The Importance of Search Comments

Category:Featured ArticlesCategory:Guides
Search comments are an often-overlooked feature that allow you to give important information to people who are searching for you. Whether you're looking for a party, mission, or trying to buy, sell or synthesize and item, this tool can help you communicate with other players.
Comments can also increase the rate at which you receive party invites, as the extra information you display may give people searching for members the information they want right on hand. By setting a search comment, anyone who searches for you, and selects your name, will be shown a message containing up to three lines of text. When your name appears in a search list with a comment, a colored dot appears next to your name which defines the type of search comment it is. By default this color is green, which indicates a comment regarding Exp Parties.	
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==Why Should I Use a Search Comment?==
Recent polls of both the English-speaking and Japanese-speaking community show that the Japanese use the Search comment feature much more often than we do. From their responses, it shows they think that search comments are vital to show how willing you are to party, and what information you can give to help the party along. It is disappointing that many in the English-speaking community either do not know about this feature, choose not to use it, or ignore this helpful information when you do use it. It shows consideration for your fellow potential party members that you're ready and prepared to join a party.
==Adding a Comment==
This will open a small text box (above) where you can enter three lines of text. What information you add is entirely up to you, but there are certain standards as to what information is useful, depending on what purpose you set your Comment up for. Important: If you don't mind parties with non-English speakers, be sure to include as much of your message in Auto-Translate as possible. This can open up the possibility of even more party invites, especially during North American off-peak hours of play. Be careful not to overuse this as comment space is extremely limited.
===EXP Party===
When searching for an EXP Party, you can expect a couple things to be important enough to mention.
#TNL: How much exp do you need to gain to hit next level? This is especially important if you are the level sync designee, because once you level, the entire party levels and this can shift the amount of EXP gained from the mobs you're fighting.
#Mobility: How easy is it for you to get around? Do you have access to Outpost Teleportation? Can you get to Aht Urhgan, teleport to the past, get to Lufaise Meadows? This can be a deal breaker if someone is forming a party to go to an exclusive area.
#Time: Do you want to party for 2 hours, or all night long?
#Level Sync: Do you want to accept parties for level sync? What level are you willing to sync to? Do you want to be designee only? Willingness to Level Sync can lead to more party invites, but be careful of gimping your combat and magic skills by ignoring parties of your own level.
#Sub Jobs: Do you have multiple sub job options available to your party? Your flexibility in this area could help.
#Moblin Maze Mongers: Are you available for MMM parties? If so, are you able to use your tabula?
Obviously, this is a lot of information to include in only three lines, so you have to be very concise when adding your message. Just be aware of what a party of you level might want to do, and you can tailor your message appropriately. If you're level 55+, mentioning that you have Aht Urhgan access is important. If you're a melee damage dealer, mentioning that you have /WAR, /SAM and /NIN as potential subjobs could be useful. Just use your judgment as to which bits of information are most useful.
===Mission/Quest===
Are you stuck on Promies? Need Bastok Mission 8-2? Do you need help completing a quest? These are some helpful bits of info that you should include.
#Which Mission/Quest: The most important bit of info. What's the name (or number) of the mission/quest that you need?
#Jobs: What jobs do you have at the appropriate level for this mission/quest?
#LFG: What jobs/role do you need to accompany you?
===Battlefield===
While you might not advertise for just anyone, you might want to complete certain battlefields. 
#Name and Location: What's the name of the battlefield and where is it located?
#Items: Do you have the item required to enter/initiate this battle? This also lets prospective party members know what item they will need.
#Jobs: What jobs do you have at the appropriate level for this mission/quest?
#Rewards: How would you like to distribute loot? Your-Item-Your-Drop? Sell and split?
===Item===
Looking for a rare item, but there are none on the Auction House? Do you have an item that you need to sell? Throw this message up and maybe you'll get lucky.
#Item: What's the name of the item?
#Price: How much do you want to buy/sell this item for?
#Negotiation: Are you willing to negotiate price?
===Synthesis===
Have you farmed some ingredients and need someone to craft an item for you? Perhaps you have all the items to make a Hakutaku Eye Cluster, but no one to synth it for you. Let people know you need some help.
#Item: What item do you need synthesized?
#Key Items: Does your item require a crafter to have a crafting tool key item? If so, which one?
#Materials: Do you have all the materials needed?
#Reward: Are you willing to reward a crafter (substantially) for taking the time to help you. You will find that crafters are more likely to help if you're willing to pay them for their skill.
===Other===
There is no set format for the Other category. You can use this for whatever you want. 
#Show people your merits/accomplishments. 
#Put up an away message. 
#Seek for multiple jobs.
#Put up your favorite poem.
#Pimp your moogle.
#Put up an open invitation to show off your moghouse.
==Macros==
Every time you log in (this includes if you disconnect or switch characters), your search comment is reset. It can be frustrating to have to retype the same info over again, especially if you use the same info all the time. Luckily, SE provided us with a way to enter your comments using macros. Using the /seacom macro, you can define and set a search comment in your macro palette to be used over and over again. You can set up your macro like so:
/seacom 1 "First line"
/seacom 2 "Second line"
/seacom 3 "Third line"
This automatically puts this comment into the EXP Party > Seek Party category. If you want the message to appear in a different category, add a /seacomup command after your last line. Visit the /seacomup article for further information on how to use this.
/seacom 1 "First line"
/seacom 2 "Second line"
/seacom 3 "Third line"
/seacomup "mission" 1