Even though I am not a big fan, occasionally I can get really into a Western. Something about the setting just does something for me.

The proto-modern fashions, the rickety old buildings, dirt roads, untamed wilderness… there is beauty in it. And among all that goes on, something I find particularly interesting are the small communities, people coming together in these little towns dotting an ever-changing map, all working together to survive the elements and whatever else might threaten them.

A cliche in a lot of Westerns is a look at “order” versus “chaos,” typically portrayed by a sheriff taking on a gang of ruffians. They are usually the underdog, maybe taking up the mantle unwillingly, perhaps needing to rely on some unlikely others to help defend a town or administer justice.

As a long-time staple of performance stories, Westerns have been deconstructed and rebuilt many times, yet even when the lines are blurred, this basic structure usually stays the same. Good versus evil, insurmountable odds, riding off into the sunset - not necessarily literally.

Here in Eorzea, we are a far cry from this system of governance. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. While Westerns do not usually depict the failure of the hero as the outcome, outside of a story it does seem like it could be a fairly likely end. If you multiply those chances when considering that there is always a threat, then it only becomes a matter of time before those who would protect others are entirely overwhelmed. Instead of a six-shooter and enough grit to reduce a mountain to fine sand, our enforcers are gifted with near-unlimited power.

They can be anywhere, see everything, and immobilize anyone in an instant.

Spooky!

It might seem like a bit of overkill, and in the wrong hands it definitely could be. Over the years, there have been quite a few examples of our illustrious GMs overstepping their bounds, making threats, and generally wasting people’s time for what boils down to innocent mistakes.

Recently, one person was locked away for 30 minutes because she accidentally used the wrong Party Finder tags. Another case, just the other day, showed a baby Sprout getting a warning for testing their emotes in public. It amazes me how quick they are to respond to such trivial matters, tiny mistakes treated as crimes instead of what should probably be at most learning opportunities. Meanwhile, most days you can check Party Finder and find people selling illicit pictures openly with no recourse.

One of my first major reports in September of last year investigated a scam operation working through Party Finder, a housing sales con that has since sprung back up three times. Around that same time, there was another advertisement offering character-level services, using real money and requiring account sharing. At least the second involved blatant Terms of Service violations, yet they remained active for weeks, typically not even using the right Party Finder tabs.

So, what is the issue? In some cases, the GMs are quick to act, cutting down minor offenders with ease, but when it comes to actual harmful actions they are reluctant to take any action, instead issuing useless “Thank you, we will investigate” notices and letting others fall victim to schemes. Where is the same bloodlust seen when someone uses “offensive language?”

If you have been on Aether recently, you may have seen a wall of identical Party Finder ads for a certain venue, and of course, by recently, I mean over nearly half a year. While not continuous, these spam listings are not genuine, despite appearances, but are instead targeted to draw ire from would-be partygoers.

Over the last month, it has escalated with a physical presence in said venue. After checking in on Friday last week, I found that there were, at least, 37 of these false accounts taking up space. The GMs are aware, as many have expressed that reports have already been made. Yet, still, little is done to counter this, if anything. Just before sitting down to write this article, it was revealed that many of these characters had been deleted, but not all. While this is potentially a sign of action, it is far from definitive as it could just be a way to regroup on a new set of aggressors that have yet to be blacklisted.

Still, even IF this was the result of the GM team finally deciding to take action against abusive behavior, it is much too slow.

Per their own guidelines on so-called “Prohibited Behavior,” this should at the very least fall under “Nuisance Behavior,” and yet the inaction suggests they are incapable of finding anything actually wrong with such actions. Are we to take away that it is acceptable to harass others? Or perhaps something else? It has been reported that GMs will defend their own who act inappropriately, even if they are no longer a part of the team. Or perhaps it is about the money?

Eorzea is a significant investment and brings in a great deal of profit for the governing bodies that manage it. Even so, this is starting to enter a decline. Many abstain from interacting with the world when new activities lose their shine, so this is understandable. It will likely be another year before things start to pick up again. In the meantime, to keep things running, it might be seen as an acceptable sacrifice to let people suffer ordeals to maximize what can be milked from them.

Consider this: People are permitted to venture through much of the world without paying a cent, though this limits their abilities to access public services. Trade, Market Boards, Free Companies, and Party Finder are reserved strictly for those who could be considered taxpayers. While a slight mishap may result in some limited punitive measures, there are not many stories of outright removing someone. So it stands to reason that if someone will continue to pump in cash to fund nefarious deeds, the GMs might be encouraged to turn a blind eye.

After all, 12 Party Finders translates to roughly $180 a month. If it is actually closer to 37 “full accounts,” that bumps up to $555, not including the initial purchases for entry.

