[10/05/22] Should Monthly Collectibles be re-released?

Do you think the old school Monthly Collectibles should be re-released?

Yes	54.9%	[ 2464 ]
Yes, but not the envelopes	20.3%	[ 913 ]
No	14.5%	[ 649 ]
Indifferent	10.3%	[ 461 ]
Total Votes:			[ 4487 ]

[MegaRose]

Chaos

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=14978789&_gaia_t_=1272&page=last

Psst - That link gives a permission error.  Probably means that guild is private.  Is it relevant to my response?  Or anything else in the thread?

[Chaos]

MegaRose

Chaos

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=14978789&_gaia_t_=1272&page=last

Psst - That link gives a permission error.  Probably means that guild is private.  Is it relevant to my response?  Or anything else in the thread?

Look who is quoted first!

https://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/id.41659

[Rattlesnake Jake]

Chaos

Rattlesnake Jake

If they can't be re-released for monetary value but like, put into free Gaia RIGs or DC, I don't see why they couldn't. There's some pretty spiffy items that are being held hostage for the sake of exclusivity instead of being available to those who genuinely want to dress up...on...an avatar forum dress up site.

Original Gaian’s are part of the best generation:

Gaia has 2,461,894,653 articles posted with 31,500,811 registered users.
Most users ever online was 532,396 on Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:40 pm

I like how you state with such bravado another logical fallacy while simultaneously managing to quote me and not even address my statement.

Who says that original Gaian's are part of the best generation? You and what, a collection of mules and maybe a few others that are butthurt about their item's gold worth? Hardly someone I would take expertise from. There's been all sorts of different users over the years that have great points and should not be ignored in favor of "the original Gaian"

Quoting random statistics that are public isn't exactly a convincing argument. Especially considering that Gaia still has an issue with bots posting.

Chaos

Gaiaonline is not just a “dress-up” site, it was THE Facebook, MySpace, and instagram of the time back then. What it has deteriorated to now, is an esoteric interests website. That’s why you don’t see “boomer” millennials, as you put it, hanging out, who possess net worths of over a million USD. The issues that this site have seen the past 7 years, range from: disorganized, unproductive, and ignorant staff - to members of the moderator/admin team creating tickets for themselves and friends. This site has seen it’s fair set of unusual issues.

I see my boomer comments have gone over your head; but that's okay I'll explain it to you so that you understand my points better.

Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the post–World War II baby boom.The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country.The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig in the python". Most baby boomers are children of either the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation, and are often parents of late Gen Xers and Millennials. Late baby boomers can also be the parents of older members of Generation Z.

Not once have I referenced millennials, but you seem to have an issue with drawing your on conclusions, so I will explain further.

Your attitude of "I worked hard and suffered to get X item, so should everyone else" is really asinine, archaic in thinking, and really just shows how self-absorbed you are.

The site has issues, I agree, and while there are many factors to consider, attitudes like yours are not helpful.

Chaos

Now, It’s quite simple to understand the mindset of the originals back then; when it comes to monthly collectibles. Original Gaia was from 2003 to 2012. That is 9 years. What proceeded that is this lower-scaled version of Gaia, with noob Staff not understanding integrity, and a management team unable to pay for a business purchase. Without innovation, all exclusive items will continue be beaten down. It’s simple, the art team cannot beat their predecessors, hence this thread.

People want to support the site back then, and people want to support the site now. I'm well aware disastrous decisions have been made. A company has to adapt with the times, especially an online website like Gaia. Times have changed, improvements need to be made, and with that costs money.

“Being stagnant in a business is the death of a business.”
― Pooja Agnihotri

The so-called "integrity" that you are talking about just sounds more like gatekeeping times to supplement your inflated sense of self-worth.

Chaos

The final most important thing, is our marketplace - the marketplace of today is completely destroyed and devastated to what it originally looked like. Every single monthly collectible and its sequential chronology, had a value descending, proportionate to its month. Currently, every single item in the marketplace is mixed in terms of valuations, that’s why you have guys like me, who’re willing to spend a few quadrillion to have 1000 duplicates of MCs - while others are willing to comply with the recolor ticket ideology of current Gaia.

