Dear Gaia and Gaia Community

[Vyrelost]

What is this, a disney movie?? Great speech, very touching and all but still...nope.

[Trundlebug]

It's posts like this that remind me why I'm here and make me feel like a Gaian again. ^u^

Sometimes I feel like I get too wrapped up in all the consumerism, and that makes me unhappy. But reading things like this make me remember why I log on here every day and continue doing things for the community. I need to "get out" and read more often. emotion_kirakira

Anyway, warm fuzzies all around. Thank you for this post.

[Ichigari Taru]

Trundlebug

It's posts like this that remind me why I'm here and make me feel like a Gaian again. ^u^

Sometimes I feel like I get too wrapped up in all the consumerism, and that makes me unhappy. But reading things like this make me remember why I log on here every day and continue doing things for the community. I need to "get out" and read more often. emotion_kirakira

Anyway, warm fuzzies all around. Thank you for this post.

You are very welcone :3

[Ichigari Taru]

Sebikaku

No. I don't believe that Gaia is pushing these constant sales of shinies for "necessity." What exactly are they upkeeping? zOMG isn't functioning anymore so they don't need the servers right? The forums would need bandwidth too but with the drop of general members signing that doesn't seem to justify their financial tactics either. Even if they really did need financial support this isn't the way to do it. Other MMOs and avatar sites don't charge nearly as much as Gaia does. I mean, even Steam lets you have games below the $20 mark. What makes you think Gaia has the right to sell a 7-posed pixel for $15? What makes you think Gaia has the right to price anything they sell for $2,500???

The userbase has changed because Gaia's mindset has changed. This place has become utterly materialistic and capitalist in every way. New games like Switchem, Stack Attack, Word Blitz, and SmashBlox all have monetization features in the form of powerups (which you need to even get through the uppermost parts of the game) and tournaments (which you partake in for the latter three, but this can be amended as there are tournaments you can enter for 0g). I remember when Lanzer used to jokingly say "Geez guys, is gold all you care about?" Kind of ironic since I heard that he recently left or something.

All in all, this site has become increasingly consumerist because the site is pushing consumerist ideals. When was the last time created a feature just for pure entertainment? No catch? No money-making? Heck, even a majority of the events this year needed some of form of "kickstarter" to "combat inflation." Inflation that was caused by the consumerist machine in the first place.

My point: Gaians have become increasingly consumerist because the ideals of the upper management have become increasingly consumerist.

I cant and wont argue with any point youve made.
In fact i whole heartedly agree.
However i cant believe that all gaia cares about (aleast as a whole) is greed and sales.
Yes the whole sites focus has become consumerist.
Those that didnt wish the site to head in that direction have left. Or stayed out of fear of losing their jobs and simply have stayed silent for the same fears.
But either point is moot and not the focus.of what im saying
Yes gaia is full of strife and unforgivably greed behavior.
But then why do we stay?
How do we cope if not to ignore it and carry on doing what we do anyways? Complain as we might?
While some people (hopefully not to many) buy everything gaia dishes out most of us make a point not to. (which is one of my points in why gaia does push so much on us, bribing us with shinies)

So we all who still attend, dont buy, and remember gaia in much better days are improving our own experience with gaia as best we can and ignoring the pandering because it does nothing for us.
In a way our being here still is a form of rebellion or protest against this capitolist harassment.

[Temporal Precedence]

I saw X-Mas Snow Boots from 2006 in the marketplace selling for over 70,000,000. I currently found several gift boxes and have 109,347,556 in currency, but have no idea how to spend a damn penny, since newer items are now more expensive than older items, and items just as ridiculously weak as X-Mas Snow Boots from 2006 are suddenly the Holy Grail.

Every time I log onto Gaia, there is at LEAST one announcement. I'm starting to wonder if they happen consistently by the minute, or by the hour? I don't know how many times I had to repeatedly just click through the announcements to get through them. They happen so often that I just don't care.

I've given up on using Gaia as anything other than a means of roleplay and chat. The items mean nothing now. I will never spend another dime to this website, ever.

[Ichigari Taru]

Temporal Precedence

I saw X-Mas Snow Boots from 2006 in the marketplace selling for over 70,000,000. I currently found several gift boxes and have 109,347,556 in currency, but have no idea how to spend a damn penny, since newer items are now more expensive than older items, and items just as ridiculously weak as X-Mas Snow Boots from 2006 are suddenly the Holy Grail.

Every time I log onto Gaia, there is at LEAST one announcement. I'm starting to wonder if they happen consistently by the minute, or by the hour? I don't know how many times I had to repeatedly just click through the announcements to get through them. They happen so often that I just don't care.

I've given up on using Gaia as anything other than a means of roleplay and chat. The items mean nothing now. I will never spend another dime to this website, ever.

Agreed.
However on the flipside of that its much easier to get alot of items that once would have been expensive and now are nothing but chump change. As far as gold is concerned anyways.

