Momo

I haven't logged in, or made much of an effort to, in part because I would have needed that fire I lost to do so during a pre-expansion push to get things done on my main on Balmung. After the expansion is in full swing, I may have more down time to go back to it, but that also hasn't stopped me from getting word from people who are still there and receiving this kind of treatment. Also: I'm an RPer, there are few things even in real life that don't sound melodramatic when they come out. It isn't intentionally extra, in the words of Nina Bonina zos Galvus Brown: "Sue me". I'm not sure being a RPer has anything to do with it, seems more like a personality thing, but okay. If you want honest, productive discussion titles like that seem click-baity and hostile. Are you feeling attack because you think what I said may be true? I am not ruining the community on Mateus, I am making sure it is clear that there is a problem and it can't just be ignored and hope it goes away type of attitude. You don't know me, and you likely haven't met me or my characters before, so your judgement of my character isn't all that important to me, and you may be a nice RPer and person which I would be happy to believe if you claimed. I can be dramatic to get people to click on something, but if you read the actual content, it is no more than that, a dramatic title. I'm not really feeling attacked. I have no ties or personal feelings towards Mateus or Balmung. I never said you're ruining the community on Mateus so I'm not sure where that's coming from. No, I don't know you, that's correct. I've seen your posts in here and the other thread about keeping RP only on Balmung and you don't seem terribly interested in fostering a community on Mateus. I read the actual content, that's why I referenced you saying you hadn't logged onto the server in weeks. How you wrote the original post doesn't exactly come across as, "Let's help other people feel welcome on Mateus." I just thinking having a weird title such as "Wicked Origin" is a little silly, and I don't think it has anything to do with being a RPer. It just catches people's attention. Then go back and read my very first post in the keeping RP on Balmung thread please. I am interested in fostering a community, but I don't have as much time or effort at the moment, and when faced with discouraging things right from the very start, that makes it even harder. Being that like me, many do not have a lot of time for multiple characters due to real life, this kind of sudden onset of distaste for community members who may have not even said a word, and literally the hour, day, or week they joined, can damage for a long period if they felt the fall in inspiration I felt. If you have something else to add besides questioning my character as a person, please do post further, otherwise thank you and I won't be replying further to you specifically if it's on this topic of me rather than the issue.

I haven't logged in, or made much of an effort to, in part because I would have needed that fire I lost to do so during a pre-expansion push to get things done on my main on Balmung. After the expansion is in full swing, I may have more down time to go back to it, but that also hasn't stopped me from getting word from people who are still there and receiving this kind of treatment. Also: I'm an RPer, there are few things even in real life that don't sound melodramatic when they come out. It isn't intentionally extra, in the words of Nina Bonina zos Galvus Brown: "Sue me". I'm not sure being a RPer has anything to do with it, seems more like a personality thing, but okay. If you want honest, productive discussion titles like that seem click-baity and hostile. Are you feeling attacked because you think what I said may be true? I am not ruining the community on Mateus, I am making sure it is clear that there is a problem and it can't just be ignored and hope it goes away type of attitude. You don't know me, and you likely haven't met me or my characters before, so your judgement of my character isn't all that important to me, and you may be a nice RPer and person which I would be happy to believe if you claimed. I can be dramatic to get people to click on something, but if you read the actual content, it is no more than that, a dramatic title.

I haven't logged in, or made much of an effort to, in part because I would have needed that fire I lost to do so during a pre-expansion push to get things done on my main on Balmung. After the expansion is in full swing, I may have more down time to go back to it, but that also hasn't stopped me from getting word from people who are still there and receiving this kind of treatment. Also: I'm an RPer, there are few things even in real life that don't sound melodramatic when they come out. It isn't intentionally extra, in the words of Nina Bonina zos Galvus Brown: "Sue me".

