Ever wondered what the various POL errors mean?Follow

Much like the hidden crafting HQ code, the POL error codes are also a mysterious enigma. However, I am proud to announce that the code has been cracked.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

The POL error code generation equation.

The equation itself is fairly simple. It consists of 3 variables.

POL | NUMBER | EXPLANATION

POL

POL is a constant at this point, as it always appears before the error number. This could change in the future, but for right now it's the only value that SE uses.

NUMBER

NUMBER is a randomly generated selection from a string table of numbers, with each set containing a series of 3-4 numbers. Familiar ones are 0011, 0206, 1160, and a myriad of others. Depending on your luck, you may receive one of the more obscure error numbers.

EXPLANATION

EXPLANATION is also generated from a string table of common technical terms that can be assembled to form messages relating to why SE cannot deliver service to you. A partial list of string table entries are displayed here:

"Network is busy or there are connection problems."

"The server may be experiencing problems."

"Please try again later or verify that cables, networking devices, and network settings are properly configured."

From strings such as these, they can then run the algorithm that generates random meaningless messages to confuse the user and convince them via technologically phrased explanations that they are either not at fault, or are working on the problem.

Examples:

POL-1160
Network is busy or there are connection problems. The server may be experiencing problems.

POL-455
The server may be experiencing problems. Please try again later or verify that cables, networking devices, and network settings are properly configured.

POL-666
Japan is currently being attacked by Mothra, and all internet connectivity is currently experiencing problems. Please try again later or verify that cables, networking devices, and network settings are properly configured.

You can confirm that these messages are randomly created by repeated attempts to log in to POL, or in the rare case that POL actually works and FFXI doesn't, repeated attempts at logging into FFXI.

I hope now that the POL hidden code has been exposed, that people have a better understanding of exactly how useful these messages are to the end user, and can have fun trying to get the POL viewer to generate various random POL error numbers and explanations during downtime. At least this way we're still getting some use out of what SE gives us.