[ganja pudding]

I too miss the old Gaia

[SharkxAngel]

I so agree with this completely and I know what you're saying. I was here years ago in the beginning. I experienced Gaia at it's absolute greatest. That's why I'm disappointed to a degree now.I'm making the best of it with all wonderful people on this site and I'm far from the only one who has returned. When I posted about my return, so many popped up through private message and forums sharing their return story. We all have to be the ones in the community to bringing it back to it's greatness by enjoying the forums and the guilds and towns to it's fullest. The point of Gaia is community. We connect in our shared love of anime and manga's and fantasy, and we make relationships and friends. I've been back for about a week now and it's already back to being a second home. I'm glad to be back and I hope that so many will take your well written post to heart. Rather than whining and complaining.

[Ichigari Taru]

SharkxAngel

I so agree with this completely and I know what you're saying. I was here years ago in the beginning. I experienced Gaia at it's absolute greatest. That's why I'm disappointed to a degree now.I'm making the best of it with all wonderful people on this site and I'm far from the only one who has returned. When I posted about my return, so many popped up through private message and forums sharing their return story. We all have to be the ones in the community to bringing it back to it's greatness by enjoying the forums and the guilds and towns to it's fullest. The point of Gaia is community. We connect in our shared love of anime and manga's and fantasy, and we make relationships and friends. I've been back for about a week now and it's already back to being a second home. I'm glad to be back and I hope that so many will take your well written post to heart. Rather than whining and complaining.

Thank you kindly shark lady. You are a credit to the Shark nation biggrin
(I like sharks)

[Ichigari Taru]

ganja pudding

I too miss the old Gaia

Its still here. Buried deep beneath the ice and the cold.
Where its warmth is less often noticed.

[SharkxAngel]

Ichigari Taru

SharkxAngel

I so agree with this completely and I know what you're saying. I was here years ago in the beginning. I experienced Gaia at it's absolute greatest. That's why I'm disappointed to a degree now.I'm making the best of it with all wonderful people on this site and I'm far from the only one who has returned. When I posted about my return, so many popped up through private message and forums sharing their return story. We all have to be the ones in the community to bringing it back to it's greatness by enjoying the forums and the guilds and towns to it's fullest. The point of Gaia is community. We connect in our shared love of anime and manga's and fantasy, and we make relationships and friends. I've been back for about a week now and it's already back to being a second home. I'm glad to be back and I hope that so many will take your well written post to heart. Rather than whining and complaining.

Thank you kindly shark lady. You are a credit to the Shark nation biggrin
(I like sharks)

Very cool! I love sharks (obviously) and I'm glad you do too. They are great creatures that are just misunderstood and demonized. Yes, this tribute is from the heart. We who have been here can relate, but we don't have to let "old gaia" be a memory. Let's bring it back!

[Ichigari Taru]

Vyrelost

What is this, a disney movie?? Great speech, very touching and all but still...nope.

Nothing wrong with it being a Disney movie.

[Ichigari Taru]

SharkxAngel

Ichigari Taru

SharkxAngel

I so agree with this completely and I know what you're saying. I was here years ago in the beginning. I experienced Gaia at it's absolute greatest. That's why I'm disappointed to a degree now.I'm making the best of it with all wonderful people on this site and I'm far from the only one who has returned. When I posted about my return, so many popped up through private message and forums sharing their return story. We all have to be the ones in the community to bringing it back to it's greatness by enjoying the forums and the guilds and towns to it's fullest. The point of Gaia is community. We connect in our shared love of anime and manga's and fantasy, and we make relationships and friends. I've been back for about a week now and it's already back to being a second home. I'm glad to be back and I hope that so many will take your well written post to heart. Rather than whining and complaining.

Thank you kindly shark lady. You are a credit to the Shark nation biggrin
(I like sharks)

Very cool! I love sharks (obviously) and I'm glad you do too. They are great creatures that are just misunderstood and demonized. Yes, this tribute is from the heart. We who have been here can relate, but we don't have to let "old gaia" be a memory. Let's bring it back!

That is indeed the spirit we need!
I see sharks as the wolves of the sea. Just a bit hungrier in some respects. So perhaps more like the werewolves of the sea.
And i happen to like werewolves as well.

[TheyCalledHimWoody]

Never Give up. Never Surrender.
More or less.

[MochiPuchiko]

I'm a member from 2004, and it's INSANE how much Gaia has changed!!

I remember when my goal was to try and make 1k a day to save up for Nitemare Minis, but now all I have to do is sell one item and I have BILLIONS to buy them with! lol

It's kind of pathetic that just anyone can make that much gold and buy all of these old, rare items. But wait, they AREN'T rare anymore! Didn't they create some kind of thing where ANYONE can get these old donation items? -__-

.....Oh. My Gosh. There are 10 listings for the Angelic Halo in the MP. THE FIRST DONATION LETTER ITEM IS NO LONGER FOR THE FIRST GAIANS WHO JOINED IN 2003. THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED BUILD AND KEEP THE SITE GOING ARE NOT SPECIAL.

NOT TO MENTION, there's now a TON of different named halos that look the same! An old rule of Gaia was to not recolor their unique pixel items and present it as a new item. But now there are all these nitemare and angelic recolors/redesigns. sad Lanzer gave up Gaia to a bunch of people who only care about money. >.<