[Gaians Against Corporate] - Now with 80% more Dev opinion!

All those unhappy with the corporate style Gaia, please let the CEO know.

Dear CEO and all others at GHQ in power: I am unhappy with the way Gaia has been. Please read on to fully understand.	74.5%	[ 1086 ]
Dear CEO and all others at GHQ in power: I am one of the people who doesn't care either way.	25.5%	[ 372 ]
Total Votes:			[ 1458 ]

[Tsirris]

Cid High-Wind

Tsirris

Wow. I imagine it would be difficult for one's job to go through so many changes.

I do feel bad for Lanzer. Gaia's gotten so big and it really does keep coming back to money. I don't know how possible it is for something like Gaia to retain its original goals, though.

They're at a point where they are so far into what has been going on, they don't have much of a choice about where else to go.

They dug themselves into this hole and it just got deeper and deeper. Having some opinions from the other side would help.

I agree; the hole is looking pretty deep. Maybe at the next Ask the Admin or in Site Feedback we could organize some questions and opinions. I'll be on the lookout for Arrowchan's thread.

About the Black Skull Pin that was mentioned...is that part of a community project?

[Baldr]

foobarbazquux

The board cares about the bottom line, which is income and number of users.

I thought this was the case all along.

For all you 'McSourface LOLOLOL' people out there, kindly shut the ******** up, because you've just been served a great big helping of THE TRUTH.

The guys at the top end of gaia now are here for MONEY and popularity, I'm sure they're well meaning people but the bottom line is that gaia is a business now and needs to make a profit to attract investors, so on and so forth. We're losing the original community spirit of the site and all we've got now is vapid consumerism taking its place. Is that what we want?


EDIT: It's nice to hear about lanzer, it didn't seem like him to go along with the whole company line.

[Cid High-Wind]

Setsuna Lazuli

They depend on the money. Not much you can do about it. The more the beast grows, the more it eats. Got to find a way to feed it.

They need more money, thus they need more users.

More users come, but not all give money.

More resources are needed to keep those users happy, therefor more money is needed.

They try to bring in more users for more money.

Still, not all users give money, and others are unhappy because Gaia can't provide.

Users start leaving. Gaia still needs money so it tries to continue to grow.

It's an endless, harsh cycle.

[[- DB -]]

What I took from the message (among several things), is something to help gaia, for those of us who remain. It's not to just list our complaints like we always do. We sound like bitter old people or stupid children (we aren't are we? *checks walker* crap...) Nor should we just show the positives.

What we really need to do is some how show the positives and at the same time Entice the bottom-line thinkers with our understanding of what we want, and how it can benefit them as well. Play the game a little as it were. Admittedly not many people seem to have the know how to do it effectively.

But that's just my opinion, most know I'm content with sitting back and watching with a big tub of buttery buttery popcorn, and laughing at the kicking and screaming.

[Arrowchan]

Setsuna Lazuli

They depend on the money. Not much you can do about it. The more the beast grows, the more it eats. Got to find a way to feed it.

This has little to do with the point at hand. A business can make money without alienating its customers. A business can make money without lowering its standards. A business can make money without losing its character. It may not make as much money in the short term, but in the long term, it risks losing everything, including its customers. Personally I and just about everyone else I have talked to about this is only too happy for Gaia to make money. It's good for all of us when it makes money for new features and staff. However it needs to learn to pace itself on this and realise that the so-called 'free' content is what keeps people here and makes Gaia a fun place to be. It's not just about the direct bottom-line, it's about keeping people happy so they are happy to keep buying the products.

[Darkness_Nation]

I hope she stays on gaia as a common user!
But it sucks when a company becomes corporate.... everything gets better profit wise, however the human contact is slowly lost!

[stellacadente]

Jeesus, reading that makes me want to cry. She's been here as long as I have.

It's always a scary thing for an innovative business like Gaia. You grow, or you die. But growth = change, and change can be scary. Or fatal.

Someone suggested ITO. I would suggest a required one hour each day spent on the site itself. NOT SF, but in the forums, the chat rooms/games, etc... Use the site like we do.

One thing is very clear: Lots of new staffers are coming in swallowing the line that Gaia is all about teenagers, and they're not teens, so why the ******** should they understand what's going on? It's not for them. It's just a product. WHICH IS THE ABSOLUTELY MOST WRONG IDEA THEY COULD HAVE! And this is from someone getting an MBA, so I'm not some cheesehead anti-social punk, biyotches.

Why do Gaians/GCDers whine about having the plot back? Because it makes Gaia unique. It got Gaia to where it is today. Gaia isn't just a mass of pixels, or a gaming site. It's a unique, whole world that attracts a hella lot of people, not just teens.

I'm not being anti-teen, but the moment the corporate types picked and pinned down a target market was the minute their own users started smelling shenanigans. I like that most of the teens here on Gaia that I've met are the kinds who are suspicious of being some company's target market. You give me hope that the world is not gonna die just yet.