You don't hold the reigns of the community, but you and the groups you helped create, do hold the reigns for the spaces that you created. Instead of encouraging this kind of vocal minority to continue, and not doing more than saying "Oh please stop" or a slap on the wrist, it is in the fragile first moments of growth that you take a certain stand and a possible ban from chats where the community is trying taking root. A simple: "That opinion is not welcome here, we want you be part of our community, but we don't want opinions that divide numbers as we try to come together and grow." I understand as well as anyone, and support as much as anyone when I can, but I am not here to come and help with ideas and adding new things to a community that will be met with disdain because of where I came from, especially when it isn't a statement of "Well on Balmung we ____". Let me say, I haven't actually given up on the community or anything that dramatic, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel a dramatic decrease in the fire to help build and create new opportunities, which is what I was trying to voice. You are correct in saying that Balmung is not a wicked origin (that was me being fiscisous), we have vocal minorities too, some right here on this site, but we are rooted, and a strong community which cannot be soured by a few voices except for those who don't care to listen, so that is the difference between our communities and the reason I brought this up.

Let me preface by saying a couple things in case they aren't clear: 1) I support creating a new second RP server. 2) I think our main focus should be the official designation of an RP server/ 3) I recognize the splintering and chaotic nature of the RP community as a whole, and understand that the opinions of one person to the next may vary widely even in similar groups. With all that being said, from my first experience, and the second hand experiences of others, I have come to see there is a problem on Mateus as a second community. Either before the lock of Balmung, or sometimes just after it, RPers from Balmung's community ventured onto Mateus to create new groups. Some of these RPers were new, some old, some just ready for a new adventure knowing that a new adventure was needed because of the lock, and then it seems to me there must also have been some of Balmung's outcasts. When I say outcasts, I don't mean thrown out by the community, but rather those who have bad experiences here, either once or on more than on occasion, and decided not only that they didn't like it here, but also that the community as a whole were all the same: terrible, rude, mean people who aren't out to RP but rather to ostracize. As a Balmung native, and someone who has RPed here since 1.0 (basically since it wasn't Balmung back then of course), I know this not to be true for the most part, and also to not take the community on RPC as rule of law for general RPers in our community. I wouldn't have even brought this up were it not for experiencing these folks within the first hour of being on Mateus, and directly in main chat. I think Balmung was brought up innocuously on some subject, and more than one person expressed that they "don't like Balmung, and maybe Balmung RPers shouldn't be welcome here". Naturally this event caused many who are native Balmung RPers to react not so well, considering that much of Mateus will soon be made up of Balmung it didn't make a lot of sense to have this attitude. After that event I sort of shrugged it off, the LS leaders quieted the rhetoric and we moved on, though I certainly felt less welcome and only logged on maybe a couple more times and then not at all on that character after the incident, realizing that my fire for the server kinda died after that at least for now. That was a couple weeks ago now, and though I haven't touched back with the community there, I have been hearing from others who have dug themselves into this community a little more, that they have experienced much the same and more than once on the Discord server this time. The above are just a few experiences from those who are trying to move onto Mateus from Balmung, but aren't feeling welcome. I guess I was hoping that more opinions on this could be shared, more experiences good or bad, so we can get some of this bad blood out of the system at least in this corner of the world, and move onto to having Mateus be a possible place of future great RP. *Mod edit: This thread's title has been altered.

A move away from Balmung, either slowly or quickly is fine, BUT what isn't fine, and something I experienced within literally the first few minutes of moving to Mateus is: "Balmung RPers and their community are horrible, and not really welcome here." Literally this and literally within a mere hour of joining the main LSs on Mateus. We don't know what will happen to Balmung, or what people will do now that it is closed, but starting on this note isn't the way to go about things.

World's oldest, and one of Balmung's most popular professions not listed here~ My main is a courtesan (which truly should be on this list for how many there are in our community above some of these other things), but I have a secondary main that is a sort of traditional hunter gatherer. I think I have played a lot of these though, as I like a wide variety of options open to me!

SO, as I am sure, as with all creative minds who are constantly at work, or get bored easily, there are some ideas you have had that you haven't approached more than in thought. I was hoping we could share those ideas here. Based on lore, what groups, characters, and storylines have you dreamed up but haven't put into form yet, or may never put into form! This is in the lore section, so please do provide us with the origin of the idea based in FFXIV or in whatever other story that you took it from and how it would be applied? Please only share if you are willing both to share in writing, but also in practice as there is no promise that others won't like the idea enough to make it happen. Likewise, if you like an idea, please inform that person that you would like to try it out, or that you would be interested to in putting in the work to make it otherwise happen. Looking forward to these ideas, and I will share one or two after we get a couple down hopefully!

