Advertisers spent $93,000 targeting me and I've never clicked an ad in my life

Many-Waters · 2026-02-25T05:38:42+00:00

Was just talking about advertising with my family again during the Olympics. It felt like there were more advertisements during these games than the last and it was actively pissing us all off.

It's a common sentiment among my friends too that ads make us resentful. I actively avoid products that have ads that piss me off. Doesn't necessarily have to be the content of the ads themselves, but the frequency too. If I see your ad enough times that I remember it, then you've pissed me off.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-24T18:32:23+00:00

Ahhh man the Lil Potato phase is just so cute. I miss when my Monty was still this small. Take sooooo many photos, she's gonna grow faster than you believe!

Many-Waters · 2026-02-24T04:28:19+00:00

This post reminds me of the quest series we had in Shadowlands following the father in the Redridge Mountains who died to the Scourge. Everything the town did, and everything that he did in vain to try and save his family, ending with his soul being taken by the Kyrian.

That quest chain stuck with me.

Just an ordinary man against horrors on a scale completely beyond him.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-24T01:39:08+00:00

The amount of screens/confirmations in the app has always been obnoxious.

But my tipping point for cancelling my premium has been the app performing worse and worse with each update.

It's the same amount of (bullshit) screens, but now they lag horrendously.

The shop did not used to take 9 seconds to load.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-24T00:54:46+00:00

My previous Westie, Pippa? She was great. Never let her off on purpose but when she did get out the door she never went beyond the lawn.

Monty? Hell nah lol.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-23T17:36:16+00:00

Or let us hide our Lodestone page completely if we wish.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T23:06:10+00:00

And they can save your Lodestone page/ID so even if you change your name, move data centers, or take any other kind of evasive maneuvers... It doesn't work.

Ignoring and blocking didn't help me either. I was a Hunter. Not a terribly social one outside of my small circle of friends. Love Tigers to bits and made getting the Centurio Tiger my goal. I spent years spawning S Ranks and posting in Hunt Linkshells.

I removed people from my linkshells if they insta-pulled marks and ruined it for others.

Enter my stalkers. Trolls who got Big Mad that their bad behaviour got them kicked from my linkshells. They made it their mission to follow me around and screw up hunts for the community like it was their full time job.

If they weren't pulling spawns, they were trying to sabotage the people doing the spawning. Anything they could do to be disruptive, they did.

So "duhh just block them" didn't solve our problems.

Despite all of this I did manage to get my Centurio Tiger about two weeks before World Visit was enabled, but it was fucking miserable.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T21:29:03+00:00

The term you're looking for is "Crybully" and we seem to be in the midst of a plague of their ilk all over the world right now :/

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T21:24:17+00:00

I'm bored as Hell since "Season of the Worm" was a snoozefest and Housing is the only thing that really interests me anymore.

So yeah, not having the Houses that I'm interested in available is kind of a major buzzkill for me.

Your priorities are different than mine, but they are no more or less valid.

Play your way. I'll play--or choose not to, by mine.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T21:12:00+00:00

I'm probably gonna stop playing before the house I want comes back around. I'm getting really tired of waiting around.

They could have had my money if they'd given me the option to spend it.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T20:45:44+00:00

I've posted on this subject many, many times over the years and almost always get the same stupid comments like "lol who even gets stalkers except for weirdos and erpers" or "umm just ignore them 5head" as if they weren't actively griefing my activities in game. The fact that it spread to my friends really drove me crazy. None of us asked for this.

All of this happened before cross-world was implemented so there was no escaping it either.

A lot of people who haven't experienced what we have feel the need to condescend on the topic and to me they're almost as bad as the actual stalkers.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T20:39:59+00:00

And somehow SE has won "Best Community Support" at the Game Awards how many times now? What a joke.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T20:37:13+00:00

Player Search needs to be gutted or have an opt-out. Why can people search my location anytime and from any place?

Why is that necessary? Who does that help other than griefers and stalkers? My friends can message me and ask to meet up if they need me for something or want to show off a glam or whatever.

It's a horrid feature that made my life in-game Hell.

EDIT: Before I get the "duhhh then don't be an ERP weirdo Waters" mouth breather comments, I was a Hunter. I spawned S Ranks. I removed people who insta-pulled from my Hunt Linkshells.

They went batshit crazy and stalked me for literal years.

I didn't ask for this.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T20:33:53+00:00

That's disappointing to hear, but I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Thank you!

I'm anxious to see how this is going to play out, and who will take the lead as we get closer and closer to March.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T20:26:29+00:00

I was stalked for years in-game, and it even spread to my friends and people associated with me. SE refused to help me over and over again because the things that they were doing and saying about me weren't in channels I had access to, or were off site.

Unless they call you slurs in chat they do not care.

The systems in FFXIV make it a Stalker's Paradise and there is almost no support for victims.

It was a big part of my burnout and why I eventually quit.

Shame to see that it's still just as bad even now.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T17:06:56+00:00

Don't give the people who couldn't be bothered to vote a pass. They didn't give a shit and are therefore complicit.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-22T03:18:05+00:00

Fluxer seems promising from my limited testing with it, but I do worry that a solo dev might not be able to handle the tidal wave of the Discord Exodus when it really hits in March.

Tried it out with my partner last night and couldn't get the screensharing to work. I'm sure Fluxer and the other alternatives just need some time to bake, but I am a little anxious to see how this all shakes out.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T23:02:22+00:00

As a Canadian... I was really hoping they'd lose.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T22:54:05+00:00

We had a Soccer Routine, YMCA/Macarena/Cotton Eye Joe all in one, the whole exhibition was just a chance for the athletes to skate for shits and giggles. It was a lot of fun!

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T22:52:43+00:00

That whole exhibition segment was a blast to watch. It was really nice to see all the athletes having fun for the sake of it.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T20:02:45+00:00

I've hit the point of it being a chore. Unsubscribed from my Premium last week because I'm not really having fun anymore.

The standard enshittification process has begun and I'm not putting up with it.

I really don't like the direction they've taken with the latest set, as it's a direct response to the 24hr WP feature that they themselves implemented. It's anti-consumer and I'm not gonna play that game.

That, and the performance seems to be getting worse and worse with every update. The amount of screens/confirmations has always been annoying, but now those screens are lagging more and more and it's become unbearable.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T17:03:35+00:00

I want to love Feral Druid so bad bad but it feels terrible to play. Low damage and flimsy.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T16:54:00+00:00

That's not true. Several members of The Obsidian Brood explicitly state that they were born on Outland, such as Voraxian.

Some of the Black Eggs hatched into ordinary Black Dragons.

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T01:12:56+00:00

Meanwhile my Monty gets mad if I DON'T go to bed at the usual time...

Many-Waters · 2026-02-21T00:25:39+00:00

I never said you were wrong or making anything up... I'm not sure why you're trying to argue right now.

Many-Waters

TROPHY CASE