The fact is, there is no truth only perspective.🌎

I believe recolours of MCs, satisfy the criteria of “dress-up”.👘🥋

See, this is what I don't understand about your position. You talk about "the original Gaian" and "maintaining integrity" but are clearly preoccupied with an item "worth" based on fake currency value.

I'm all for nostalgia, there's been some great things over the years (along with bad ones, naturally) but you are clearly only focused on monetary worth as you keep referencing (as well as others) in this thread while claiming it's for nostalgic reasons things should not be changed.

Chaos

2022 Gaia:

Quote:

Who is Online? - 2726 users. (1158 visible, 344 hidden, 1224 guests).

I rest my case. lol

Oh snap, you can copy and paste different statistics from different times. Congrats on again not really answering my points and just using copypasta to answer me.

[Rattlesnake Jake]

Lord Mephisto

Rattlesnake Jake

We had announcements like this in the past saying that the MC was available for the month. There's nothing explicitly stating that they are only available for that month forever and ever as well as promising to never re-releasing them ever again.

That announcement says : "Don’t forget that these items will only be available this month!" Perhaps we disagree over the definition of the word only...

Only available this month does not indicate a promise it will not change in the future.

It is only available that month through those means. Which is an accurate statement.

If it said something more along the lines of

This item is available for this month only and will never be re-released again

That would be a more specific promise, and I would understand more of the anger about this discussion.

Lord Mephisto

So you weren't on the site at the time? Perhaps before stating such strong opinions you should listen to people who were.

Why? Being on the site longer than someone like me doesn't make you an expert in all things Gaia, after all.

I have listened to many people, hence why I haven't posted sooner in this thread.

Most of the loudest points seem to revolve around gatekeeping MCs and making sure some things stay more expensive because....gotta have all the fake currency and win at gaia or something.

Lord Mephisto

Statements about the non rerelease of DIs/MCs were commonplace

And? Even if it was commonplace by staff members or whatever, the promise has been broken by individuals that were not making the statement that MCs or whatever would never be re-released again.

Cat's out of the bag, yo. The damage as has been done. The so called promise was broken. Might as well make the most of it to benefit both users and keep the site running/able to afford doing improvements

Most of the people I see crying about the re-releases are just worried about fake currency worth, as if that was the only explanation an item has any value. I mentioned in my earlier posts that the "value" of an item is different to different people, monetary included.


But monetary worth is not the only worth. Yet majority of the responses I have read seem to be solely focused on this aspect and nothing else while citing "nostalgic reasons"

Lord Mephisto

but there were all sorts of posts from staff, admins, and, later, Gaia's in house "economist" that you would have found extremely illuminating.

Yeah, I've been around for those sketchy things and wasn't impressed with those individuals in the slightest.

[Lord Mephisto]

Rattlesnake Jake

Only available this month does not indicate a promise it will not change in the future.

Only available this month, means that it will only be available this month. The future is not this month. I don't think we can have a logical discussion. Best of luck to you, I hope you get whatever it is you want out of this website.

I was mostly just trying to let you know your assumptions:

Rattlesnake Jake

I haven't been around since the beginning of the site, like some, but from what I've been able to see is that people extrapolated from the idea of MCs being "never released ever again" based on the fact that pretty much all the announcements said that the item in question was available for this month.

Is completely inaccurate. It was well documented in many places (all of the sales and donation pages, for many, many years), in writing, that the items would not be sold again. It was also a precedent for many years, and in fact the cornerstone of the sales process for the items.

Sure you could argue the damage is already done. For my part, I thought the original leadership returning were trying to undo the damage of the past. Not everything can be fixed or undone I grant you but further breaking broken promises doesn't seem great to me.

Either way, I have no intention to hang around here moving forward, I certainly have no intention of spending money here, so my opinion probably shouldn't matter to this business as much as those that do.

[Chaos]

Rattlesnake Jake

Your attitude of "I worked hard and suffered to get X item, so should everyone else" is really asinine, archaic in thinking, and really just shows how self-absorbed you are.

