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If statistics are to be believed, there are just under 27 million registered accounts on Gaia; that's roughly the population of Texas. Let's say half of those are bots (which I believe is being generous) that still leaves 13.5 million users (about 3 times larger than L.A and significantly larger than New York City).

Now the average mortality rate for people under the age of 65 (I'm going to assume that the majority of Gaian's aren't that old) in New York is about 17 thousand. Gaia has been around for 10 years now so it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that a large portion of Gaians are no longer alive.

This raises an interesting issue; it's a reasonably well established fact that larger, more globalized communities create desensitization among community members in the physical world. I imagine that a similar trend would exist on online communities. It seems to me that, too often, we forget that there is a living, breathing person behind the aesthetically pleasing, healthy avatars that we interact with.

The whole, Gaian's are dead' thing isn't my main point however; desensitization is. The lack of courtesy that can be observed between users is staggering. I've seen users complimented for flaming another person because their opinion differed with the majority and I have more than once seen people tell another user to 'just go kill yourself' (owtte). It is my opinion that the GCD is a stagnant hugbox full of oversensitive regulars intent to spend their time patting one another on the back. This oversensitivity means that there probably ARE a non-ignorable amount of users who are or have at one point been suicidal. I am willing to bet that at least one user on Gaia has killed themself because of something that another user has said to them.

I'm curious as to when you personally think it's okay to insult someone. If you believe that it is never okay to insult someone, when do you eventually crack and insult them anyway? Do you think this is a particular problem on Gaia that moderation and administration should try to address or do you think that there are perhaps other problems (scammers/hackers, the economy, user interface issues, updates to stores etc..) that are more important?

I anticipate a lot of 'well it's human nature' responses and would just like to let you know right off the bat that you are wrong. There are few if any documented studies that have, in any way, shown that humans are jerks without provocation. There are both psychological and evolutionary perspectives as to why altruism (ie: being nice or charitable toward others) is a good thing. If you disagree and want to be taken seriously by me I expect some sort of evidence to support your point(s).

As a somewhat interesting subtopic for those who have no desire to respond to the main or initial discussion; what are some interesting thoughts you have had or have heard about on Gaia that you don't actually realize until you think about them (ie: a lot of accounts belong to dead children who will never log in again)? Do you think that it's important or even interesting to recognize these types of issues or, since they have played no baring in your Gaian life up until now, they can be ignored and you can continue on exactly as you have earlier?

Kawaii Slayer

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I wonder about this a lot. Whenever I search something and users come up who haven't logged in in years, but have well established avatars .. I wonder if they left, or if something happened to them. Just a morbid curiosity.

I don't have much to contribute to this conversation, but I am interested! Carry on!
Breaking news, humans die!

neutral

I think we've known that for awhile.

Time-traveling Senshi

          I don't necessarily insult as much as playfully taunt and be blunt and to the point. Even then when I taunt it's mostly in a "You'll have to do better than that" kind of a way every so often when a person tries to scam me out of my password, which is far and few between. I believe that there are some people you just don't interact with and let them go on their merry way and then there are those that need a god playful ribbing now and then. The second group are the people you interact with on a daily basis and you know they can handle things said in jest in order to point out the irony in the things they're saying.

          In places like the Lifestyle Discussion and Life Issues where you're dealing with people who are very sensitive to what others are saying you don't go around saying anything that can be taken as an insult. I know there are going to be some who say you shouldn't be walking on eggshells in forums like that but Gaia would be liable if something happened to one of their members offline because of something said to them online. You really don't want to say something to a person who has admitted to cutting or has said they're being treated for depression or some other mental illness or joke around with someone who has said they have a high end autism disorder whether it's real or not. That's why it's best to know just who you can pull the punches with and who you really shouldn't be joking around with at all. In the end it makes for a better experience on Gaia.

Hassli's Spouse

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I had a friend in a guild. She came on pretty regularly. Then one day she just stopped.

I convinced myself she had died, or something terrible had happened to her.

Eventually (years later) I searched for her username and found she had a twitter that she updated regularly.

It made me feel tons better.

I don't know if that makes me crazy or not.

But, yes. People die. It's the unfortunate end to every person's story.

edit:

As far as insults--I don't really care. Some folks are just asking for it.