One of the bigger problems with this whole scenario, is that Balmung RP is often less about creativity, and more about getting easy RP while being creative inside the box that ease provides. It is the reason a place like the QS thrives, while the entire world is open for RP to a great degree, but not many strike out to find it or create it in any lasting way. Essentially, the Balmung RP community has many "active adventurers" and often very little actual adventuring. That being said, personally bar RP gets boring for me after a while, but I can always meet RPers at the other main hubs like The Carline Canopy or The Drowning Wench. Also for further further BaRP, a majority of events at FC houses or set up in locations, are one of the following: fight club/tournament, bar, live performance, and with a smattering of other minor themes that pull from those. The biggest way I have seen to counteract this? Have an FC leader and an FC theme which supports group plots and activities that are only furthered in the outside world. I guess this may be one of those "be the change you want to see" which is always going to sound hypocritical and a little condescending, but truly the best way to combat this is gather a group interested in active RP outside of a bar. Get together at least a few plot builders too, you will want others to help fill in gaps in activity over time, and help with ideas, then start hard advertisement here and on other social media platforms. A good solid theme is always going attract more people, and some standout members who are good RPers, not showy or dramatic, always will help make a foundation. I hope that this helps or reassures you that there are those out there who agree and support these sorts of ideas!

And what many of us are saying is: YES, we need a new RP Server, BUT we would like it be officially sanctioned. That is the big difference between what you are comparing our situation to. Those servers are official RP servers designated by the company, if that were the case here, we would just choose a second server to occupy and be done with it, RP tagged servers draw RPers on their own, so it would make things a lot easier for future RPers.

Because I disagree with the presumption that it is unreasonable for us to expect SE will make an RP server, and I haven't heard a valid argument for why SE would not make a dedicated RP server if the community advocated for it enough. There have been a TON of valid arguments, though? Talking about server resources from Unnamed Mercenary, people constantly saying SE hasn't listened to a big grassroots project before, people saying that this isn't going to help them now and they have no where to go, charts about how full Balmung actually is, talks about how Balmung crashed an entire datacenter (One time Balmung caused an Electrical blowout, Balmung was down for like 24 hours). There are plenty of valid arguments. Yeah at this point there's no point in even trying to carry on the conversation. They didn't come here to debate. They came here to preach. The OP specifically just said, even is the quote you posted, that at this point they are talking about an RP Server designation, which Armi just advocated for a page ago. The whole Balmung thing is a dead horse yes, doesn't matter how much someone wants Balmung to be the only centralized RP hub, it simply won't fly in a situation where the server is closed for however long the devs like, or if they are waiting for numbers to drop, probably for at least a year or two. If people don't want to help out, that is fine, but telling others not to help makes no sense, that is what I was responding to.

Its not that I don't want us to be visible (we are), but that I want us to be respectful. If after 5 years the stance from Square hasn't changed, I don't think its really reasonable to keep pushing it. They've made it clear they want such things like this to be a community effort. I'd like to think the RP community is mature enough and organized enough to be able to accept that challenge and rise to it. I'd like to think we're a group of players Square could be proud of for not needing to have their hands held. The question hasn't been asked in years, and the unique situation this time around calls for it...I really don't know where you're coming from with these ideas. It isn't disrespectful to ask for something that many want which would improve gameplay for and continued subscription. You may like to think that the community will come together, but there aren't as few of us as there were the first time they called on us, things are much more complicated and on a bigger scale now. If you don't want to support the effort, that's fine, but don't tell others it is hurting some imagined sense of pride that the Dev team has, it's not like Yoshi-P runs every account and reads every question, tweet, or email.

Then why don't we frame it as a chance for Non-RPers who don't like us, to be rid of us fully? I mean, it wouldn't be every RPer, but it would likely mean a thinning of RPers on every server as they move and new ones only goto the new RP server?

