Ladyship
(?)Community Member
Offline
- Posted: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 01:41:22 +0000
For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ladyship. I've been a user on Gaia Online for close to a decade. I host gifting events and holiday threads. Recently, I've become involved in the SF forum. I love Gaia - the community, the friends I've made, the real-life events I've attended and the bounty of gorgeous items, fun games, and amazing events and story that make Gaia a beautiful, fun place to be when i come home from work. I can share my art, talk to people all over the world, and dress up as I see fit. When I first signed up, I was only 13 - I had only a few friends, was attending a new school, and desperately wanted someone to talk to. Now, I'm almost 22. I still look to Gaia's amazing community of diverse people to enjoy holidays with, share my day with, or just goof around. Gaia is a fun, imaginative place where I have a voice about the things that are important to me.
About while ago, things started to change. I noticed I could afford less and less of the beautiful items the gaia Artists had been churning out. I had to save longer, play more games, grind for more gold. Eventually, I stopped signing in. All that kept me coming back were holiday events. I save up all year for the Christmas event to give away billions in prizes to people who otherwise could never afford such items. Last year, I was coming up short. I only had a few million - how on earth would I be able to afford the giveaways? I decided to actually buy some GCash and buy something that looked like it might do well. I got extremely lucky and purchased a Winter's Rose. Within 10 days I was sitting on 1b. Then, 6b. Then, I kept playing the market, and I'm sitting on my pile like a frilly pink dragon. However, I only bought GC the one time - and I still am disgusted I gave my money to the people I see before me in the forums. I've given money, food, and clothing to the homeless. Even if they're just going to use my $10 for alcohol, cigarettes, or meth, I still give it to them. I never feel shame for that. But I feel shame for giving my $10 to Gaia last Christmas.
The Gaia Artists mean so much to me. They're so talented, and they work extremely hard for a company that doesn't seem to really appreciate their talent and knowledge of the community. I also understand the importance of running a business - you need servers, a building, electricity, water, employees, copyrights, maintenance, engineers, programmers - extremely vital organs to the machine of the business. Money is essential - you can't live off dollar noodles forever, no matter how much you love your fanbase. GCash is understandable, and people clearly pay for it, love the GC items, and it serves it's purpose. We've seen a skyrocket in the quality of our item base in the last two years. Arm and leg poses? I remember kneeling and buying stuff to hold just so I looked a little different. We have so many ways to customize.
Unfortunately, alongside the amazing art that has come out of the last few years, we've also seen some of our favorite people go away, to other things - namely, Lanzer, and the original staff. We see dozens of Cash Shop ads every day. We see incredulous inflation, and less involvement from staff members.
The last point seems to have culminated at a peak, and here is where I reach my main point.
Can I trust the Gaia Staff?
Last night I was browsing SF, among other forums, and stumbled upon this. I was confused, and I dug deeper, reading each page, each link.
A user sold a Rainbow ticket for 133T to a staff-member's Mule.
A user found out the Mule was a staff-member's account.
Zero Omega offered hush money to the vendor, and Gaia reversed the transaction, seemingly violating their own TOS.
After lying about the transaction, the mule, and the details, now the staff have remained silent. No apology, nothing.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened and reach the public eye. However, this time, they lied to the community, and offered what was essentially a bribe to the vendor. This makes me wonder how many other staff mules are out there, toying with the numbers in the market, being fishy?
Are the staff generating inflation to generate sales for gold generators?
'Yes' seems to be the answer. There has been long-standing neglect to many facets of the site - the manga, games, gold shops, help tickets. The only items that seem to get staff's attention are the ones that generate profits for the site. You can find a list of any of the problems by just looking at the front page of SF - the inflation, the GC announcements, events, kickstarters, poorly-coordinated site management. At what point does Gaia begin charging a monthly usage fee? At what point must you purchase your username? Companies can make money without leeching their community - look at IMVU and it's dynamic, user-run marketplace, 3D chat service, and many perks that are desirable, but livable without.
So why, Gaia, have you decided to neglect this community of young people, who look to your forums, games, and events for enjoyment, into simple statistics? Where are the admins when we need answers, or problems fixed? Why can't we chat with admins casually?
Possibly one of the last straws for me was this summer. I went to SacAnime - as I am prone to do - and I was excited to see the Gaia Panel was still scheduled. I hadn't been to one since Heroes of Chaos and Rumble Kitten were in production. And then, I had so much fun with the hundred people who shared my experiences and passions. When i arrived at the event room, DJ Hellsing was late, and alone. The room was empty, with only chairs and a table. No projectors, no other staff, no working mic. DJ Hellsing pulled one of the chairs out front of the audience area and sat down, and the dozen people with me sat around the front area. He pulled out his phone, and while texting, apologized - he was no longer employed at Gaia Online, and this would be a fan panel. He had no insight into the company's workings. There would be a halloween event and an inventory overhaul. His handouts were dated 2013, for free 1000 gold and a bumper sticker. While he sat there, texting, he asked us to exchange our favorite parts of Gaia. I was shocked at his disenchantment, and that Gaia no longer made public convention appearances. Where would I learn about the new games, items, and events? How would i get my convention badge and bag for my avatar? (I did get them - they're dated 2013). Quickly, the discussion in the room turned to inflation, and DJ Hellsing left early. I have to say, it hit me hard how detached Gaia is from it's userbase.
I log in every morning before work to collect my daily chance, and list a few items on the marketplace.
I come home, make dinner, and check my listings.
I only log in for more than 15 minutes if there's an event.
Sometimes I look at SF or GD.
I click through every announcement to get rid of the notification.
There is a rythm to the site for me now, and it isn't a pleasant one.
I miss you, Gaia.
