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We're inching seriously close to our noble goal of getting 150,000 fans on Facebook. Thanks to you guys, we flew past the 125k mark. With a little more help, we'll clinch 150k like a lobster clinches... well, whatever it is a lobster likes to clinch.

If you haven't become a fan yet, please do! Tell your friends! Write a letter to your congressman asking him to become a fan! We update our Facebook page all the time with useful news, contests, and exclusive content, so it's well worth checking out (and becoming a fan of).

Once we reach the magic number, we're gonna bust out a new celebratory item for all the folks that helped us climb so high. You've still got time to get in on that action!

Hey, Gang! We just wanted to take a couple minutes of your time to deliver an important safety reminder: never give out your password to anyone! Not to friends, not to Gaia staff, not to anyone.

A common tactic used by account thieves is to impersonate Gaia staff or moderators, then demand to know your password. Often these ne'er-do-wells will attempt to influence you with one of the following strategies:

• Trying to intimidate you by saying you will be banned unless you reveal your password within a few minutes.
  
• Saying they need your password is needed to resolve an issue with your account.
  
• Saying they need your password to check for viruses.
  
• Saying they need your password to clear up a report against you.
  
  

The good news is that it's super easy to avoid these traps. Nobody representing Gaia will ever ask you for your password. We can handle any potential account issues without ever needing to know it.

If you ever encounter anyone asking for or demanding to know your password here on Gaia, please help us out and report them right away!

Sharing your password with friends or strangers can lead to your hard-earned items and Gold getting stolen or your account getting banned... not to mention a big huge mess for us to clean up. So, to repeat: never share your password!

Still don't believe me? Check out this short video by the Gaia staff saying the exact same thing in far fewer words and with the added bonus of a whole lot of bloopers at the end. We're really serious about this!

Like winning powerful handheld gaming systems capable of playing awesome games? Good, because we just loaded up the Daily Chance with a big supply of new PSP Raffle Tickets. From now through October 22nd, collect as many of 'em as you can! The more you get, the better your odds of winning.

Remember to hit all your Daily Chance carts. Click the My Gaia, Shops, Forums, World and Games links up top to find them.

Sorry, but this contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada (minus poor, poor Quebec). Why? Learn more.




NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Entry instructions. You must go to Gaia Online and click on the various Daily Chance carts in the Gaia site header. Daily Chance carts will randomly drop raffle tickets during the promotion period. Raffle tickets are bound to the user account and can not be transferred to other accounts. To see the Daily Chance cart, you must be a registered and confirmed member of Gaia Online. For free registration, visit http://www.gaiaonline.com/ and follow the on screen instructions. After registration, you will receive an email with instructions to confirm your account. You can also enter the sweepstakes by sending a 3x5 postcard with your Gaia Online user name to the following address: Gaia Aquarium Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 612680, San Jose, CA 95161-2680. In the event of a dispute as to any entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Gaia account will be deemed to be the registrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential winner may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. Online entrants are subject to all notices posted online including but not limited to the Gaia Online’s Privacy Policy. Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification.

Promotion Period. This promotion begins on October 16, 2009, and ends at 11:59 pm PT on October 22, 2009 (the “Promotion Period”). Gaia Online’s computer is the official time-keeping device for the promotion. All entries must be received during the dates and times specified in the Promotion Period. Odds of winning the promotion depend on the number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period.
Eligibility. In order to be eligible, participants must be (i) at least 13 years of age and, if under the age of 18, must have parental consent to participate; (ii) a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec); and (iii) a registered Gaia account holder as of October 16, 2009. Employees of Gaia Online and its parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Gaia Online may reject any entry that it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, fails to meet any of the eligibility requirements.

Award. Each winner will receive a Sony PSP® (each, an “Award”). There will be 5 winners. The retail value of the prize is $169.99. Any further details of the Award not specified above shall be determined by Gaia Online in its sole discretion. No substitution, assignment or transfer of any Award is permitted, except by Gaia Online, who has the right to substitute an Award with another of comparable or greater value. Each winner is responsible for all taxes, fees and withholding associated with the receipt and/or use of the corresponding Award.

Disclaimer: Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment America are not affiliated with this promotion.

Drawing. The winners will be selected by a random-chance drawing. Gaia Online will randomly select five winners after Promotion Period end, from among all entries received during the Promotion Period. Gaia Online will notify winners by email at the address associated with the winner’s account or by Gaia Private Message within approximately 10 days following the drawing. Gaia Online is not responsible for any delay or failure to receive notification for any reason, including without limitation inactive email account(s), technical difficulties associated therewith, or winner’s failure to adequately monitor any email account. The winner must then respond to Gaia Online (or its agent) and provide the requested information within 72 hours. Should the winner fail to respond or fail to provide all requested information, Gaia Online reserves the right to disqualify that winner and select a new one in a second-chance random drawing. Each Award will be delivered to the applicable winner within 30 days from Gaia Online’s receipt of name and address confirmation. Except where prohibited, participation in the promotion constitutes participant’s consent, and you hereby grant Gaia Online the right to use your name, Gaia Online name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, hometown and state for promotional purposes in any media without further payment or consideration, including but not limited to a press release.