So you don't want us to be visible because we may hurt Yoshi's feelings while we ask for something not unreasonable as dedicated group of players...yeah I don't really get that feeling, as parsers aren't a necessity to help people, they are often a tool for the opposite. We don't need to hit their source of money on this one. Some of the bigger time and effort grabs in this game, have been born from people just saying they want something and never letting up, no matter how few of them there were. We need to organize, twitter, Reddit, live letter questions, interview questions, just more and more, and don't let up for a while. They may weed out the questions from the live stuff, but if we keep asking, they will know we are serious. I was hoping before now, that someone would set up a single thread, maybe even a pinned one, with premade statements with @'s included that can be copy and pasted and then a link above them where people can just click it to be taken to their own account and then copy paste in the text and just do it everyday. Enough things like this, and threads in reddit and OF, that have traffic, even traffic against it, will help immensely...so who wants to start?...>.>;;;

We don't need to hit their source of money on this one. Some of the bigger time and effort grabs in this game, have been born from people just saying they want something and never letting up, no matter how few of them there were. We need to organize, twitter, Reddit, live letter questions, interview questions, just more and more, and don't let up for a while. They may weed out the questions from the live stuff, but if we keep asking, they will know we are serious. I was hoping before now, that someone would set up a single thread, maybe even a pinned one, with premade statements with @'s included that can be copy and pasted and then a link above them where people can just click it to be taken to their own account and then copy paste in the text and just do it everyday. Enough things like this, and threads in reddit and OF, that have traffic, even traffic against it, will help immensely...so who wants to start?...>.>;;;

I entirely agree with the additional issues you listed as being valid problems the server faces. I'm surprised that you describe other people's issues and reactions so derisively because in fact, the things that you listed are actually very directly related to people's experiences feeling isolated, unable to integrate, etc. Large events and little variety of concepts make it very difficult to meet people whose RP fits with yours, thus leading to feelings of invisibility. Hopefully you consider that you might have more in common than you realize. Oh no, I know these are connected, but I decide to take the realistic route of saying that "There is no RP anywhere" "Everyone is only looking for ERP" and "And someone skipped our RP date" as false characterizations of that consequence. Simple observations of people and places like RPC and its inhabitants, can show true to form, how those members and the groups they interact within, ultimately take a subject and look at it, and from opinions on it. If you come to RPC and find the most dramatic members, and the most toxic people, who may have connections, but whose connections are mired in people like themselves, and then get disappointed by the result, you have no one to blame but yourself. (not necessarily you, but the general "yourself") AGAIN to clarify, I support the formation of another server, and the fight for a single or two RP servers sanctioned officially by SE, BUT AGAIN, if you have a personal problem, realize that if that personal problem isn't due to the server itself and is just a general problem that can happen in any RP group, because to do otherwise would be disingenuous, and a year from now when a bunch of people come to say that Mateus is "full of ERPers (heavens forbid), stalkers, and lonely folks forced out by society", you may be the one that sent them there thinking this would never happen to them. Comparisons in this arena aren't adding to the server debates, they are misrepresenting Balmung as a unique devious place which breeds only more distaste between the servers that may spring up.

I've been around Balmung for several years now across many characters, in many capacities, across many guilds - including ones I've run, myself. Please don't do this. I have nothing in reply to this, if the advice doesn't fit you that is fine, but the server is filled with opportunity if you take the time to look and don't fall back on your real-world insecurities and willful lack of effort. That isn't always the case, I am just saying that is one of the more common reasons we see on RPC of all places. The world is filled with experiences and groups to explore, connecting to that and navigating it takes time and is a learning experience, but is by no means hard to find with some digging in a research. I agree I wasn't clear, I apologize about that. The Void as a positive point...right, and Tumblr with its many legs to stand on as each RPC member follows the other RPC members, and ends up getting stuck in much the same circles and loops as most despise about the RPC and the main reasons it is called toxic. I interact with people in game all day and night, and in my many groups? These things aren't common, so maybe each person needs to assess their connections, and weed out the roots between those groups to have the same mostly peaceful and calm experience that I would say is probably the more like experience.

