The terrible state of FF14 Reddit

[chesder]

I was apparently banned last night from the subreddit for posting a guide for new players to ff14 as it broke the rule about "excessive" self promotion.

I've known this for a while, that the reddit is a joke and is truly only meant for people to post "Look how pretty my haircut is" topics, but I find this to be beyond reason.

Someones going to have to explain to me what the point of a game reddit is if you are not allowed to post guides of any sort for that game.

Most idiotic thing I've seen in a long time.

[Lathais]

I was apparently banned last night from the subreddit for posting a guide for new players to ff14 as it broke the rule about "excessive" self promotion.

I've known this for a while, that the reddit is a joke and is truly only meant for people to post "Look how pretty my haircut is" topics, but I find this to be beyond reason.

Someones going to have to explain to me what the point of a game reddit is if you are not allowed to post guides of any sort for that game.

Most idiotic thing I've seen in a long time.

It's because you are using their site for free advertising which you can potentially profit from. Same thing as here. Advertising your own stuff that you have potential to profit from for free is frowned upon on nearly every forum I have ever visited. It's one thing if someone asks for a certain guide and you link it, but creating new thread where the sole purpose is to advertise your own videos is pretty much not ok anywhere.

See here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/wiki/rules

Subreddit Rules
Please Do:

1) Directly involve FFXIV. General Final Fantasy content (non-FFXIV chocobos, other FF artwork) should be posted to /r/FinalFantasy, PC builds to /r/buildapc, computer issues to /r/techsupport, laptop shopping to /r/SuggestALaptop, non-FFXIV software support to the vendor's support website, and so on. If you're linking to an image/video/etc that is not FFXIV, it will be removed.

2) Mark all spoilers. Never post spoilers in a title. If a post contains spoiler text or links to spoilers, then it must be marked as a spoiler with the "Spoiler" button and with "Spoiler" flair (tag). If you're unsure if something is a spoiler, mark it just to be safe. Comment spoiler formatting is as follows:
Example: [Lightning is](#s "in the game") = Lightning is

3) Recognize the FFXIV User Agreement. Examples of prohibited posts are those that: encourage botting, discuss how to exploit the game, show use of unethical 3rd party tools (telehacks, bots), invite Gil selling/buying, or promote server emulation. Screenshots of RMT messages are also prohibited. Other content that breaches the User Agreement will be handled on an individual basis.

4) Be civil and respectful. Toxicity, hate speech, harassment, personal attacks, etc. are not tolerated. Certain events (e.g. frequent server outages) may cause frustration, but this should not cause bigotry, racism, harassment, general spam, etc. This includes no backseat moderating; instead, report rule violations directly to mods.

5) Submit the original source link. When posting a link submission (e.g. FFXIV news, patch notes, interviews) use the original URL. Don't submit a URL shortener, article summary, or blogspam. However, if the original source is in Japanese, an English translation may be posted.

6) Search before posting. Avoid duplicate posts! This applies to any types of content: server status, maintenance posts, patch notes, etc. For example, any duplicate posts regarding a new Lodestone announcement will be removed.

Do Not:

7) Witch-hunt or name shame. Similar to the reddit.com rules, never share other players' names or information (especially for negative purposes), including real-life names, in-game names, or FC/LS names. If they have done something horrible to you, we suggest that you talk to the GMs via an in-game help ticket. Actions could be misunderstood or falsely accused, and we do not want to facilitate potential unwarranted backlash. As with many MMO subreddits, all names in screenshots must be unreadable (blurry but barely-readable names are not allowed).

8) Post memes, image macros, rage comics, or other similar content. Webcomics, fanart, and screenshots are welcome; memes, image macros and rage comics are prohibited.

9) Sell or trade accounts/keys. There are appropriate subreddits for this, such as /r/GameTrade. We do not enforce trades, and scams are always a possibility. Additionally, trading accounts is is a specific violation of the FFXIV Terms of Service. Game code (not account) giveaways are acceptable.

10) Post referral/affiliate links or excessive self-promotion. These are not allowed; you must post the URL without an affiliate/referral tag. Self-promotion must follow these reddit guidelines which includes ad-based Youtube channels or Twitch streams. As a rule of thumb, 10% or less of a user's content should be self-promotional content.

