Flamage Part Trois: The player base does not understand the damage done...

First, a quick Weekend Update:

DRG 65, RDM 58, MNK probably 50 by the end of the night if this whole situation doesn't frustrate me.

Sunday Dynamis: Bastok -- no win.

Wednesday Dynamis: Only Sandy available -- win (my 3rd) -- almost got a Big Money, but was beaten on the lot by one other player.

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Now, back to the carnage. This will cover other than Blue Gartr -- sounds like they will merit their own consideration.

Read the comment from MogKnight to my last post. And understand that I, in a very rare move, have no apology to make to him or anyone else for actually making them regret something they should have regretted ever wanting to do in the first place.

And then I go on Pet Food Alpha and I find out that one of the four hosts of the show has been terminated from the game, Chinchilla.

(http://petfoodalpha.com/2659/square-enix-morality-police -- she doesn't like it. As far as I am concerned, maybe the game needs more morality police...)

I will make the statements, some specifically about Chin, but they apply to any other prominent player so penalized:

You have no idea what kind of damage you do to the game and the like when you actually get caught like this. None.

I've already basically gotten the idea that the end-game crew on BluGartr has gone "QQ" -- apeshit that they got caught, many are either forced to or wanting to quit the game, and that this might be the end of FFXI.

I will say this without hesitation:

Any player who involved themselves in this cheat (or any such bannable misconduct) should be in no future position to represent FFXI and the player community in any capacity. And any Premiere Site which retains any such player expelled from the game for misconduct should be removed from such consideration with the utmost expediency.

Secondly, if this is going to be the "QQ" moment for much of the end-game, then, frankly, FFXI does not deserve to survive.

On the former comment, I plan on contacting PFA and making this statement unequivocal. I will contact Square-Enix and basically say it's either Chin goes or PFA's Premiere status goes.

I'll give her the show this announcement is made. But any more involvement after that, and I contact Square-Enix. The placement as a Premiere Site is a privilege -- in fact, something a lot of people don't get is that playing this game at all is a privilege. Any such privilege can, for cause, be taken away at any time.

(And if I find out that anyone from any of the other Radio XI Podcast Alliance situations are banned as well, you'll get edits to this post or additional posts.)

Why am I willing to go against one of the more prominent members of the Radio XI Podcast Alliance (one of the premiere fan community networks)?

Because of the second comment I just made.

One of three things will kill FFXI:

1) The real-life economy is such that the game becomes unsustainable for Square-Enix to continue.

2) There is such a vote of no-confidence in Square Enix by the player base that so many players leave that #1 results.

3) There is such a vote of no-confidence in the player base by Square-Enix that they essentially take their ball and go home.

After what I've seen the last 60 days, any of the three are now imminent. I don't think I need to go into the RL economy in a vacuum at this point -- you can find any degree of that information.

But the real problem appears to be that there is a real probability that condition #2 has existed for quite a long time. As I told MogKnight, this is not a single act. This is 18 months of misconduct all rolled up, and if you think these are the only 950 players involved, I've got swampland in Antarctica for sale, cheap.

And the justification of "WAAA!! We don't like the fucking drop rates!!" indicates to me an abject no-confidence in Square-Enix. The players have tried to forcibly seize control of Square-Enix' game, and Square-Enix has started to fight back.

Of course, bluntly, it is probably time for Square-Enix to expand the STF to two STFU's (Special Task Force Units)... One for RMT, one for non-RMT player misconduct, specializing end-game.

It is clear that many (most? ALL??) of the major end-game players in FFXI do not wish to play by the rules. And a lot of the players either are "questioning the morality police" or prepared to say that this is going to completely blow up FFXI.

In that case, let it implode and die and let all the wankers who want to screw around go play WoW for all I care.

And that brings me to the third possibility, and one I would not be as surprised as some to wonder about: What if it gets to the point that investigations like this turn up such wide-spread misconduct that, some day very soon in Japan, someone just doesn't walk in and propose shutting the whole mess down as a vote of no-confidence from Square-Enix to the players?

What happens if it comes down to the point that the top brass of Square-Enix and FFXI decide it's no longer worth it because nobody (or so few) is/are playing by the rules?

I consider this a very real possibility. And, given a lot of the comments I've been reading the last 24 hours, I almost am beginning to wonder if that isn't a consideration high in the skies of Squeenix.

And all I have to say is that it is the player base's fault for acting like a bunch of entitled 12 year-olds who won't play unless they are Monty Haul-ed everything.

You do not understand the damage done when ~1,000 high level players, many with prominent end-game or community positions, are banned or dumped for an obvious known exploit that is so known, that the moment it is discovered that the exploit is being used or was used, there's only one alternative: Narc the mess out, notify Square-Enix, and get the thing fixed -- and LEAVE ANY EXPLOIT RUN IMMEDIATELY.

Any other result leaves you open for an investigation and a ban or suspension. And if you later find out that the exploit was used on the run, you report it then and prepare to forfeit any and all items gained.

But I read some of the comments to Chin's article and am utterly flabbergasted at just the abject arrogance of a player base who feels they are fucking entitled to be Monty Haul-ed on.

You have no idea -- NONE -- as to the damage done. There are people who are already putting the date of my 40th birthday (January 22, 2009) as the day FFXI died. You know what? In that case, let it die.

Oh, one more comment: I'm now beginning to wonder if the reason that you (the player base) haven't come up with a workable Absolute Virtue or Pandemonium Warden strategy is because you haven't meaningfully legally beaten an end-game monster since you joined end-game!!