Ayleria
I saw Aria and was gonna jump on the bandwagon, but then I read your thread. I want to tell you not to leave instead! I understand why you want to go because of the way the site treats everyone, and I've felt that way, too. But the community hasn't changed from what it was long ago. It's still friendly and welcoming despite the cash pushes. Sure, you may not be able to get all the items you want, but at least you can stick around and talk to everyone and enjoy them. If real life is getting you down, it's a great escape from it, too. So keep your things and stay if it's not the people making you want to quit.
Thing is, I'm not really part of the big community. I only come out for events and with events turning into.... nothing but a subforum, I no longer have reason to venture out.
I will still log on, because there's ONE guild with people in it that I've now known for years and I won't quit on them.
But I'm not getting what I used to get out of the community things, because events have become unbalanced and now even cease to exist (and no, Uncle Kenny leaving is no excuse for this, because Gaia as a corporation should have a TEAM for events... and they should've everything in their power to stop him from leaving, which I bet they didn't).
I joined Gaia, because they promised equality among paying users and non-paying users. That's no longer the case and it does hurt the community.
And... for community I don't need items. I'd rather someone else enjoy them. :3