11) Ask server/transfer questions outside the Megathread. Whether asking about a server (population, community, etc.) or asking where to transfer, consider the daily Q&A Megathread (which is almost always stickied), or the weekly side-threads involving this topic. You can also try asking on the official forums.

12) Post advertising for Free Companies, Linkshells, or Recruit-a-Friend codes. Linkshell and Free Company posts (both "recruiting for" and "looking to join") do not belong on the main subreddit; instead use /r/FFXIVrecruitment or the official forums. Refer -a-friend posts should be posted to an appropriate subreddit; /r/ffxivraf was created for this purpose.

It always baffles me when people break rules then are surprised when they get banned and whine about it. You broke the rules, plain and simple.

In short, the point of the subreddit, and this forum and others like it, are for people to talk about the game. To create a community with of people with similar interests. It IS NOT there for people to advertise and make profit from.

IMO, this is not a sad state of reddit, it's a sad state of people expecting free advertising.

[chesder]

The reddit is for pandering to children and not at all to promote the game it represents in any capacity. This ban is nothing more than forward thrusting of a proverbial pelvis while they drag the community further down into the cesspool they drown prospect players in.

If I have something to offer I will put it online for people to access. Limiting that information and claiming self promotion when that is not the intent is foolish. Had there been another way to put videos in that manner online I'd use that as well.

[Lathais]

The reddit is for pandering to children and not at all to promote the game it represents in any capacity. This ban is nothing more than forward thrusting of a proverbial pelvis while they drag the community further down into the cesspool they drown prospect players in.

If I have something to offer I will put it online for people to access. Limiting that information and claiming self promotion when that is not the intent is foolish. Had there been another way to put videos in that manner online I'd use that as well.

That is not the intent? How come when I go to your video I get an advertisement? Because it's monetized. Someone is making money from it, therefore it is advertisement. You can shout at the sun all day long that that is not your intent, but you are only fooling yourself.

had there been another way to put video in that matter online? Are you a complete idiot, because the more you talk the more it sounds like you are. It's called YouTube, you know, the place you put your video. If people are searching for what you have to offer, they will find it via youtube search or google. Anything else you do to promote your videos/channel is advertising. You don't get free advertising, sorry.

[chesder]

It is not monetized. At all.

[Granyala]

It is not monetized. At all.

They have no way of verifying that.

[chesder]

I'm aware.

This has shifted from being a post about in what is my opinion, abuse of a community, to bashing against a video made to help new players.

Not continuing this conversation further.

[Lathais]

It is not monetized. At all.

There is an ad when I load your video. It's monetized. You may not be making the money from it, but someone is. In addition to that, with enough veiws/subscribers you COULD monetize it easily.

I'm aware.

This has shifted from being a post about in what is my opinion, abuse of a community, to bashing against a video made to help new players.

Not continuing this conversation further.

Your opinion is wrong. It is a fact that what you are doing is abuse of community. You are using the community to advertise yourself. It's pretty plain and simple THAT is abuse. Even if your channel is not currently monetized, once you have enough views and subscribers you could monetize it. Using the subreddit community(and this one for that matter) to help you get to that point IS NOT ALLOWED.

I too am not continuing this conversation as it obviously has no point. You can not see that what you are doing is wrong and nothing I say will change that. Reported your posts and moving along now.

[chesder]

"Your opinion is wrong." - Lathais - 2015

[thilicen]

You broke the rules, stop bitching about it.

[Lathais]

"Your opinion is wrong." - Lathais - 2015

Well, it's not really an opinion if you think about it, seeing as it is a FACT that the opposite is true. A well known fact really.

[Osmeric]

It all makes sense when you think of Reddit as the spiritual descendant of Usenet.

[Remilia]

It's the same thing as we have here.

We tend to be more lenient with these things as we don't infract if it's a one time case. It becomes a problem if a massive amount of posts occurs outside of the designated threads in whichever forum.
For FFXIV, we do have a dedicated video thread for people to post in for these things, hidden in the sticky.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-Stream-thread

[chesder]

I think a forum here dedicated to help for FF14 would be great.

I've got lots of things that are not well known to players that I intend to share in the future. If there was a more appropriate place to do that beyond a thread I think it would help a great deal.