^^^^^ The fact of the matter is, on top of other issues, Balmung/the game itself is not designed to have as many people on the server as it does. Community split aside, it's causing issues outside of RP that need to be taken into consideration as well. It isn't this, it is rather that most of us acknowledged that any RP group, large or small, will attract a certain type of negativity, and it is best to work on the actual problems and drawbacks of the server. Have I experienced these things? To a degree yes, but like the two of you, I have been on the server since it began and have seen a huge increase in population to the point that if this happened to 5/100 people, then yes it happens, but there are hundreds of people, so this is hardly a norm that wouldn't be shared per capita on another RP group of this size. Unlike the two of you, I also avoid groups that have overly much drama, so my exposure to these types of interactions is also lessened. Some of Balmung's actual problems as a unique RP community and not the tired and very vague/ general problems mentioned above? ~For all the "variety" you can really boil the overall ideas down to a few, so there is still room for growth, but larger groups don't support change as well as smaller ones would ~Another large group problem, is the fact that those who lead those groups, and others who wish to start them, often take up more and more players to the point that the above changes or new ideas, are no longer a norm as all players must begin to work inside of the restrictions of a plot or type of RP that each of the major groups supports ~Event makers and planners ask for bigger and bigger crowds to the point that RPing for people unused to, or who don't wish to interact in bigger crowds, becomes increasingly difficult, lessening chances of unique and growing RP experiences and the list goes on...these are the issues which should be brought up and considered when thinking between Balmung and another server, because as time goes on, those other issues will happen anywhere as established as Balmung is, and you will find the experience not as unique as you once hoped in your moments of rage, disappointment, and whiteknighting.

I find it interesting that those who don't put the effort to try and connect, or don't make themselves known to the point that others can't help them, are here to kick Balmung now that is "down". Alienating Balmung RPers with these one-off instances of anger and personal grievances, isn't doing anyone a favor. To pretend that this is the norm for Balmung is wholly untrue, and to pretend that the time for Balmung RP has somehow passed because some experiences turned people off to it, but in no way make up the way things actually are in reality, is just taking personal attacks and using them to amplify your voices, and it won't go over well. Balmung is still a great RP server, and there is no reason that both RP servers can't exist peacefully together as a community, as they will always be connected, and when they aren't, it doesn't end well. Please refer to section of OP regarding leaving server for personal reasons. Solidarity in the RP community (so that RP remains common, available, and diverse) is more important than misconceptions particular individuals may have about a community that is so large, diverse, and vibrant that it would be disingenuous to impute negative attributes to it as a whole. Perhaps I'm very lucky, but I've never had an issue with roving bands of stalkers, 'flaky individuals', or other negative stereotypes. RPers love to jest about the pervasive nature of such things, but in reality they remain largely mythical. But, as Gaeham said, these issues will exist on any server, and the problem with a smaller server is that you have no alternatives to escape them. Momo explained in a prior post the problems that happen if you encounter issues on a smaller server, and the OP explains those problems in great detail. Again, we don't need to be wedded to Balmung in particular: what is far more important is that the RP community consolidate on one server [at the present time Balmung]. With any luck, perhaps we'll get an official RP server one day, and then the community can move there. I take offense to this. To say that the player exclusion, stalkers and cliques are mythical is wholly uncalled for. There are many people that have experienced such behavior and to outright dismiss them is unacceptable. It could be in the minority of the experiences, but there are experiences that happen on a daily occurrence. The fact people have been on that end of the equation is why some of these small communities exist. Balmung has problems, but if you are going to defend someone bashing the server, I would suggest choosing someone with opinions which are valid to the common experience, and not experiences like these which are loud in nature, but rare also and not significant of the normal interaction on Balmung.

That's what you come up with for negatives to Balmung? Stalkers, ERP, missed connections likely due to lack of time or interest?....Okay. Balmung has problems, but these issues aren't relevant or part of that as specific to this server, these are general problems or misperpetuated falsities which plague any group or none at all. First, stalkers, going to just say, they aren't a group, they are individuals. There are more RPers and players in general, so there will naturally be more of each individual type of person. Stalkers can first be avoided by setting clear and concise limits for yourself and your RP partners, and leave at the first sign that these limits aren't being respected or are being broken. If they continue to approach you, be sure to document each contact and go through official channels, this is not a problem only for Balmung, but for Internet folk and RPers in general any place they go. ERP "shenanigans" is a myth for the most part. You would on a very odd occasion, find acceidental /says or otherwise, and maybe...what "naked" characters which aren't really naked and doesn't bother anyone unless you're that much a prude. This is one of the more nonsense things I see perpetuated by nonrpers, basement dwellers, and other types so fully uncomfortable with their own sexuality and the existence of sexuality in general, that they have one or two instances in probably hundreds to thousands of hours of gameplay on a packed server, and suddenly there is an epidemic. Please if you find something you don't like, understand that first it isn't always going to be a problem to others, and secondly admit to yourself and others it is a rare occurrence and move on with life. There are hundreds if not more RPers, if someone says they'll RP with you in the future, whether scheduled or not, that doesn't mean in an internet setting, that you will get together every time. Sometimes people get busy, sometimes they don't find your RP as valuable as other RP, sometimes they just plain forget from living real life, BUT again this is not some sort of epidemic specific to Balmung, just RP groups in general. BALMUNG HAS ISSUES, but I would rather talk about real ones that affect the population as a whole and should be encouraged to change as a whole to open up further RP avenues than these trite issues that affect anyone anywhere on the internet.

