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Gaia Forums » GAIA Online » Welcome to Gaia
Announcement: Welcome to Gaia! Rules and Guidelines [~*IMPORTANT*~]
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Post: 10457199_1 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:41 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:41 pm
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What is the Welcome to GAIA forum intended for?:
The welcome to GAIA forum is for new users to introduce themselves and ask basic questions about GAIA. It is a great place to make your first post and let us know all about you!

First off, if you are here that probably means you are new. Let me take a moment to say "Welcome to GAIA." heart It seems daunting at first, but you will get the hang of it in no time.

We have a few rules and guidelines to help you along. Here is a brief outline of what you will see in this thread:
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  1. Welcome and Purpose of the Welcome to GAIA forum.
  2. Threads that DO belong in the Welcome to GAIA forum.
  3. Threads that DO NOT belong in the Welcome to GAIA forum
  4. Basic Forum Etiquette (Applies to Gaia forums in general)
  5. Other Forums and what to post in them
  6. Breaking the rules: How to Report
  7. Punishments
  8. Helpful Links and Tips
  
     
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Post: 10457199_2 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:36 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:36 pm
 
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These are the types of threads that we want to see in the Welcome to GAIA forum:

-Introductions:
We encourage new users to make their first post in the Welcome forum. Tell us a little about yourself.

A few suggestions on things to tell us:
  • How you came up with your username:
  • How old you are
  • What your impressions of GAIA are so far
  • Do you have any hobbies or interests?
  • How did you find GAIA?
  • Do you have a favorite color/movie/song etc?


You can introduce yourself any way you like (that's within the rules) Get creative and have fun! If your intro thread reaches more than 5 pages, it is most likely turning into a chatter thread and will be moved to the Chatterbox Forum

Something to Watch out for:
Watch out for threads or users that ask for personal information. DO NOT give out any personal infomation in any thread or to any user that keeps pestering you for it!

Examples of things you should not share with others:
  • Full real names
  • Addresses
  • Phone Numbers
  • Financial information (credit card, check, etc)
  • Security question information:
    • What is your mother's maiden name?
    • What is your city of birth?
    • What is your father's middle name?
    • What is your favorite pet's name?
    • What is your favorite restaurant?
    • What is your favorite movie?
    • What is your favorite sports team?
    • What is/was your high school name?
    • Who is your favorite celebrity/icon/idol?
    • When is your Anniversary [mm/dd/yy]?


NEVER give your password to ANYONE no matter who they claim to be. GAIA does not need your passwprd for any reason. Be sure to report anyone who asks you for your password.



-Basic questions about GAIA:
You can ask basic questions here. Before asking any questions, we recommend that you read this thead: Newbie's Guide to Gaia For complicated questions or questions about a problem you are having with GAIA go to the Questions and Assistance Forum Questions that are not simple/basic will be moved to the Questions and Assistance forum.

Note to experienced users:
Please have patience with the new users. We were all new once and we all had to learn.
     
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Post: 10457199_3 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:37 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 9:37 pm
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These are the types of things that do not belong in the Welcome to GAIA Forum:

  • Welcoming Threads:
    These types of threads are not allowed because this forum is already for welcoming. If you want to welcome new users, please post in their threads to say welcome them or offer them assistance getting started. Any threads made to welcome new users will be moved to the Chatterbox Forum .

  • Help/Ask me Threads:
    There are already enough help threads posted here that making any more would be redudant. If you want to be helpful and answer the new users questions, go ahead and answer them in the threads they create. Any new help threads or "ask me" threads will be moved to the Chatterbox Forum

  • Friend Requests:
    If you are looking for friends, there is a specific forum made just for that purpose. It is a subforum of the Welcome forum called Friend Chat .Chatterbox is also a place to ask for friends because you are allowed to post anything in there as long as you are not breaking a rule. You can ask for friends as part of your introduction post but please do not make a thread that is ONLY looking for friends in the Welcome Forum. Friend requests will be moved to either Friend Chat or the Chatterbox (depending on the content).

  • Quest/Begging Threads:
    We have a specific place where you can ask people for gold or items or ask for donations to your quests. It is called the Charities and Quests Forum.You can also ask for donations in the Chatterbox Forum, but you may not have as much luck there. Any threads asking for gold or items will be moved to the Charities/Quests subforum of the Exchange.

  • Advertising Threads:
    Do not post advertisements for your threads (Guilds, Bars, Lotteries, Quests, etc) in the Welcome forum. You may advertise in the Chatterbox Forum If it is a guild that you are promoting, post about it at the Registered Guilds Forum Do not spam referral links or advertisements to other websites. Threads that are advertising will be moved to the Chatterbox or the Recycle bin depending on content.

