I've been around this big ol' internet of ours for a while now, visiting various forums and trying out a number of the MMORPG's that seem to outnumber the population of earth now.
And I have to say, maybe it's bias, but Final Fantasy XI's community is the smartest, most mature, and closest community I've seen on the web. Maybe I'm just lucky to not have run into all the jackasses out there, but I think it's more than that. Even the trolls on our sites seem to just be trolls for fun, and we love them for it lol.
I think this is probably why I've played XI with a 7-year subscription that I've never paused. It's why 90% of my logged play time is simply hanging out in my Mog House chatting with friends and linkshell members.
Yeah you get the occasional elitist prick, but it seems more people would be willing to kick out the guy with a Maat's Cap and full Empyrean +2 armor than kick out the White Mage that accidentally made a mistake who the elitist is yelling at.
After being in a bad mood the last couple of days, it really has perked me up realizing just how proud I am to be part of this game. Thanks, FFXI community!