Conditions of Participation. By submitting an entry for this promotion, you agree to abide by these rules and any decision Gaia Online makes regarding this promotion. Gaia Online reserves the right to disqualify and prosecute to the fullest extent permitted by law any participant or winner who, in Gaia Online’s reasonable suspicion, tampers with the Gaia Online site or the entry process, violates these rules, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.

Restrictions: VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Limitation on Liability: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, neither Gaia Online, nor any supplier, employee, director or agent shall be liable under any legal or equitable theory for (a) any failure of your entry to be included in the sweepstakes drawing, (b) any failure to fully complete the registration form, or (c) any information, materials or services provided (or failure to provide information, materials or services) in connection with the Award.

Warranty Disclaimer: Each Award shall be provided on an AS IS basis, and Gaia Online disclaims all warranties, whether express or implied, including any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement with respect thereto or to any other subject matter of these official rules.

Other Terms: This sweepstakes is governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. The parties hereby irrevocably consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts of San Francisco County, California. If Gaia Online determines, in its sole discretion, that the sweepstakes promotion is compromised by any corruption of the administration, security, or proper play of this sweepstakes, then, at Gaia Online’s sole discretion, it may cancel the sweepstakes.

We're fast approaching the major milestone of 150,000 fans on Facebook! We're not quite there yet, so we need your help: if you haven't become a fan yet, please do! Invite your friends to become fans! Encourage your dogs (or any dogs that you know and respect) to become fans!

Once we achieve this entirely random goal, we'll award all our loyal Facebook followers with a special item designed to mark this historic occasion.


Becoming a fan comes with some delicious perks: you'll get access to exclusive news, pictures, and art, sneak peeks at upcoming events and features, exclusive contests, and more.

One of the most thrilling contests in the 13.7-billion-year history of the universe is now underway, and it's right here on Gaia! The contest is simple: record yourself completing the sentence "Gaia is _____." What you choose to say in those tense few seconds between the word "is" and the dramatic sentence-ending period is entirely up to you.

Once all the entries are in, we'll edit the best ones together to create a majestic video tapestry that, with any luck, will sum up the ridiculous diversity and personality of Gaia. Also, if your contribution gets picked, you'll earn 10,000 Gold! The contest ends on October 25th, so get crackin'!

For more juicy contest details and info on how to submit an entry, head on over to the official thread:

Our busy developer pixies have been cooking up some brand new features for Facebook Connect, that seemingly inescapable force taking over the Internet. Take a look-see at what's being added in the next few days:

• Register for Gaia through Facebook: new users have the option of signing up for Gaia with their Facebook account, saving a little time in the process. If you already have a Gaia account, this probably has zero impact on you.
  
  
• We emboldened the heck out of the Find Friends feature, which now lets you look for Facebook friends on Gaia.
  
  
• You can sign in to Gaia using your Facebook username and password... if you want.
  
  

Finally, there will be some slight changes to the site header to include these new options. You won't see them unless you're logged out, though. Check 'em out:



Not connected yet? Earn up to 2000 Gold by rubbing two of your favorite website accounts together!



Note: By connecting with Facebook, certain personal information may become viewable on the web. Make sure you're comfortable with your Facebook privacy settings. Please see the FAQ for details.

Internet safety is an important issue affecting everyone from adorable robot babies to rocket-powered seniors. Since you're likely somewhere between those two key demographics in age, it most certainly affects you, too. With that in mind, we've prepared this quick safety reminder.

Don’t post private information in a public place. You can meet all sorts of cool people on Gaia, but it’s never a good idea to post personal information such as your email address, phone number, or physical address in public forums or chat rooms. In short, if it can help someone find you in real life, don’t post it.

If you see somebody posting personal information about you or any other Gaian, please let us know immediately (by reporting it as Inappropriate Content). We want Gaia to be a safe, fun place for everyone, so we'll do our best to take care of it.

For more tips on how to best protect yourself, gently click this link.

After spending a couple weeks submerged underwater in Aquariums, Gold Lotto is rising to the surface like the majestic tortoises of lore. Now you can access it from dry land by clicking the "Gold Lotto" logo in the header.

There's one other new feature as well: Power Picks. With Power Picks, you can spend a little Gaia Cash to instantly guarantee yourself up to two winning numbers for each ticket, reducing the amount of guessin' you have to do by as much as 40%.



For the uncorrupted, here's how Gold Lotto works:

• You can buy multiple tickets every day, for 100 Gold apiece.
  
• With each ticket, you pick 5 lucky numbers.
  
• (Optional) Instantly buy up to 2 winning numbers with Power Picks, leaving only 3 left to guess.
  
• If you pick all 5 winning numbers, you'll take home gigantic share of the jackpot (over 2,000,000 Gold).
  
• Matching just 3 or 4 numbers will also get you a share of the pot, albeit a much smaller one.
  
• If nobody guesses the winning numbers, the jackpot rolls over into the next day.
  
  

New winning numbers are drawn every day, so be sure to play often!