Below the dotted line is a copy of a message that I felt I needed to post to the Guildwork page of a different linkshell. I believe that I can only pray that the moderator of the other LS won't kick me for what happened that made the writing below necessary.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-–

To the best of my knowledge, medical science says that as we grow older, the brain becomes less & less flexible. Again, to the best of my knowledge, this loss of mental flexibility makes all facets of learning & education more and more difficult.

Being that I'm 43, I see myself as a man from a different culture. (Old man trying to play a young man's game?) Today's world is an entire universe of difference form the 1970's & 1980's (my culture). I don't have a Facebook account, I don't use Twitter or Instagram. Social media just isn't my thing - it's not a part of my culture. I didn't grow up with these things. They all new to me but old hat to most of you.

I understand that the combination of my learning disabilities and the fact that I don't tweet every day, makes me *not* one of FFXI's best linkshell members. However, I hope people will not consider me unsociable. I can assure everybody here that I get out of bed every morning and truly do make an effort to be the best human being I can possibly be. With the way some people in this world act, it isn't always easy, but I will assure you that I don't stop trying.

For quite a while now, I've been wondering if being 43 makes me too inflexible to successfully to acquire both the technical and tactical savvy that's required to play an on-line game like Final Fantasy XI. I can log into the game, and navigate the menus to do what I want. However, I know that's only a tiny fraction of what I need to be a proficient, high-level player. To be blunt: I don't know if I can get myself into the mindset of younger, high-level players. However, I want to assure everybody that I am trying.

To the best of my understanding, the bulk of high-level players are people can be as much 25 years my junior. Final Fantasy is now 11 years old and I only started playing on March 1st, 2013. I hope people here would understand that I'm years behind, not only in the game, but in the culture. I was never a very big video gamer. I didn't grow up with all the original Final Fantasy's prior to 11. My thing was Atari 2600, Mattell Intellivision and ColecoVisoin. By the time more modern systems came out like home version of Neo-Geo, I was already working for Grumman Aerospace and just didn't have the time to play video games.

Did I make major blunder by being a non-gamer that jumped blindly into Final Fantasy without knowing exactly what I was getting into? Yes - absolutely, it was a major mistake. However, I assure everybody that I working hard to get myself up to speed while still balancing my 13 year-old & 73 year-old mother… I'm only asking for a bit of patience, tolerance & understanding. Am I asking for too much?

Best wishes & warmest regards,
William N. - Long Island, New York
"Billnes"

Before answering about it i have few questions:
1) What happened on the other ls?
2) Why are you sharing this?

Anyway i don't think you made a major mistake by joining FFXI. The game itself isn't really easy to fully understand even for more younger or experienced players. A lot of people thinks they get it already but they just see the tip of the iceberg and don't realize the complex mechanics that builds the game and what else is in store for them to enjoy on higher level end game. If sometimes you feel a bit out of place don't worry, when you just started an online game it's common to feel that way. My only advice is to keep an open mind, read a lot and ask for advice if you are not sure about something (be careful to ask to the right people), you will end up being the one giving out advices sooner or later ;)
If you need any help or directions let me know here or in game.