  • "I'm bored, chat with me" threads:
    Any threads "I'm bored, want to chat" types belong in the Chatterbox Forum and will be moved there.

  • Hangouts/Bar Threads: Threads pretending to be a bar, restauarnt do not belong in the Welcome forum and can be made in either the Chatterbox Forum or the Gaia Commerce Forum. Hangout threads (a thread meant for a group of people to chat and hang out) belongs in either the Friend Chat Subforum or the Chatterbox Forum.


Any of the above types of threads found in the Welcome forum will be moved by a GAIA Helper or a Moderator. Continued mis-posting can get you an official warning or even a ban if you continue to do it. Keep your threads in the right place and everyone will be happy heart
 
     
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Post: 10457199_4 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:00 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:00 pm
 
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Offical General Rules
  • No Flaming/Trolling/Harrassing. This means that you are not allowed to post hateful, racist, abusive or harassing remarks. GAIA is a community and we all need to treat each other fairly and with respect.
    Trolling/Flaming will get you an official warning. Repeated offenses will result in a 3 day and then a 14 day ban. If you still continue after that, you could get a permanent ban eek

  • Cyber/Porn/Explicit Images:
    GAIA is a PG-13 site, so any sexual content, explicit or graphics images or cybering (roleplay or description of sexual acts) is not permitted ANYWHERE on GAIA. This INCLUDES PM's, multiplayer games (casino, fishing), hangouts and Gaia Towns. Posting things of this nature will get you banned.


  • No Spamming:
    Spamming is when you go into a thread and post gibberish, nonsense or something that has no relelvance to the topic. Spam belongs in the chatterbox and reported spamming can get your account banned, so don't do it outside of the chatterbox.

  • Chainletters/28g posts:
    These are a huge no-no. Any post/letter where it encourages you to "pass it on to your freinds" or "send this to everyone or we will delete you account" is considered a chainletter and is not allowed on GAIA. Posting chainletters will get your posts deleted and a warning on your account. Repeated posting of chainletters can get you banned.

    28g/14g posts are also not allowed. The posts are really long and usually say that if you post it, it will give you a certain amount of gold. These posts are not true. The length of your post does not determine your gold count. These posts interrupt the flow of conversation in a thread and are highly irritating. Posting these can get you warned and then banned.

  • Copy/Paste Posts:
    These are posts that you copy and paste over and over in threads. These are considered spam and constantly posting them after being warned can result in a ban on your account. Take the time to type out unique responses to the various threads you visit. It shows that you care!

  • Spamming/Bumping
    Bump stands for Bring Up My Post. When you post in a thread, it essentially "brings that thread to the top of the forum page". The further up on the page your topic appears, the more likely people are to see it. So when someone says "bump" they are just wanting to bring that thread back up to the top of the page. Be careful when bumping. Most forums do not allow it or only allow it in certain circumstances. In the Welcome forum, you can only bump a thread if it is a question and it has fallen off the first page without being answered. You can bump as much as you want in any thread in the Chatterbox Forum though smile

  • Stretching the page:
    Do not post overly long messages or overly large images that "stretch" the page. It interrupts conversation and makes it difficult to read and discuss things in a thread when you have to scroll over to see the rest of the message. These kinds of posts are against the Terms or Service and will be deleted by a member of the GAIA moderator team. You can also be warned or banned for repeated offenses.


    Unspoken Rules
    There are things in the forums that may not be considered "against the rules" but may irritate other posters. This section will outline some of those "unspoken rules".

  • Posting in all capital letters:
    Posting your entire post in capital letters will irritate people pretty quickly. It is considered shouting. You wouldn't go up to someone and start shouting at them would you? So please don't do it in the forums either.
    "impolite"
    HELLO THERE HOW ARE YOU? DO YOU LIKE IT HERE?


    Try it like this:
    "polite"

    Hello there, how are you? Do you like it here?