The site has issues, I agree, and while there are many factors to consider, attitudes like yours are not helpful.

“Being stagnant in a business is the death of a business.”
― Pooja Agnihotri

The so-called "integrity" that you are talking about just sounds more like gatekeeping times to supplement your inflated sense of self-worth.

My inflated sense of self worth? As a gamer, my track history is winning. As a professional, it’s none of your business?

To possess anything of value in this life, requires effort. Whether online or irl. Those that earned value deserve it. You’re clearly on the liberal front, while I’m on the conservative, on re-releasing the original pixels. I will not say more.

You should see the prominent Gaian’s the last 7 years, who have exploited exclusive tickets. Some sell copies once a year, asking $5,000.00+ in in-game currency for a copy of an item, that can be attained for a $150.00 perfect parcel, with a mere “yes” from the creator.

Gatekeeping is impossible for monthly collectibles, when they have been re-released to death. Only monetization will save this business, this thread is not helping. It’s an original $2.50 item, valued by hundreds of thousands of users. The marketplace can’t handle the volume of more, with such a dismal user count. My two cents.

[Rattlesnake Jake]

Chaos

Rattlesnake Jake

Your attitude of "I worked hard and suffered to get X item, so should everyone else" is really asinine, archaic in thinking, and really just shows how self-absorbed you are.

The site has issues, I agree, and while there are many factors to consider, attitudes like yours are not helpful.

“Being stagnant in a business is the death of a business.”
― Pooja Agnihotri

The so-called "integrity" that you are talking about just sounds more like gatekeeping times to supplement your inflated sense of self-worth.

My inflated sense of self worth? As a gamer, my track history is winning. As a professional, it’s none of your business?

Congrats you win at games, I am so impressed to be in your presence and watch you prove my point at the same time. neutral

Chaos

To possess anything of value in this life, requires effort. Whether online or irl. Those that earned value deserve it. You’re clearly on the liberal front, while I’m on the conservative, on re-releasing the original pixels. I will not say more.

Like in real life or online, a valuable object depends on the individual.

I know it's really hard concept for you to grasp because you've failed in it every time you quoted it, but not everything has monetary worth to be valuable to an individual.

I've had a few items I quested before that I really wanted....and they dropped in gold value later because they got re-released. Didn't really matter to me because the item in question had personal significance to me and no price tag was gonna make it "more" or "less" valuable because of the experiences I had getting it or whatever.

Besides, even if more old MCs get re-released, it will be done in a way that will monetarily benefit the company because last time I checked, businesses do not function on well-wishes and obscene amounts of praising.

If people buy re-released MC's with their IRL money, it doesn't necessarily mean they didn't "earn" the item. Some of us work pretty hard jobs and find satisfaction in getting items on Gaia directly without pandering to others in hope of getting a decent deal.

Chaos

You should see the prominent Gaian’s the last 7 years, who have exploited exclusive tickets. Some sell copies once a year, asking $5,000.00+ in in-game currency for a copy of an item, that can be attained for a $150.00 perfect parcel, with a mere “yes” from the creator.

...what is the point of this? As far as I know, some of those who have exploited getting expensive tickets were punished for their offenses.

Chaos

Gatekeeping is impossible for monthly collectibles, when they have been re-released to death.

Some have and some haven't. High prices and hoarding like you proudly broadcast in your signature seem to do a good job of gatekeeping.

Chaos

Only monetization will save this business, this thread is not helping.

Wait....you agree monetization will save this business but if MCs are re-released through monetary means that's a problem suddenly? Your notion of creating conclusions never fails to amuse me.

Chaos

It’s an original $2.50 item, valued by hundreds of thousands of users. The marketplace can’t handle the volume of more, with such a dismal user count. My two cents.

Eh, you can keep your two cents, so far it ain't worth much.

Valued by hundreds of thousands of users for a million and a half different reasons than being the richest kid on the block with fake currency. If anything, such a coveted item being released for an X amount of gCash (which Gaia has already done in the past!) would help boost sales and help bring more money to Gaia.

