Alone on Gaia: A discussion of bittersweet goodbyes

[Bacardi Dreams]

Took a long hiatus from the game and came back to find that almost none of my friends still log in. Recent friends are just part of my goal to get the Ultimate Player achievement but I don't really know them like I did with some past friends. So much has changed and I feel like I only remain just out of nostalgia.

Still enjoyable from time to time but if course it's the community that makes it what it is. Anyways, it has been fun hopefully will continue to be at least for the near future.

[Mimi Sparda]

I've been on here since 07,my rl friends got me into it and the haven't logged in for years.
They stopped talking to me years ago after a falling out happened with my older sister,not going into details but I'm still here.
I feel sad that we no longer stay in contact or why I'm still here.
Maybe it was because when I was going through a rough time this was my favorite site to go on to escape my problems.
I've felt like quitting but I don't know any other website that is like Gaia in a way.
I got into Gaia when I was 13,now I'm going to be 22 this year,I want to move on but I don't know what to do yet.
I mainly log in to collect art now. :<

[Ridley Starsmore]

Man...I have been here 10 years now and have had friends come and go. It is never fun when they disappear...

But I tell you all this...if any of you all want a friend on your list that will be here till the end of Gaia, or just wanna pm someone to talk to, my door is always open. 3nodding

[WhipWhip]

I've been here for... um... a bit over 6 years. That's a long time really. The only really good friends I've made here are still here. I do not make friends very easily though, so I feel the sting a lot less I suppose.

I relish the people I see, their opinions and ideas, even if they don't know I exist or we don't speak, I am on Gaia because I enjoy that part of it. The people watching idea amalgamation ^_^

Some of the reason people I know have left were due to getting sick of the place or wanting to focus on other things, but many are still here, finding their own ways to enjoy the place.

Having said that, yes. I often feel alone here. I don't easily get close to people, so I find I'm the person who contributes to the conversation but spends a lot of time observing others, without truly engaging on a personal level.

That's not by choice, purely circumstance. I'm an odd one, so friendship with me tends to be a bit exhausting, I think.

[Sukegawa]

i've been on gaia since 2004 but yet, i've never really had friends on here
i mean, theres been people i've chatted with, roleplayed with, added to friendslist, pm'ed for long intervals etc.
but i've never really been friends, because there comes a point where we just stop talking
really, i class friends on gaia as 'friends of convenience'
they're there for a short time, then once the usefulness is used up, they move on
:c

[KawaiiKracken]

I've been here since 2006, since then all of my friends have left. It's been for various reasons such as the creation of the cash shop, lack of interest in the site, or just feeling like they're too grown up to be on gaia any longer. I have 0 friends on gaia so yes, I feel alone.

[Monochrome Potato]

i started here in 2010 since i kept that welcome letter so ik when i started XD then got bored and went back at feb 2013 well back then i didnt socialize much with people until coming back on that long hiatus like state that's where i met great people now that i can call real friends since irl i have nearly none XD but yeh i dont feel that much depressed since i didnt lost any friends so far.

[xx I met my fate xx]

Wow, thank you all for your amazing comments, stories, and contributions. It's amazing to know that I'm not all alone here.

The friends I've loved and lost on this site are many but I know that I can make new ones. Maybe I'm a bit afraid because even the newest friend I've made is leaving now. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm going to be on Gaia until the ship sinks. I love this site and it means a lot to me, at least enough to log in for a few minutes or more every day.

[Zef]

How long have you been on Gaia?
Been here since 2007.

Have you had friends leave?
Yeah. vast majority of them left around 2009.

Why have they left?
Personal issues/probably college.

How many of your Gaian friends are still on the site now?
A small few, but I'm making new friends staff and non staff members, which has been a nice turnaround.

Do you ever feel like you're alone here?
A lot actually, but then I just try to make conversation with random users either in CB or any other forum.

