Ok, I have to get ready for bed, so I am gonna sum up my rage in one last post for today.

This day had it's start about 2 years ago.

You might be asking how.

The opening of the cash shop.

Before, Gaia was supported by the MC/DI system, and by ads. And it worked. The MCs were decent, might not have always be loved, but people got it. Once a month, you get special items. love it or hate it, this was how it happened.

Then they introduced the Cash Shop...and the First Evolving item. Suddenly, a whole grip of items, that were the same level of detail as many gold shop items, were made available. And people BOUGHT them, the first mistake.

And we were told the EIs would be random. But they still followed a schedule, more or less. So we were able to cope, because, like the MCs, we knew when we would get the new toys, and so it was tolerated.

Then we got the fish. And at first, there was a floodgate of fish stuff. And the GCD(myself included) had a fit."These things DIE? WTH?!" And we got told "But so do real fish." Despite these being digital fish, we accepted this, because, it gave us gold, and LOTS of it, and tore up what had been a slowly rising economy, into one out of control in the user run marketplace. But we had gold, and it was good to have it.

And then our first true RIGs. The gift boxes were a nice taste, but now...they could get people to pay for the items that had been asked for, nay BEGGED for for years. And a hefty price, and this too was accepted. Because there were RARE ITEMS inside. That could be sold for MILLIONS. And we had millions to offer, because of our paid for, and dying, fish.

And sponsor items, things that were supposed to bring ad money in was not enough. We have 156 Sponsor items on the site, from clothes, to mascots, to game items, to car parts. And almost all rendered worthless in the current economy of Gaia. Of these items, all but ONE over 15k in the MP is a former CS item.

Yet we accept it.

So much we have accepted, because "change is good for the site". And maybe it is. I still buy MCs, with cash, every month. But I am distraught over the lack of care, and detail, that was once given to these items. This month's were the first ones done well in a long time, IMO. I buy EIs in the MP, even though they are gouged, and fewer and fewer live up to the hype, their purpose, and indeed, their very description as 'evolving'. I get fish for my tank, but only cheap ones in the MP, the rest were gifts. I may get a RIG item, because I do like the look, yet feel bad, because somewhere on the site, someone's heart is breaking, because the item they have asked for for YEARS, is now for sale to the highest millionaire.

The smoking items being banned is much like the straw that breaks the camel's back. It's a little thing. Meaningless, to most Gaians. I've seen this topic split much of the forums today. GCD, SF, CB, GD, even subforums have it discussed...people in the quest threads, saddened, because now an item they wanted is no longer an option. Cosplayers, now missing a vital key to their look. Those that wished to express that they ARE adults, and have made that choice, no matter the end result. And those that wanted them to have that choice.

And to those that are quick to defend, those that make these choices, or do the artwork...

This site is their job. End of the day, they get PAID to do a job. I could care less if "it's too stressful". You collect a paycheck. if it's too much, find a job you can handle. This isn't it. People here have paid for a good or service in one form or another, and it's about time that someone was held accountable. They know who they are. And they don't need yet another white knight to defend them again.

I'm not leaving. I have been with this site for too long, rode the currents of change that came. But I cannot sit by and say nothing any more. I personally do not plan to buy more than MCs any longer using GC. No RIGs, no CS, no EI's. If I cannot afford it in the MP, then I will not afford it. And I plan to boycott these items for a long time. Possibly the rest of my Gaian days, how ever many or few I may have.

I'm going to finish this up, because likely, this post will be removed, or deleted, or something, because it wasn't read or what have you, or said to be a rant. And maybe it is, but it is about Gaia, and what I feel it has become. A site that has gone down a road, where it's users are little more than a quick buck. But I will save it. And spoons be damned, tldr out the window. We are not all children here, and we don't need our hands held, and our wallets picked clean. Do right by the users, and I promise you, they will do right by you, Gaia.

~Ridley Starsmore