FC / LS Broadcasts. An Etiquette Question

[moody]

I've been seeing regular repeated broadcasts from a few FC and LS looking for members in shout. I've always considered this rude (basically spamvertising like gil sellers) and a good way to ruin your own reputation. I'm specifically referring to people spamming the exact same message every few minutes in a zone over shout. 

 

That's the etiquette I was taught and it's always made sense to me. If a group is so non-selective that they're just hoping anyone will respond and say "Sign me up!" then I have to assume they're looking for warm bodies to gather guild cash or to be able to claim they're the 'largest [x] group on the server' rather than trying to build a community. 

 

How does everyone else feel about this when they see it?

[LeCard]

I've been seeing regular repeated broadcasts from a few FC and LS looking for members in shout. I've always considered this rude (basically spamvertising like gil sellers) and a good way to ruin your own reputation. I'm specifically referring to people spamming the exact same message every few minutes in a zone over shout. 

 

That's the etiquette I was taught and it's always made sense to me. If a group is so non-selective that they're just hoping anyone will respond and say "Sign me up!" then I have to assume they're looking for warm bodies to gather guild cash or to be able to claim they're the 'largest [x] group on the server' rather than trying to build a community. 

 

How does everyone else feel about this when they see it?

only times I wouldn't agree would be when a FC is trying to get enough people to have a decent group size for end game runs, OR when stuck on the JP servers( like I have been) due to maintenance/errors and they are trying to pool all the NA/EU refugees into a large enough group to be able to get stuff done(in parties you can understand)

[Kismet]

(Note: I'm going to say 'guild' is this post, but I'm referring to both FCs and LSs.)

 

While I don't necessarily consider it rude (unless they're being very aggressive/insulting), it's not something I would do if I was running a guild. I find it a little bit... tacky, I guess?

 

I like for the guild recruitment and application process to be slightly more formal. If I want to know more about a certain group, then they make it clear in whatever community they're a part of who should be contacted for more info and/or what their website is. Then I can go about exploring those options at my own leisure. These are just my personal preferences, of course.

 

Now, not everyone always goes out looking for gaming communities to join. Not every single person that will be RPing in FFXIV is on RPC or has an Enjin account (some may not even know that either exists). So you have to consider that there will be players who could potentially have /shout as their only way of finding out about such guilds. This goes for non-RP players, too.

[Magellan]

This is a preference, and I don't see anything wrong with it. For some guilds, size is the important factor. For some players too. As large a group of players to pick from to run endgame, dungeons, or pvp with. Individuals themselves don't matter so much as the quantity.

 

This is not what I look for in a guild at all, but many do, and really have no problem with the larger, 'anything goes' guilds. Those people have every right to go about their recruitment efforts as they see fit. If they truly are spamming their message far too much, you can put them on igmore =)

[Vinter]

There was a guy on Cerberus hanging in the octant just inviting anyone who ran past him to join his free company.

Being indiscriminate when it comes to who is allowed to join your linkshell/free company is a horrible idea. You'll end up with a miniature version of the general chat. And then what's the point?

[moody]

If they truly are spamming their message far too much, you can put them on igmore =)

 

I do. I just don't make comments about doing it generally because that would just cause another argument

[FreelanceWizard]

Honestly, I'm neutral to the practice. While I think it's not a good idea for a group to have a "sign up anyone who sends you a tell" philosophy, merely advertising in a public channel isn't a big deal in moderation, IMO. Not every player reads forums, so it's an effective way to let those players know of your existence.

 

Note, of course, that I say "in moderation." Sending a giant advertisement every minute or so is just daft.

[Levi Druthers]

For me, and the way I was "brought up" in MMOs, you don't spam that sort of thing.  You wait between 30min to an hour.

 

Drive by pickups are a no go as well.  Ugh, random invites are just annoying.

 

Most people I find who spam such messages or invites, are just looking to have numbers of people and not quality.  If they truly are disruptive in your chat, you can try asking them to wait a bit more (as it never hurts to ask) or just blacklist them for some time.

[Asyria]

In every MMORPG I played (and that's a lot) people have advertised their guilds in the General channel a lot, especially around launch.

Now we don't have a General channel but Shout seems to pretty much fill that role.... though to be honest, Intermission and Coalition OOC very much feel like General channels too, aside from that.

I think it's only rude if it's spammed every1 or 2 minutes something.