What keeps you logging in to Gaia? What do you enjoy still?
Edit 1: Moved to the GCD! This really belongs here, I think. Also, it's amazing how quickly people wanted to share their stories. It's heartbreaking but refreshing to hear that I'm not the only one who isn't exactly happy.
About while ago, things started to change. I noticed I could afford less and less of the beautiful items the gaia Artists had been churning out. I had to save longer, play more games, grind for more gold. Eventually, I stopped signing in. All that kept me coming back were holiday events. I save up all year for the Christmas event to give away billions in prizes to people who otherwise could never afford such items. Last year, I was coming up short. I only had a few million - how on earth would I be able to afford the giveaways? I decided to actually buy some GCash and buy something that looked like it might do well. I got extremely lucky and purchased a Winter's Rose. Within 10 days I was sitting on 1b. Then, 6b. Then, I kept playing the market, and I'm sitting on my pile like a frilly pink dragon. However, I only bought GC the one time - and I still am disgusted I gave my money to the people I see before me in the forums. I've given money, food, and clothing to the homeless. Even if they're just going to use my $10 for alcohol, cigarettes, or meth, I still give it to them. I never feel shame for that. But I feel shame for giving my $10 to Gaia last Christmas.
The Gaia Artists mean so much to me. They're so talented, and they work extremely hard for a company that doesn't seem to really appreciate their talent and knowledge of the community. I also understand the importance of running a business - you need servers, a building, electricity, water, employees, copyrights, maintenance, engineers, programmers - extremely vital organs to the machine of the business. Money is essential - you can't live off dollar noodles forever, no matter how much you love your fanbase. GCash is understandable, and people clearly pay for it, love the GC items, and it serves it's purpose. We've seen a skyrocket in the quality of our item base in the last two years. Arm and leg poses? I remember kneeling and buying stuff to hold just so I looked a little different. We have so many ways to customize.
Unfortunately, alongside the amazing art that has come out of the last few years, we've also seen some of our favorite people go away, to other things - namely, Lanzer, and the original staff. We see dozens of Cash Shop ads every day. We see incredulous inflation, and less involvement from staff members.
The last point seems to have culminated at a peak, and here is where I reach my main point.
Can I trust the Gaia Staff?
Last night I was browsing SF, among other forums, and stumbled upon this. I was confused, and I dug deeper, reading each page, each link.
A user sold a Rainbow ticket for 133T to a staff-member's Mule.
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/gaia-community-discussion/glitch-in-the-gold-generators/t.94000135/
A user found out the Mule was a staff-member's account.
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/site-feedback/133tgate-staff-interfering-with-the-mp-inflation-tickets/t.94022785_1/
Zero Omega offered hush money to the vendor, and Gaia reversed the transaction, seemingly violating their own TOS.
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/site-feedback/in-response-to-reversing-my-133t-for-my-double-rainbow-t/t.94029013_1/
After lying about the transaction, the mule, and the details, now the staff have remained silent. No apology, nothing.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened and reach the public eye. However, this time, they lied to the community, and offered what was essentially a bribe to the vendor. This makes me wonder how many other staff mules are out there, toying with the numbers in the market, being fishy?
Are the staff generating inflation to generate sales for gold generators?
'Yes' seems to be the answer. There has been long-standing neglect to many facets of the site - the manga, games, gold shops, help tickets. The only items that seem to get staff's attention are the ones that generate profits for the site. You can find a list of any of the problems by just looking at the front page of SF - the inflation, the GC announcements, events, kickstarters, poorly-coordinated site management. At what point does Gaia begin charging a monthly usage fee? At what point must you purchase your username? Companies can make money without leeching their community - look at IMVU and it's dynamic, user-run marketplace, 3D chat service, and many perks that are desirable, but livable without.
So why, Gaia, have you decided to neglect this community of young people, who look to your forums, games, and events for enjoyment, into simple statistics? Where are the admins when we need answers, or problems fixed? Why can't we chat with admins casually?
Possibly one of the last straws for me was this summer. I went to SacAnime - as I am prone to do - and I was excited to see the Gaia Panel was still scheduled. I hadn't been to one since Heroes of Chaos and Rumble Kitten were in production. And then, I had so much fun with the hundred people who shared my experiences and passions. When i arrived at the event room, DJ Hellsing was late, and alone. The room was empty, with only chairs and a table. No projectors, no other staff, no working mic. DJ Hellsing pulled one of the chairs out front of the audience area and sat down, and the dozen people with me sat around the front area. He pulled out his phone, and while texting, apologized - he was no longer employed at Gaia Online, and this would be a fan panel. He had no insight into the company's workings. There would be a halloween event and an inventory overhaul. His handouts were dated 2013, for free 1000 gold and a bumper sticker. While he sat there, texting, he asked us to exchange our favorite parts of Gaia. I was shocked at his disenchantment, and that Gaia no longer made public convention appearances. Where would I learn about the new games, items, and events? How would i get my convention badge and bag for my avatar? (I did get them - they're dated 2013). Quickly, the discussion in the room turned to inflation, and DJ Hellsing left early. I have to say, it hit me hard how detached Gaia is from it's userbase.
I log in every morning before work to collect my daily chance, and list a few items on the marketplace.
I come home, make dinner, and check my listings.
I only log in for more than 15 minutes if there's an event.
Sometimes I look at SF or GD.
I click through every announcement to get rid of the notification.
There is a rythm to the site for me now, and it isn't a pleasant one.
I miss you, Gaia.
What keeps you logging in to Gaia? What do you enjoy still?
Edit 1: Moved to the GCD! This really belongs here, I think. Also, it's amazing how quickly people wanted to share their stories. It's heartbreaking but refreshing to hear that I'm not the only one who isn't exactly happy.
