a venue out or something. It's a net positive rather than having a dead party finder. Nothing makes people quit MMOs than the impression a game is dead. I'll be honest and say the Primal DC Party finder usually isnt hopping with content other than maybe Tuesdays for savage. It's sad and as a paying subscriber I cast my vote in saying the OTHER tab should be inclusive of RP postings or an RP tab should be implemented with all the affected people un-warned if they keep tabs on things like that. I would say or rather recommend if anyone has any interaction with this GM anymore to ask for arbitration with a third GM joining the conversation if possible because now there are screenshots of conflicting information with some GMs saying it is fine to use PF OTHER for this. All in a respectful manner of course.

Originally Posted by Ath192

I hope SE apologizes and revokes all the warnings for this.

SE never look back at their own choices, nor do they apologize for them. All this crap wouldn't even be an issue if account strikes from warnings weren't permanent.