The tying this in to your initial discussion is a little morbid.
Chibi Halo
          I don't necessarily insult as much as playfully taunt and be blunt and to the point. Even then when I taunt it's mostly in a "You'll have to do better than that" kind of a way every so often when a person tries to scam me out of my password, which is far and few between. I believe that there are some people you just don't interact with and let them go on their merry way and then there are those that need a god playful ribbing now and then. The second group are the people you interact with on a daily basis and you know they can handle things said in jest in order to point out the irony in the things they're saying.

          In places like the Lifestyle Discussion and Life Issues where you're dealing with people who are very sensitive to what others are saying you don't go around saying anything that can be taken as an insult. I know there are going to be some who say you shouldn't be walking on eggshells in forums like that but Gaia would be liable if something happened to one of their members offline because of something said to them online. You really don't want to say something to a person who has admitted to cutting or has said they're being treated for depression or some other mental illness or joke around with someone who has said they have a high end autism disorder whether it's real or not. That's why it's best to know just who you can pull the punches with and who you really shouldn't be joking around with at all. In the end it makes for a better experience on Gaia.

What some people consider 'playfully taunting' may be considered insulting by others. You bring up the life issues forum and mention that you believe that in that particular forum you should be extra cautious. However you claim that the only people who should be 'playfully ribbed' are those that you know well and interact with on a daily basis. If I may pose a question to you: "Should strangers in the life issues forum be treated more delicately than strangers in the GCD or Gaming Discussion or any other forum?".

As an aside, if a Gaian killed themself because of something that another user said Gaia would NOT be liable from a legal perspective. It would also be quite unlikely that they would even see any bad press.

Lucky Cat

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I think some people open accounts on various sites, try them out for a few minutes, and leave. I've done that. If I can't get the hang of a site in the first few minutes, or think it's not something I'll like, I don't stay long. That could explain some of those millions of accounts -- people who happened across Gaia somehow, tried it out and left. I'm not sure how many people do that, but I bet there have been a lot over the years.

I think people should try and be tactful, even if they don't agree with another person, or even if that other person is irritating.
Yeata Zi
I had a friend in a guild. She came on pretty regularly. Then one day she just stopped.

I convinced myself she had died, or something terrible had happened to her.

Eventually (years later) I searched for her username and found she had a twitter that she updated regularly.

It made me feel tons better.

I don't know if that makes me crazy or not.

But, yes. People die. It's the unfortunate end to every person's story.

edit:

As far as insults--I don't really care. Some folks are just asking for it.

The tying this in to your initial discussion is a little morbid.
Honestly I did that for a few reasons. One: I wanted to see how many of you actually read the entire first post and two I do think that while the topic of 'dead' Gaians is interesting, it does not lend itself very well to proper discussion since it is a difficult topic to speak freely about.

Which folks are 'asking for it' and why does someone asking for something mean that you are obligated to give it to them?

Hassli's Spouse

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the_true_iori
Chibi Halo
          I don't necessarily insult as much as playfully taunt and be blunt and to the point. Even then when I taunt it's mostly in a "You'll have to do better than that" kind of a way every so often when a person tries to scam me out of my password, which is far and few between. I believe that there are some people you just don't interact with and let them go on their merry way and then there are those that need a god playful ribbing now and then. The second group are the people you interact with on a daily basis and you know they can handle things said in jest in order to point out the irony in the things they're saying.

          In places like the Lifestyle Discussion and Life Issues where you're dealing with people who are very sensitive to what others are saying you don't go around saying anything that can be taken as an insult. I know there are going to be some who say you shouldn't be walking on eggshells in forums like that but Gaia would be liable if something happened to one of their members offline because of something said to them online. You really don't want to say something to a person who has admitted to cutting or has said they're being treated for depression or some other mental illness or joke around with someone who has said they have a high end autism disorder whether it's real or not. That's why it's best to know just who you can pull the punches with and who you really shouldn't be joking around with at all. In the end it makes for a better experience on Gaia.

What some people consider 'playfully taunting' may be considered insulting by others. You bring up the life issues forum and mention that you believe that in that particular forum you should be extra cautious. However you claim that the only people who should be 'playfully ribbed' are those that you know well and interact with on a daily basis. If I may pose a question to you: "Should strangers in the life issues forum be treated more delicately than strangers in the GCD or Gaming Discussion or any other forum?".

As an aside, if a Gaian killed themself because of something that another user said Gaia would NOT be liable from a legal perspective. It would also be quite unlikely that they would even see any bad press.
I believe the lady's point was more or less you don't playfully taunt someone unless you know them well.

Except password phishers--but they're hardly people.

Hassli's Spouse

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the_true_iori
Yeata Zi
I had a friend in a guild. She came on pretty regularly. Then one day she just stopped.

