Thank you all for responding! All very good points and I value your input and will definitely take it all into consideration. You said it all very well, Dhemgeim. I don't want anything I do to be seen as "active" elitism. I may want to regulate what people do in my own FC, but I certainly don't care what people do outside of it! Even when it comes to "passive" elitism, even if someone's RP is not my cup of tea I'll RP with anyone who is not OOCly rude, even if their grammar or lore-bending makes me a cringe a little. However, when it comes to my own FC, I don't want to have to cringe when RPing with my own company members!
I suppose most of my FC's problems in XIV stemmed from one of our former members breaking our single simple rule of respecting others (we had a contest for our FC housing fund where the top three donators got to help us decorate the house, she was fine with it until she realized she was coming in fourth place, started flipping out in FC chat, screaming and cursing at everyone) and after 15 minutes of trying to calm her down and reason with her to no avail, we told her she would have to stop or leave. Then all the screaming was about how we were "dictators" by telling her "my way or the highway" by insisting the had to follow the simple rules of not freaking out and spewing profanities at people all over FC chat.
She showed herself to the door and took her friends with her, but sadly that wasn't the end of things. They made their own FC seemingly dedicated to hating ours, began poaching our members, posting slanderous things about us on their FC website and personal profiles, and spread rumors and downright lies about our FC. This all happened around launch, but still to this day their FC continues to spread lies about ours and try to convince any of members of my FC who will listen that they should leave our FC because we're "dictators" and join their FC instead.
With all of this total nonsense stemming from enforcing the most /basic/ of rules on one unreasonable person... I'm kinda hesitant to face what might happen if we actually had STRICT rules and requirements. xD But perhaps the problem is the solution to itself. Having an FC that's plainly strict to begin with may deter people from thinking they have free reign of the company or that they are entitled to act however poorly they please.
I suppose most of my FC's problems in XIV stemmed from one of our former members breaking our single simple rule of respecting others (we had a contest for our FC housing fund where the top three donators got to help us decorate the house, she was fine with it until she realized she was coming in fourth place, started flipping out in FC chat, screaming and cursing at everyone) and after 15 minutes of trying to calm her down and reason with her to no avail, we told her she would have to stop or leave. Then all the screaming was about how we were "dictators" by telling her "my way or the highway" by insisting the had to follow the simple rules of not freaking out and spewing profanities at people all over FC chat.
She showed herself to the door and took her friends with her, but sadly that wasn't the end of things. They made their own FC seemingly dedicated to hating ours, began poaching our members, posting slanderous things about us on their FC website and personal profiles, and spread rumors and downright lies about our FC. This all happened around launch, but still to this day their FC continues to spread lies about ours and try to convince any of members of my FC who will listen that they should leave our FC because we're "dictators" and join their FC instead.
With all of this total nonsense stemming from enforcing the most /basic/ of rules on one unreasonable person... I'm kinda hesitant to face what might happen if we actually had STRICT rules and requirements. xD But perhaps the problem is the solution to itself. Having an FC that's plainly strict to begin with may deter people from thinking they have free reign of the company or that they are entitled to act however poorly they please.
