i need people, both within my little corner of the internet and at large, to understand i cannot accept in good faith recommendations for something that the recommending person is incapable of criticizing.
this is a post about FF14 primarily but my point applies to many other things in life as well, as people do this with a lot of stuff. and i don't mean you have to recommend something along with a huge laundry list of its flaws but just accept that it has flaws at all and maybe keep those in mind along with not being allergic to just telling people when something about the thing is less than great. i can do this and always do when i talk about things i like and suggest them to people i think might like them, even sometimes to the point with some things of having to say i love this game but it's so objectively bad. i can't in good conscience suggest playing it unless you're okay with (x) (y) and (z) things about it.
(this, for example, is how i tell people about Ragnarok Online.)
i wish people had just been honest with me when telling me about so many things in FF14. everyone told me how great the housing system is but not a damn soul apparently wanted to tell me housing is an extremely limited resource only the 1% will ever get to experience. (also, it's very glitchy.) people told me about the amazing story which frankly, i don't agree most of it was anywhere near as good as anyone claimed, but also nobody wanted to tell me it would take over four hundred fucking hours to complete. everyone told me the community is so much better than in other games i've played when i constantly experience people being just as condescending, rude, and mean as in other games, just without calling you slurs since you actually get banned for that. and you can still like the game! you can still say i love this game and it's great! just oh hey, since i know you're really into decorating houses in video games be aware if you want a house you're probably not going to get one. that's all. it's that easy to both like something and also be realistic and honest with people about the thing in question.