I don't agree with this at all. Every time an old player creates a new character which is not part of their given group, that person can struggle like any new player, to find new space in groups and on the server itself. Being an established members can help you reintroduce characters into a given group, but if you are looking for new blood and new ideas, you have to strike out on your own like any other player. I have 4 well played characters. Each of them belongs to a different circle, and some of them aren't known to be my characters from one circle to the next. Each time I created a new character, I had to establish myself again as I mentioned above, and that wasn't easy, but was more rewarding in the end. The difference between me saying it wasn't easy, and you saying it wasn't easy, is perhaps that I fully believe that if you want to make space for yourself and establish yourself for future RP, you have to prove to everyone that you are a skilled and thoughtful RPer, who can present new ideas, and offer something that others maybe can't. I don't think it should be that easy, if it were too easy, then the new players would never understand the level or RP, plot, and experience they can glean from hard work. That isn't to say, that new players don't want that, but being a leader of your own path, and being a follower or an idle player waiting to be snatched up isn't going to be a way of existing that is going to get you far in an established group. I probably shouldn't add this...but Mateus has literally 2-3 RPFCs at this point, and 2 main RPLS, with few leaders. Of course you will be greeted by the leaders or a main group, it doesn't have a variety of options for groups to pull from yet and for them to focus on until more numbers are had. If you want to make connections and be welcomed by someone, you can start reading through RPC, which doesn't have every RPer but you will quickly come to realize has connections to every group and FC in some way or another. Getting yourself in will never be about being grabbed up, it will be about proving yourself and finding your own way as a brave new RPer in a world with many many possibilities. If you put in the work, you will get there, if you wait for someone to do it for you, you're going to be disappointed. Just to clarify as Kil did above, I support a secondary RP server while also pressuring SE to help us out with either dedicated RP server tag, or otherwise. BUT I will not stand by and have someone say that one community is better than another when both have their pros and cons, and fit different types of people in different ways, because that is narrow and disingenuous.

This raises some questions as well that I'd like to ask. 1) How do you feel about the fact that a very similar situation has come up before in FFXI? Previously, the Odin server was bloated with the highest population. When character creation became locked, server transfers became the trend. Eventually that was locked, and free transfers were offered. The population imbalance continued despite efforts to alleviate strain on Odin and the server was split into two. Even after the split, the servers remained lock. This is a trend that mirrors Balmung's perdicament. Square Enix has reserved the right to split servers and has kept that as part of it's terms of service with the game itself, and with world transfers. 2) If these new RPers are happy with the server they choose and their communities what incentive should they have to pay $18 to transfer their characters away from the server and community? For some, that's a steep price on top of subscriptions. Even if transfers are allowed once again, it is unlikely that every player would be willing to pay that price and friends would be seperated. Do you believe this is a worthy price to pay for unity on Balmung? There is hardly denying that the price you pay to enter Balmung, is well worth it for the opportunity of entertainment at every corner with both content and RP being the utmost level. If you aren't willing to pay a bit extra for the level of establishment and numbers that Balmung offers, then you need to question how dedicated to your enjoyment of your chosen avenues of entertainment you are, and while you can want and hope for a similar level of it elsewhere, I don't think you should complain when an easy avenue is placed in front of you. If you can't afford a transfer of $18, I would question whether you can afford the sub in the first place if it is that much a strain on your budget. If you're cheap and have the money but aren't willing to spend it, ignoring you dedication to your own enjoyment, if you want to complain that is fine, but don't point fingers at others.