In fact, GM actions seem to support this idea that bad actions are not weighed by merit but rather profitability. Take, for instance, the player who was harassed so much that GMs decided to ban him rather than deal with the problem. Despite claims of protection, should someone not be allowed to exist here free of harm? It seems quite misguided to side with the unruly mob rather than the victim. Or perhaps if that is not convincing enough, let us look at another example.

For those who do not know, “botting” is when someone essentially shuts themselves off to carry out repeated menial tasks automatically. In some cases, this is done with large groups, but even on its own, botting results in the same thing; the eventual degradation of Market Board prices. This may seem trivial, but it is against the oh-so-holy TOS. Yet, when one person decided to try to take action, they were eventually removed entirely for being a harasser. Is it not easier to silence those who bring attention to the problems instead of risk losing money by taking action against criminals who pay the authorities?

In their most recent report on results against bad actors, 56 bots were “terminated,” while 4240 were taken out for participating in RMT (Real Money Transactions), and another 11,737 for the same thing. Perhaps this is a sign that there is some work being done, that money is not everything, but we must also take some other things into account. If the case of the person banned for reporting bots is to be believed, there is a heavy bias towards protecting the Japanese side of things.

In fact, if rumors are to be believed, the ability to quickly report RMT was only added after the venerable Yoshi P was embarrassed by the amount of advertisements for Gil selling while on a livestream in the Americas servers.

Since it is almost a common-knowledge secret that certain areas are favored, would it not stand to reason, then, that others are less inclined to keep things in good order? Where can we find the distribution for these accounts punished for breaking the law?

The simple answer is you cannot. The canned language used in almost every GM interaction leaves much to be desired. Vague responses are the best you can hope for, often having nothing to do with the concerns expressed. Even calling in to find details as to what is being done, why action was taken, can find you getting the same “we are unable to disclose anything” sentiment as anywhere else. Not only does this afford more protection for this shady system, it leaves everyone in a perpetual state of distrust of others.

If you did not look at any of the referenced items, or go into the comments sections beneath them, a major sentiment from others was “I do not believe you” or “You should not have broken the rules.” There are certain times when not breaking the rules is an obvious reaction, but then that does not explain why some are left alone for breaking them non-stop. Yet in these cases where the punitive measures were excessive, it makes little sense to hold such a stance.

In the example of the person reporting bots, they were banned for harassing people. By their own admission, all they had done was try to engage with the suspect botting people before filing a report. If you are unaware, it is warned that when you file a report, if it is found to be false or malicious, GMs will take action against you. Does it not seem reasonable, then, to try to take some due diligence before entering a state of liability?

The same goes for the sprout who received a warning. Rather than reach out and explain that this is annoying and how to make it less so, action was taken. This will remain with them into the future, and another slight later on could result in incommensurate rebuking.

And yet, the common response was “they deserve it.” If intention and experience level is not taken into consideration then perhaps, but is that the kind of world we want to live in? One where jackbooted thugs will trample someone new for stepping out of a line they had not even learned about? In my opinion, such extreme responses are never the answer.

So where does that leave us? If you keep your head down and do nothing, everything eventually blows over, right? A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine found herself in a tornado. Fortunately, she was not injured, the storm passed, but much of the surrounding area was severely damaged.

By letting this go, by not doing anything or speaking out, or worse, blaming the victims, we will end up in a similar state. A damaged and broken community is not a fun one and eventually, there comes a point where it stops making sense to pay to be a part of it.

Some of the more interesting Westerns are the ones where the law is unavailable. With the Sheriff being corrupt, ineffective, or sometimes even dead, it falls to someone else to do what needs to be done to chase out bandits and gangs. Fortunately, we do not have to do anything as extreme as arming up and laying waste to miscreants, but as a group, we do have the ability to make things better.

Demand more from our public servants. GMs may have a lot of power, but remember that it is your money that funds them. Use your voice, speak out, help, and support each other. They might think it is okay to let things slide for now, but if we make our voices loud enough, eventually they will have no choice but to clean up this dusty old town.

Update

On the evening of our publication day, I had an interaction with the GMs. Long story short, I reported something of an adult nature being broadcast publicly. In the interest of maintaining transparency and fairness, I wanted to share what happened.

After about an hour and a half of waiting and watching this continue, a GM did eventually reach out. They wanted to verify the spelling of the name and server information. As I had it readily available, I handed it off. I was asked if anything else was needed, then we parted ways.

Shortly after, the offender was no longer online. While I cannot say for certain these are connected, it is hopefully a sign of some quick actions taken following an admittedly long period of time.

However, tonight also saw the return of Party Finder harassment, as mentioned in the article above. Are they different in terms of severity? Yes, of course. But this still does not excuse months of inaction. The system CAN work. We should all do our part in making sure it does so in a positive way.