  • Using too many emoticons:
    Emoticons are fun to use and cute too but using too many of them can clutter up a post and detract from what you are trying to say. For example
    "too many emoticons"

    Hi how you?? heart heart heart domokun domokun domokun eek eek xp lol sad


    Try it like this:
    "better way"

    Hi, How are you? heart biggrin
     
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Post: 10457199_7 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:03 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:03 pm
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I bet you are wondering "okay, what do I do if I see something that breaks the rules?" This post outlines the reporting procedures here in the Welcome Forum (and the rest of GAIA too heart )

  • Misplaced Thread:
    Someone post a thread that does not belong in the Welcome to GAIA forum? You can help us keep it clean! Before you go for the "report this post button", Pm an online GAIA Helper for that forum. It keeps the report system from getting backed up. Click here to see which GAIA Helpers are online

  • A post that breaks the rules:
    When you see a post in the forums that breaks one of the rules (something more serious than a simple thread move), report it so that a member of GAIA Staff can do something about it. At the upper right hand side of each post, you will see this:

  • http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/4114/wtgstickyreportbutton8le.gif
    To report, click on the "report this post " button (the one highlighted in red here).

    On the next screen, be sure to read the reporting procedures and make sure that what you are reporting is against the rules (Terms of Service) Simply "saying a bad word" or "having a bad avatar" are not reportable offenses. If you abuse the report system you will get a warning and continued offenses will result in a ban.

    http://img439.imageshack.us/img439/4282/stickywtgreportfillin3df.gif

    After you hit submit, you will get a number. You can make a note of it if you want to follow up on the report later with a moderator.

    If you are being harassed by PM:
    If someone is harassing you by PM or there is something that needs immediate attention, PM a member of the staff directly by PM (Private Message)

  • Moderators have colored names. The title underneath their username determines what type of things that particular moderator handles:

    Moderator Assistants: Assist Dedicated GAIA Moderators with thread move requests (specific to the forum they are listed in)
    Site Assistance Moderators: Deal with Terms of Service Violations
    Global GAIA Moderators: Handle abuse and harassment cases, as well as help oversee ToS issues across the entire site.
    Omnimoderators: Responsible for resolving account issues, hacking cases, and scamming cases
    Site Administrators: Creators of Gaia Online, responsible for sitewide development.

  • To find a list of online moderators for a forum, click on the "find forum moderators" link at the upper left of each forum.
    List of Welcome to GAIA Moderators:

    There is also a really useful thread that lists all the mods on the site. Access it HERE
  
     
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Post: 10457199_8 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:04 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:04 pm
 
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Here is a list of the forums on GAIA and a short description of what goes there. Be sure read each forum's specific rules sticky if you plan on posting there.

GAIA Online





Artist's Corner




Miscellaneous
     
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Post: 10457199_9 created on Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:48 pmPosted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:48 pm
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Here are a few helpful links that will help you out!
  
     
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Post: 10457199_10 created on Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:38 amPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:38 am
 
"terradi"
http://tinypic.com/b6yiq0.gif

Welcome, we provide links to threads that give free stuff to newbies, like artwork, items & advice.


Free Gold & Items:

~ The NEW Shoes for Newbies ~

The Charity Shoppe

<<::Cherish::>> (( Clothing Newbies ))

The Golden Streets




Free Artwork:

Free Avatar Art for Newbies



Adoptions:

Newb Adoption Thread



Advice:
Guide to Gaia Reporting
The Newbie Supporting and Training Guild

M-Corp
(information and recruitment page here)

Temporarily closed or inactive threads:

The Disguise me Charity (provides clothing for new users)
The Broken Sword Charity
help others
Newbie Lovers/Helpers Guild
The n00b Adoption Agency
Gaian Life
The Church of Gaia Charities
Adoption Agency
*FREE ITEM FOR WORTHY FEMALE NEWBIES*
G-Angels Inc
G.F.N.F Giveaway For New Fishers!
Gaian Newbie Mentors (on hiatus)
Care N Share - community foundation
Shoes For Newbies


If you want to add your thread to the list, please contact one of the following mods and we will get back to you. Note: Your thread must be at least one month old and it must be active before it will be considered.

Keakealani
terradi
Malee
Lluvia Maya
Sashanaru
     
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Post: 10457199_11 created on Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:21 amPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:21 am
"Lluvia Maya"
http://tinypic.com/b6ylgm.gif

This is a list of the available Help threads in different languages, all designed to help you get started on Gaia.


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Spanish:

Bienvenido a Gaia - Con todo lo que necesitas saber (en construccion)

Gaia Oficial - Reglas de Gaia y demas



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Portuguese:

Galera do Alambique Guild (Guild)

Barzinho Brazuca (Guild)



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French:

L'essentiel a savoir sur Gaia (Guild)


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German: Noch keiner



Italian:

FAQ - Domande piu' frequenti (Guild)



If you have a help thread in another language (or you had one and it was lost in the url switchovers) and want it listed here, please contact one of the following mods and we will get back to you.

Keakealani
terradi
Malee
Lluvia Maya
 
     
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