I'm going to quote because this is far too long for that, and I agree with some of these more obvious points...but from a perspective of Balmung RPer who already has RP on Balmung, this is awfully entitled an opinion. As a legacy player and Besaid/Balmung lifer, I understand your points and as I said agree with some of them. Yes, Balmung RP is plentiful and widespread, needs no clique or group to support because of the sheer amount, and that is great. Yes, it needs continued support to exist and thrive, but has the numbers to last for a long while as the restrictions are up. BUT While it is our prerogative as the established RP community to push out and support further RP growth, it is NOT our place to deny it of others. We are established, we are many, and we do not hurt yet for further RP growth, and from that standpoint, we have no right to tell others to support us only and shun other attempts to find and establish RP while our hub is not available. It is entirely hypocritical to tell others to wait while you RP as much as you like, and to not establish RP hubs outside ours as you take full advantage of the one established for you by others who came before you, who themselves had to strike out into a new landscape to create a new foundation for the future. One thing I fully support, is a necessity for the community as a whole, to put as much pressure on SE as possible while we move forward. The designation of a new RP server should be a top priority and one that isn't as foreign to SE as many would have us believe. We need a group to message, ask questions, and generally raise awareness in official settings as much as possible and for a prolonged period of time until we are recognized as not only a legitimate minority, but also one of the most dedicated and organized of them. I guess my point is, think of more than yourself when you speak, and think of what was handed to you on a silver platter before discounting the notion of hope for future RPers and RPers of the current moment. I would like to add, as with Kil above, I do not believe that these restrictions which have been threatened for a long period of time, will suddenly be lifted without some real change in the numbers of active and inactive players on the server. It is far too big and far too rooted to not need some very active measures to "fix" and while it may not be our fault, it is our fault if we don't recognize that point, and work to further other ways to continue what we love into other places and work for change.

Been on Mateus checking things out and had a couple things to say about the community there, for those moving, for those just joining, and even for other servers which probably have similar small but growing groups: 1) I think it should be stressed, this new server isn't totally established. When you join Mateus in whatever way you do, do so with a mindset to help build and structure and grow with the community, at a rapid pace, but certainly not a simple move and settle. That isn't to say there aren't connections, there are many, but numbers aren't so that you have an endless possibility (at least not yet) unless you plan to make that for yourself if it isn't available. 2) You aren't moving to the promised land of Mateus to escape the wasteland of Balmung. I guess this is the Balmungian in me to state this, but you shouldn't come into Mateus after having seen or lived on Balmung, and think that you are escaping something, you're not. Many people on Mateus are from Balmung, whether this was their original server or they have created a character to help out or just check out the new community growing there. Balmung people, the decent folks who make up the actual community which isn't always represented here, do not think that Mateans are truly cast-offs or lesser, that is just the nature of some of the shallow and easily threatened people on this board and shouldn't be taken as rule of law for everyone. 3) As just encouragement in general? Create new things! Make new groups, think of new plots and ways to use the world. Don't necessarily get sucked into a group right away unless you are truly ready to just settle in and accept what comes your way. If it is in your nature or character to create these new paths for others, do it, because a group like this can't survive by choosing one of two FC's, the variety needs to be there to support and encourage further growth and stability in an RP community, and even more specifically in an MMORP Community. Hope this helps, and I hope that more people end up checking out this (these) server(s), as their first home, or as a new home for their main or alternative characters!

What about all the Miqo'te claiming Midlander names?! That's just bad taste. (But really though, there is room for racism in this game, and plenty of it. Elezen to Au Ra (or anyone really, Elezen don't like many people lol), Midlander to Highlander (tribalism/nationalism?), everyone to Lalafell, and the list goes on. I do see most of the appropriation of cultures, in part added into each place by the original race/culture, and much of it is due to a concentration around city centers which causes further blending. Much like in the real world, an added element to RP would be a character who doesn't believe themselves to be racist, but finds it in themselves later. Of course, overt racism is easier, quicker, and more prevalent. I think it is a great RP tool, but one must be cautious of bringing it over to OOC as well, because sometimes it can be taken to a point where fellow RPers stop feeling welcome.)