[Remilia]

That you'd have to inquiry with the Admins, Boubouille or Chaud. I highly doubt it'd happen however.

[chesder]

as it gains momentum maybe one day

- - - Updated - - -

As of this moment I am no longer banned from that subreddit. However in this time I have been talking to two moderators of the sub. One saying he'll look into it the issue and also the one to unban me. The other against me in any sense and refusing assistance.

I don't want to bash innappropriately as I did eventually get help. But to have two incredibly different responses is concerning.

[Lathais]

I think a forum here dedicated to help for FF14 would be great.

I've got lots of things that are not well known to players that I intend to share in the future. If there was a more appropriate place to do that beyond a thread I think it would help a great deal.

This is primarily a WoW site, good luck getting further sub-forums for other games. We are lucky to even have this sub-forum at all.

- - - Updated - - -

While I was out smoking a cigarette I thought of a good way to explain this. Head on over to YouTube and search for FFXIV Videos. See how many there are? Now, just imagine if this site, reddit and other forums DID allow people to come advertise every time they put a new video out. What do you think these forums would look like? It would be post after post after post about soandso's new video with no room for any sort of real discussion. Anytime someone had a question or wanted to start a real serious thread, it would get buried by 100s of people posting advertisements to their videos. No one would come here anymore. The site would no longer serve its intended purpose. That is why it is considered abuse of the community. Removing these types of posts and banning users who make them actually improves the community.

If you want to get the word out, you are better off becoming an active and known member of this community, then just leaving links in your sig. When people ask for help, help them! Answer them with the info they need, and then, if you happen to have a video about it, you can mention subtly.

This is why I say your opinion is wrong. It's like if I said, "My opinion is that 1+1=100." My opinion is wrong because there are facts that say otherwise.

[Granyala]

I think a forum here dedicated to help for FF14 would be great.

I've got lots of things that are not well known to players that I intend to share in the future. If there was a more appropriate place to do that beyond a thread I think it would help a great deal.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/f...ew-Player-Help

This would probably be the most appropriate place and probably the first place new players that don't know about fansites visit.

I hope you will do written versions of your video guide.
I friggin HATE YT guides. Why on earth would I slog through half an hour of video material, when I can process the same information in text form in a few minutes?
I never got the rave about some dude yappin on and on on his YT channel in an inefficient attempt to teach me stuff.
Write it up, so I can read & skip to the parts I really need. If there is something you absolutely have to show people visually do a short clip of it.

[Lathais]

I friggin HATE YT guides. Why on earth would I slog through half an hour of video material, when I can process the same information in text form in a few minutes?
I never got the rave about some dude yappin on and on on his YT channel in an inefficient attempt to teach me stuff.
Write it up, so I can read & skip to the parts I really need. If there is something you absolutely have to show people visually do a short clip of it.

I am so with you on that. I mean, I kinda like video guides sometimes as I can listen to it WHILE I am playing, however, if I want to reference a peice of information in it I heard later, I have to sit there and mess with trying to find that spot in the video. Really annoying. Much easier with a text guide to either skim or use Ctrl-F to find the specific part I am looking for.

Personally, I also retain information better when I read it than when I hear/see it. So I prefer text guides for that reason as well, though everyone is different in that regard. I certainly understand, some people do not retain as well when they read and seeing/hearing it is better for them. This is why I think most guides should have both versions, if it is something that you need video to show.

I also totally get where this guy is coming from. When trying to get a stream or youtube channel going, getting out there and in front of people is really really hard. There are not a lot of good avenues for getting yourself out there other than the sites you are on themselves and social media. In order for those to really get you seen though, you need to already be kinda popular. Like MrHappy, has tons of viewers, puts out good videos and is somewhat entertaining to watch for some people. Since he already has subscribers and followers and is already popular, his stuff tends to come up first when searching for things. It can be very frustrating. I actually stopped streaming because of a lack of viewers on my stream and it's no fun streaming when there is no one there to interact with.

So if you can't advertise on sites like this how you get there? Well, it's a long slow process. Consistently put out good quality stuff and people will find it and share it. That's how the people that actually make money doing this stuff did it.

[chesder]

A written guide is in the works. Just gathering sample images and will post it soon.