[Cube B]

Tsirris

Cid High-Wind

Tsirris

Wow. I imagine it would be difficult for one's job to go through so many changes.

I do feel bad for Lanzer. Gaia's gotten so big and it really does keep coming back to money. I don't know how possible it is for something like Gaia to retain its original goals, though.

They're at a point where they are so far into what has been going on, they don't have much of a choice about where else to go.

They dug themselves into this hole and it just got deeper and deeper. Having some opinions from the other side would help.

I agree; the hole is looking pretty deep. Maybe at the next Ask the Admin or in Site Feedback we could organize some questions and opinions. I'll be on the lookout for Arrowchan's thread.

About the Black Skull Pin that was mentioned...is that part of a community project?

Wearing the pin was a personal choice.
You can wear it if you like. I don't really care as long as you try to help Lanzer somehow. XD

[Cid High-Wind]

I need to make some kind of item represent this thread, like Cube with the black skull pin.

I would say G-Pin, but not everyone has those. Something that represents what Gaia used to be and how we can bring that back.

[Arrowchan]

Tsirris

Cid High-Wind

Tsirris

Wow. I imagine it would be difficult for one's job to go through so many changes.

I do feel bad for Lanzer. Gaia's gotten so big and it really does keep coming back to money. I don't know how possible it is for something like Gaia to retain its original goals, though.

They're at a point where they are so far into what has been going on, they don't have much of a choice about where else to go.

They dug themselves into this hole and it just got deeper and deeper. Having some opinions from the other side would help.

I agree; the hole is looking pretty deep. Maybe at the next Ask the Admin or in Site Feedback we could organize some questions and opinions. I'll be on the lookout for Arrowchan's thread.

About the Black Skull Pin that was mentioned...is that part of a community project?

Thank you. smile In the mean time a short version of my views is in this thread:

http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/site-feedback/admins-please-remember-who-your-users-are-fleep-p-7/t.39163449/

Bottom of Rev's post, and from page 7.

[BIack Death]

Damn, I never imagined everything that these guys do to run Gaia...>.>

[Yorugami]

I think they've stuck themselves in a negative feeback loop where it will just keep spiraling down the drain into Corporate AD-HEAVEN

=x= they need to realize when the earlier team-members start leaving that something may have gone wrong and well...maybe in a year or two Old Gaia will look nothing like the NEW CORPORATE money making machine called NEW GAIA.

And well...it might be good or bad.
Depends really if the NEW CROWD likes the NEW GAIA >>;

[Newzpop Reporta Tyro Bong]

Mmkay, if any of those CEO types bother reading the GCD...You guys really need to seriously look at Cid's post.
---
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

Ultimately if Gaia continues down the path it is on, Gaia itself will probably loose more customers then gain. Why? Well simply, a bulk of the Gaia populace are oldschool members, as in, they've been here for years. If you guys change things too much, these older members will inevitably leave.

How this would effect gaia:

Less members means less money for Gaia. Although you guys will never loose more than it cost to get this business afloat, you guys will have to further rely on sponsorships, which may further alienate more users and cost Gaia even MORE customers . Sure sponsorships are good and all , but make sure there's a balance between sponsorships and usual site updates. Make sure to PAY ATTENTION to other community concerns are being addressed on Gaia. If you guys don't, you'll end up having a lot less customers...which would ultimately cause:

arrow Less people to view those sponsorship quests, which help bring money to Gaia.
arrow Less people to spend on Monthly collectible items, Cash Shop cards, and Gaia store items
arrow The slow downfall of economic support of Gaia, until it gets to a point where there is no other option but to shut the site down
arrow Goodbye Gaia CEO position(s) as well for all other occupation positions....

Sure, new members would come in every day that could help replenish the numbers of users lost...but it would not be even ENOUGH to cover the ENTIRE population of Gaia if everyone left but them. Even though it is doubtful that that would occur (unless something really screwed up), you new guys need to pay more attention to the community. Talk to some of the developers and Gaia staff members that have been around for awhile, they'll probably be more than happy to tell you what this community is about and how to make that profit you all so desire.

That's about it. Good luck running Gaia.

- Tyro

[Cube B]

Cid High-Wind

I need to make some kind of item represent this thread, like Cube with the black skull pin.

I would say G-Pin, but not everyone has those. Something that represents what Gaia used to be and how we can bring that back.

Well, I'd suggest a Guy Fawkes Mask, but those are expensive. The Peasant Set Reeks of Nips, and the other pins cost a lot. The Skull pin is from 06, which was the last year before things like the Sponsor Quests, and was also one of the last years with plot interaction.
...But I mostly chose it because it's cheap.

[emergency conspiracy]

You've got a dark heart...

I am in support of this.
Cid: Maybe you should also make a list of people who are in support of this thread and someone could help you (If needed I'd be willing to) && you could choose some items that would represent the way Gaia used to be and say, "Wear one of these to show your support"

...You've got a cold kiss