I convinced myself she had died, or something terrible had happened to her.

Eventually (years later) I searched for her username and found she had a twitter that she updated regularly.

It made me feel tons better.

I don't know if that makes me crazy or not.

But, yes. People die. It's the unfortunate end to every person's story.

edit:

As far as insults--I don't really care. Some folks are just asking for it.

The tying this in to your initial discussion is a little morbid.
Honestly I did that for a few reasons. One: I wanted to see how many of you actually read the entire first post and two I do think that while the topic of 'dead' Gaians is interesting, it does not lend itself very well to proper discussion since it is a difficult topic to speak freely about.

Which folks are 'asking for it' and why does someone asking for something mean that you are obligated to give it to them?
In general, if someone is a d**k to me, I will be a d**k back.

I'm very old world about that s**t.

Eye for an eye and what have you.
Yeata Zi
the_true_iori
What some people consider 'playfully taunting' may be considered insulting by others. You bring up the life issues forum and mention that you believe that in that particular forum you should be extra cautious. However you claim that the only people who should be 'playfully ribbed' are those that you know well and interact with on a daily basis. If I may pose a question to you: "Should strangers in the life issues forum be treated more delicately than strangers in the GCD or Gaming Discussion or any other forum?".

As an aside, if a Gaian killed themself because of something that another user said Gaia would NOT be liable from a legal perspective. It would also be quite unlikely that they would even see any bad press.
I believe the lady's point was more or less you don't playfully taunt someone unless you know them well.

Except password phishers--but they're hardly people.
That is [mostly] what I got out of the post as well. However she also seemed to be implying that some strangers should be treated more delicately than other strangers.

I would also ask why you don't think that password phishers deserve to be treated as proper people?
Yeata Zi
In general, if someone is a d**k to me, I will be a d**k back.

I'm very old world about that s**t.

Eye for an eye and what have you.
So rather than ignore someone who might just be trying to aggravate you, you respond in kind? Do you think that this may be a fault on your part (but perhaps a minor one to the point that there is no point correcting it) or do you believe that leaving the whole world blind is an okay thing to do from a moral or societal standpoint?

EDIT: that was needlessly complicated. To simplify the question: Do you believe that what you are doing is the 'right' thing to do? Do you think that the majority of people should act the way you do?

Hassli's Spouse

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the_true_iori
Yeata Zi
the_true_iori
What some people consider 'playfully taunting' may be considered insulting by others. You bring up the life issues forum and mention that you believe that in that particular forum you should be extra cautious. However you claim that the only people who should be 'playfully ribbed' are those that you know well and interact with on a daily basis. If I may pose a question to you: "Should strangers in the life issues forum be treated more delicately than strangers in the GCD or Gaming Discussion or any other forum?".

As an aside, if a Gaian killed themself because of something that another user said Gaia would NOT be liable from a legal perspective. It would also be quite unlikely that they would even see any bad press.
I believe the lady's point was more or less you don't playfully taunt someone unless you know them well.

Except password phishers--but they're hardly people.
That is [mostly] what I got out of the post as well. However she also seemed to be implying that some strangers should be treated more delicately than other strangers.

I would also ask why you don't think that password phishers deserve to be treated as proper people?
Because they're not. <3

It's like treating a venomous snake like a bunny rabbit.

You just don't do it.

In general, I just ignore phishers.
Yeata Zi
Because they're not. <3

It's like treating a venomous snake like a bunny rabbit.

You just don't do it.

In general, I just ignore phishers.
Incorrect. Phishers are human beings just like you or I. That's like saying that criminals don't deserve basic rights just because they are criminals. Treating people like human beings is generally one of the easiest ways to avoid an escalating conflict.

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I've only known one user that has died to my actual knowledge. AB18 (I think that was her username) and the only reason I knew was because there was a memorial in a guild or maybe in here about her. I've had friends come and go, but I just figure they had life issues. I've left Gaia for 2 years because I got pregnant. When I came back online. I had over 100 messages asking if I was okay and contact asap. But everyone that I once knew no longer comes on.

As far as insults go, I've never been the one to go out and just call names. When I have debates, I don't view them like an argument but an intelligent conversation. Here is my opinion, some proof or article that I read about such topic, and discuss. There have been plenty of times that I agree with the person that I had the debate with. To me, it's all about sharing different point of views. There have been times that I just agree to disagree and leave the topic. When someone starts calling names, I just leave. No sense to feed into that garbage.

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