Chapter 0: Origins

The idea to name the Company StrawHats originated from three major factors. The most obvious being the majority of us enjoy Japanese Animation, now on a less frequent basis. The name derives from the show One Piece; the premise of which is the adventure of a boy as he assembles his crew to become the pirate king and find the mysterious treasure One Piece. This name fit as information about Final Fantasy XIV began to leak out and it was quite clear that there will be a strong pirate theme. Furthermore we were all set on the possibility of having our own ship which we have named "The Flying Pussyfoot" (also an anime reference for those who pick up on it).

The original founders of the crew; Henry Paradiz, Edward Finnigan, Oleg Danichenko, and me Michael Kofman grew up in various parts of Philadelphia. We all become close friends as each of us progressed to the end game of Final Fantasy XI. It was quite clear at that point that our own linkshell was an inevitability. I (Michael Kofman) officially picked up the torch on February, 2010.

During the recession of the MMO, we attained a variety of Computer Science degrees, ranging from Game Development, Computer Animation, and Information Technology. We maintain our own servers, perform our own data mining, and build pc tools that will give this guild the edge of transparency and community. In the meantime you can find us on skype, forums, and Ventrillo. These are only the first few steps towards a long journey. Our intention is to document the history of this guild in its entirety right here on this site.

Cheers,
The Captain