[rant]
I don't know what it is, but something has everyone's nerves (read: panties) in a bunch. Both in-game and out, I hear "this person did this," or "this person stole that" and "this ls is made of thieves and liars." LS leaders treat players as commodities to help reach their own goals, and players trade linkshells like baseball cards. No one is happy with any accomplishment, no matter how big or small.
What is our problem?
Do we dish out these insults because we are better than them? Do we steal something from another person because someone stole the same thing from us? Do we really deserve to yell at someone for doing the exact same thing we did?
What happened to inviting a player who doesn't have the most uuber l33t equipment or fully-levelled subjob? Yes, you may want to get out of the dunes faster...but would you have gotten out of the dunes if someone hadn't invited you with your whopping 1.5k gil armor? So what if you currently have an underlevelled or gimped sj at the moment. Your main job is 50+... You know better! You're just levelling your sub!
And let's not forget the players that MPK you at supermegagildrop NM. Forget that they wiped you and stole your claim. What right do you have to MPK them back? Where does it say that MPK'ing only ok when you do it?
And when it's all said and done, we complain. We complain in ls, we complain in /shout in the middle of Jeuno. We log onto alla and vn and ifrit and we complain. We argue, we namecall, we blame, and we complain. We complain to anyone who will listen, even if they don't want to. We unload our hatred onto others and bring the collective morale to an all-time low. Who cares if the people I'm complaining to weren't involved? Now they feel just as bad as I do!
And in all that complaining, no one ever works things out. Nothing ever gets solved. We take the fight to their linkshell and bash everyone in it. We attack them all. They're not getting away with this! We'll go on complaining and hating and then next time...oh next time....
It's a cycle. It's our cycle. We are the ones who keep it going. Do we really have to put up with it? WHY do we put up with it? Does it make any sense that we have feuds that have gone on for years? Does it make sense that entire groups of people hate entire other groups of people because they are from superkilltehmonsters LS?
If you have something to say, say it and get it out. Don't tell me, I don't care about it. Tell the people who it affects and tell them directly. If you don't like something that someone did, tell them--don't tiptoe around it. If they won't do anything about it, blacklist them and for Heaven't sake move on with your life.
Don't hate them.
Don't hate their linkshell.
Don't hate their friends.
Don't bring it on here and tell me about what a bad person they are. If I want to know, I'll tell you.
And do you see what I did here? I complained, just like countless others have done with posts and threads before me. And what good has it caused? It's a damn endless cycle, I swear it is. But it doesn't have to be.
Sincerely,
Average Joe Player
Level 3, Bastok
[/rant]