(01-29-2015, 05:18 AM)Graeham Ridgefield Wrote: I think some people are under the false impression that other people are directly dictating what their fellow role-players are able to do. Nobody can force anybody else to do anything and that's certainly not what's happening here.
Let's look at this thread as an example of what I'm getting at:
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=9690
Or if that's not enough, let's toss this one into the mix as well:
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=9312
Both threads contain a lot of rants fuelled by frustration. People vent, then they move on - and it's really no different when it comes to role-play. I'm not going to lose any sleep over someone playing their full-blooded Garlean as an experienced mage but I'll certainly raise an eyebrow, offer some criticism and maybe make a playful jest or two at their expense.
Just like I'd expect people to criticise my character if I decided to play him in a way that directly contradicted the lore. Also bear in mind I'm not referring to genuine mistakes here, but rather the willing and continued defiance of established lore.Â
If it's any consolation I often poke fun at myself at my own expense too. It's just how I am and my sense of humour is very British. A lot of us are like that - and if people do something bizarre we tend to laugh, criticise and then move on.
I really can't stress how important I think that is in a community like this. You've got people from all sorts of different backgrounds, expecting them all to operate and think in the same way is both inefficient and rather concerning.
I read back through this thread a bit and saw that basically half this thread was already saying all the same points I made and 14 pages later, people are still not in agreement.
I think this is a great example of how all the critique in the world isn't really going to change the mind of someone who isn't asking, wanting, or planning to use critique someone gives them. People are going to stick to their guns unless they make the decision for themselves that they are receptive to changing. They're going to do their thing. You are going to do yours.
At that point it's not critique - it's just venting like you mentioned. If you want to vent about it, that's fine! People vent all the time about things -- but at least accept that venting is all that folks are really doing at that point instead of trying to paint it as 'constructive critique' that is going to help someone build a better character or criticism that has any other purpose other than to shame someone for not RPing as you want them to. (Or in the case of the original thread that spawned this one - out right telling people they are RPing something wrong because it's not what they personally wanted and putting "You're doing it wrong" in the title of their thread Whoops! I got confused about this and thought all that came from some other miqote thread I missed. Apologies. ) It has no other purpose other than to make someone feel bad that they're not RPing a certain way.
You may feel it's okay or necessary to criticise someone for RPing something wacky that doesn't really suit the lore in FFXIV - but I don't. This is just something we're going to have to agree to disagree on. I personally would rather spend the time I would have wasted criticising someone's RP actually roleplaying with people whose RP I DO enjoy and find engaging/adherent to the lore.