I can't stay stuck in the past. If a friend leaves without notice, yes it's sad. If a friend does say goodbye, try to get some sort of other type of communication outside of Gaia. In the meantime, I try to make new friends here so I won't be stuck without anyone to talk to and just meet the awesome people that browse here.

If you want a friend to talk to, that will most likely be here until the end, you can chat with me if you want. blaugh

[x Karurie x]

How long have you been on Gaia? :: I've been here since '06.

Have you had friends leave? :: Yes, unfortunately. Other friends I have just aren't as active anymore, for the same reason as those who have left completely.

Why have they left? :: Gaia's continuous Cash pushes and lack of creating fun experiences. Everything is so high priced in the marketplace that it's nearly impossible to create a great avatar. The forums are so full of disgruntled people and common place topics that it's difficult to find a fun place to hang out in.

How many of your Gaian friends are still on the site now? :: A handful. I should really clean out my friend list, take out those who aren't active anymore. I just can't bring myself to do it. ; ~;

Do you ever feel like you're alone here? :: Sure. I mean, I'm not popular with any specific group or person. I'm not known for any sort of artistic abilities or amazing thread making. I'm just your average user who likes to lurk around. Occasionally I'll post my thoughts on a given topic.
Mainly though, I just blend with the background. = 3=

[Pengaana]

I've been here since 2004 and in that time I've seen people come and go
but it wasn't till a few years ago during the Gaia Masquerade that I met people
We started a little hangout afterwards called Masquerade: The Permanent Afterparty in 2009
They were the people I talked to on a regular basis even more than my RL friends

Because of the poor management of the site they've left Gaia
Now I'm lucky that we had another avatar site we all migrated to
We're all on KofK now so I'm happy I can still talk to them there
but here on Gaia, it's just really me now, I know they pop in from time to time
and we still talk about the junk happening here occasionally on the other site

[Persnicketease]

Most if not all of my friend's list never logs on anymore. So I guess to say none of my friends come around anymore. Do I feel lonely? No. I enjoy having striking up friendly conversations and have fun talking to new people. I don't mind not having my friends here considering we chat almost everywhere else. If I need to talk to them I just go onto one of the many other websites we're both on. So yeah, no biggie for me.

[amulet_ruby]

I am usually a bit of a lurker so I dont have it very easy to get friends on gaia, I think it got even harder after most of my first internet friends drifted away from me due to school and such. I don't really mind though since I only like to play around with my avatar...but it do get a bit lonely though when I make a nice avi that I want to show of.

[Picklocks]

I've been on Gaia since September '06, almost eight years now. I originally joined with a group of my middle school friends and we'd primarily hang out in the roleplay forums and recreationally write together. Each of them would hover and come back every now and then when we'd start a new thread, but I was really the only active one. None of them made the kinds of online friends that I did and they all abandoned it eventually.

I, however, over the years have been part of several different cosplay groups, either in forums or on Towns. I've held onto one or two friends from each group by adding them on other sites and talking to them on instant messengers. I used to be a part of such big, active groups that the members would overlap - those were the best days. The past year or two is when everything really went down hill, with most people disappearing either out of boredom or real life issues. I'm pretty sure the gold generators sealed the fate of most of the ones that were left.

Right now there are a couple of mid/close friends left but I don't think it will ever be like it was before. For each of the friendships that evolved to talking everyday/every other day on Skype and playing games regularly on Steam, I'm pretty sure ten others faded away. I'm very thankful for the ones I've gotten to know like siblings.

I don't feel totally alone, but when you only see four friends online and maybe one or two of them are people you actually want to talk to, it makes you feel a little reserved about getting older, hahah.

[Ardee01]

I've been here since '09 and I never had any close friends here unlike I do on other sites. Most of the friends on my friends list are just people I added in zOMG! during the Easter and Halloween events before. I don't feel alone though. In fact I'm quite okay with it. Nowadays I'm just okay with changing my avatar's outfit everyday and nothing else. I just don't see where I would hang out here honestly. cat_3nodding