I hate to break it to you.... Its not gonna happen. Gaia is a business.
So getting hostile at people for having a different view just makes you look like a jerk and will make people ignore your petition. Just saying.
I spend money on gaia here and there. On special holidays or for birthdays (my sister and boyfriend both play)
Want to know why? I believe in the trickle down theory. I believe every dollar I spend supports SOMEONES FAMILY. Gaia uses the money WE donate and puts that money into their servers, which keep the servers FREE for people who cannot/will not & flat out refuse to spend money on this game and expect it to remain free. That same money for their employees wages (I know coding aint free), that same money into their local economy which supports more people and their families. So for each dollar that is spent by people that has spare income, theyre helping keep this site for people like you who want everything for FREE.
Reality Check. NOTHING is FREE. There is always a price and by refusing or taking away to option to donate/pay for the site.
How fast do you think it'll go belly up? Someone figured, about a month.
With the amount of bandwidth and the staffing costs. Are you honestly ok with 90-95 people losing their jobs because you and many others feel we shouldn't have to pay for a site like this? Are you ok with someone having to tell their families they've lost their jobs that they put their heart and soul into that they cant pay the bills or food on the table? A ton of people who post these petitions are only thinking of the money in their pocket, which by all means is realistic and don't want to have to spend money on a site they adore but feel entitled to and wonder why nothing changes. Gaia is THAT big now.
So more power to you, if you don't want to donate a dollar. That's the awesome thing, that is YOUR CHOICE but not mine. People who do not want to spend a dime on this site shouldnt have the power to take that away from other people. There are people like me who have run and worked in real big companies before things are not cheap or free.
So we choose to donate. Because AT this moment there are 17,538 Gaians Online. Who are playing for free because of the money being donated by a small group of people.
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To sum up my post - If you don't like the announcement IGNORE them
heart Theyre not making you pay for anything. It is your money, your choice. Because those announcements are not going away.