Official FFXIV forums are live

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/619-English-Forums

These replace the Beta forums going forward.  (With 'free' beta behind us maybe these will be more civil.  A girl can dream, right?)

I think you have to complete your code registration before you can use the new forums.  After you login, you'll be asked to select your main character and forum name.  HINT: click the star on your character's portrait.  (I'd rather not say how long it took me to figure that out!)  After a few minutes, your character details will start showing up in posts, including a portrait of your actual toon wearing the last gear you equipped for your main job.

Unbelievably, I got the forum name "Shmi".  I know Lakshmi isn't a common name in English speaking places, but the are many millions of Lakshmi's elsewhere in the world.   I think this is the first time ever I've scored "Shmi" on a website.

I found a feature plan for the new forums here, and now I'm much more hopeful about it's prospects for civility!  There are pretty strict limits on the number of threads and posts you can make, tied to the level character you choose to post as.  The most liberal posting privileges are for level 50s, who will probably care more about their reputation than a level 1 alt.  But even 50s won't be able to post often enough to can't spend all day long trolling -- yay!

• No login required to read/browse
• Any level in to post to Tech Support, Bug Reports, New Player Help or Community Events (login required)
• Minimum character level to post to an existing thread: 15 (login required)
• Minimum character level to start a thread: 25 (login required)

Thanks for the tip. I was able to snag Charlatan so I'm happy.

Hex and Hexy were gone, but I got Hexything, yay!

Also, remember to click Save Changes after you click the star to select your main toon.  I know, that's obvious, right?  Not for me, apparently.  >.>

Silly thing is it shows the head piece even if in game you hide it.  My kitty has a silly hat on.  LOL!  Shmi's hood looks better.

It wouldn't be a proper MMORPG without hideous hats.  ;)  That's like a design requirement to be allowed internet access.

lol, ain't taht the truth sekk :)

Foum name is SorenShepard if anyone is lookin for me, not that I'll be forum lurking if it ends up being as bad as the beta boards were.