[Chaos]

Rattlesnake Jake

Eh, you can keep your two cents, so far it ain't worth much.

Your store:

Serving Gaia since Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:47 pm with 206 transactions, totalling 890,642p.

Please, do not reply to me further or I’ll add you to my ignore list.

Gatekeeping is when there is zero listing.

Take care!😆

[Post Coital Cookie]

I'm very confused what MP stats have to do with the conversation at hand. There are plenty of users who've made sells in the Qs and still want to see the rerelease of MCs. So far, nothing at all has been shown to combat so hard against this plan except the fear of diminishing virtual investments. But isn't that a part of investing, the risk? I.e. you risk watching your items tank and not being able to sell your lot before they're worthless? Lot of effort to have a vast portfolio of items that have zero monetary worth outside of the site imo. But do you. The site closes down and there goes everything you worked so hard to gatekeep and then no one gets to have and enjoy anything.

So I still say I'd love to see a surplus of these items enter the site again, to be enjoyed by all who'd like the chance.

[MegaRose]

Chaos

Rattlesnake Jake

Eh, you can keep your two cents, so far it ain't worth much.

Your store:

Serving Gaia since Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:47 pm with 206 transactions, totalling 890,642p.

Please, do not reply to me further or I’ll add you to my ignore list.

Gatekeeping is when there is zero listing.

Take care!😆

2008 joindates in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.  You're lucky account trading isn't permitted on Gaia, I've been on similar sites where joindates and low account numbers are worth considerable currency.  Rattlesnake Jake's 7-digit account number (and decent username) holds a lot more weight than your 8-digit.  If we really wanted to dig into user stats and establish a hierarchy there's so many factors to audit and I highly doubt that's going to fall in your favor.

But isn't it kind of sad and detrimental when we hold each other to arbitrary standards?  Especially when we back that worth with a currency that has no value in real life?  Wouldn't it just be better for the community if the social status leaderboard were systematically discouraged?  Maybe the site staff could do something to nudge us in that direction, like broadening the pool of rare trinkets for us to collect.

[Thornson]

I remember begging my parents as a young teen to let me get a couple MCs back in the day! I'd love to see them come back into circulation. I still work some of the scant few I have into my outfits from time to time. I still have a Gothic Veil, Summoning Tome, and Nitemare Crown kicking around! Among a couple other older MC's. (Man, I remember when I managed to snag a second-gen Fausto's Bottle. But I sold Nitemare Demonic Anklets to get it! Oh well, kid me wasn't too concerned with the values of collectibles. I wanted the awesome shiny new EI. And kid me eventually sold that, too. But due to rereleases, I now have some copies of the 11th gen version. Awesome!)

I'm all for it. My vote was to let the envelopes remain collector's items, for the obsessed people who want to hoard unopened MC envelopes out of all things. But absolutely, at the minimum, re-release the old items inside them! And if staff does re-release the envelopes, I'm not about to get huffy about it. I'd love to see some of the coolest old items the site had to offer come back into the mainstream- and what sorts of items people would pair them with now! Heck, maybe I could finally complete my nitemare item set Demonic item set and delight the memory of my incredibly edgy (and yet still LOLRANDOM!), 13yo self.

Edit: I really got the nitemare and demonic item sets mixed up.. It's been a good few years.. oops! sweatdrop

[Helena Lilith]

I miss the feelings of getting a monthly envelope tbh

[Chaos]

MegaRose

Maybe the site staff could do something to nudge us in that direction, like broadening the pool of rare trinkets for us to collect.

The Art Team and Cash Shop teams, do not know how to move Gaia forward with monetization - Angel Items or Monthly Flaires will never encounter the same level of success of Monthly Collectibles, because of the current site traffic. Gaia is surviving, and not thriving. Not one post has taken the time to make a comprehensive list of the current list of Monthly Collectibles, to take inventory on their current market values and listing amount - It takes a business mind to solve business related problems.

What is the more ethical option? Or, more simply: What is the right thing to do here? I believe it’s doing nothing for monthly collectibles, other than revert to the original sandbox and make new items. I’ve said all I’ve needed to, and will not supplement my points.