I'm gonna be a real bitch in regards to FFXIV's community.

The reason it consistently fails to get rid of genuinely problematic people is because it has , for years, been more bothered by people being rude to predators, racists, and pedophiles than the presence of those people.

It is a community that has weaponized every conceivable form of harassment, hate, and outright abuse against people who police their own spaces and guard their own boundaries especially when that behavior, God forbid, steps on the toes of someone too popular.

FFXIV's community is one of not just insular, but incestuous social climbing. It is one obsessed with artists, screenshot editors, and other "Creators" whose social capital is seen as more valuable than the basic humanity of other members of the community.

So, you know, it's really not terribly shocking that--years on--a known and well-documented sexual predator holds a place of privilege while systematically victimized people are pushed to further fringes of the community and smaller circles of friends.

And, truly, to the people who've softened their opinions of me after my own social capital has risen considerably in recent years, I'll tell you what I've told the people who've reached out to me privately to try and gain the benefit of that capital.

Go fuck yourselves.