I joined right before the SIN vs BOO event, so my noob days were the best my introduction to Gaia was Zomg invaded be Nightfrights, Vampires, and Werewolves and two demi gods duking it out.
It was amazing to me how in Zomg the BOO/SIN members got along fairly well (excluding some die hard players) and the whole event was a blast. VH was still going strong, they introduced the limo and I had one of the WORST avatars ever to grace gaia in all of noobdom but I also had no qualms about defending it because to me it was great.
I very quickly got better items and learned to arrange my avatar better, I had a group of people who talked to me and we hung out in VH and Zomged together..now I don't know it feels like the joy that Gaia was is dying in comparison to those times and I feel like well people are just noticing what I saw beginning back in 2011..