A ray of hope?

[Darius Runan]

ChibiRodan

Darius Runan

ChibiRodan

Darius Runan

Since DJ is just fulfilling the last bit of his contract regarding conventions, which is what I believe he said in the forums a while back, I am taking his words with a bit of salt.

I know he's a well known and loved figure around here, but he also has to play by Gaia interactive's rules. In that sense, he could be blowing smoke and nobody would have a clue.

Yeah. However if business was hurting they would have changed tactics. Also people are like management is stupid. You don't become a manager if you are an idiot you have to have some cunning and skill.

There are plenty of cunning and skillful liars.

So are you implying that DJ is a liar?

I'm not going that far. I'm just implying specifically that there are in the business world that have, and still to this day, lie to attain success.

[ChibiRodan]

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/gaiaonline.com
Ad stats according to Alexa which is owned by Amazon.

[ChibiRodan]

Darius Runan

ChibiRodan

Darius Runan

ChibiRodan

Darius Runan

Since DJ is just fulfilling the last bit of his contract regarding conventions, which is what I believe he said in the forums a while back, I am taking his words with a bit of salt.

I know he's a well known and loved figure around here, but he also has to play by Gaia interactive's rules. In that sense, he could be blowing smoke and nobody would have a clue.

Yeah. However if business was hurting they would have changed tactics. Also people are like management is stupid. You don't become a manager if you are an idiot you have to have some cunning and skill.

There are plenty of cunning and skillful liars.

So are you implying that DJ is a liar?

I'm not going that far. I'm just implying specifically that there are in the business world that have, and still to this day, lie to attain success.

I'm not sure DJ is in this for glory or money anymore...

[ChibiRodan]

Can't find the Gold cap announcement in the zOMG forums....erg it has been to long.

[Darius Runan]

Sara Free Falling

Darius Runan

ChibiRodan

Darius Runan

Since DJ is just fulfilling the last bit of his contract regarding conventions, which is what I believe he said in the forums a while back, I am taking his words with a bit of salt.

I know he's a well known and loved figure around here, but he also has to play by Gaia interactive's rules. In that sense, he could be blowing smoke and nobody would have a clue.

Yeah. However if business was hurting they would have changed tactics. Also people are like management is stupid. You don't become a manager if you are an idiot you have to have some cunning and skill.

There are plenty of cunning and skillful liars.

Your obsessive belief that Gaia's staff is lying constantly just discredits any legitimate thing you might have to say about the state of Gaia right now.

Tell me where I said all of Gaia's staff is lying. At most, I believe many of them are being told what they can and cannot say. DJ is no exception.

Additionally, I said that there are cunning and skillful liars. Aside from my previous sentence, not once did I say that Gaia's staff is lying. You want to defend Gaia staff? That's fine, but make sure you get your facts straight first.

I have nothing but respect for many of gaia's staff, some that have been here since I joined in 2003. Does it mean I agree with everything they do or say? No. But it doesn't mean I respect them any less for not agreeing.

Additionally, here's a list of some of the things certain staff, which does not represent gaia staff in entirety, have been lying about:

-Flynn's Booty FAQ
-Monthly Collectables
-Gold distribution
-Moderation

[Sukegawa]

im glad to hear that the panel went well
i hope there wasn't too much screaming and shouting from people

was there any word on the inventory arranger or on future events?
sorry if someones mentioned it earlier on in the thread, but i was just curious

[mayakko]

I'll be hopeful when they stop selling gold generators.

[Alamas]

ChibiRodan

Gilbert Nightray

I don't see it as a Ray of Hope at all... From what I read here, they basically said at the panel that they will never stop with the GoldGens and that they want cash shop items to be EXCLUSIVES.
Which means, they want to make the site like the freemium facebook games and all that s**t. And this means I won't enjoy it anymore. I don't like the pressure that is put on me to buy.
I spent money on the page back then when it wasn't forcing me to do so, however now I don't feel like it...
At least Gaia now openly told us that the old days are over and that we are cash cows to them. Thanks for the honesty at least!

You guys don't get it. It was from the get go Exclusive. Pay 2.50 and get an item that one the marketplace sells for 100K. Oh by the way in order to get that much you have to post 10,000 times. I am barely up to 16K in posts I would have never been able to afford that item. So for me the day the introduced MC's they were a dream that was nigh impossible to achieve.

I would argue this. Initially, yes it was probably intended that way but people DID earn that money - they bumped relentlessly and earned 100k. Booty Grab made it easier - there was inflation but it didnt make any item unachievable - it just meant you needed to play a lot of games or post a lot. I earned 300k+ items when I was younger just by being active on Gaia.
Now, with most decent items costing BILLIONS, but games like Booty Grab still giving out under 5,000coins per win (if that) and posting still earning 1 or 2 gold it is impossible to earn the amount needed for any item.
Before it was a challenge, now it is a divide between cash and non-cash. Increased pay outs would cause inflation, but they would also bridge the gap - it might give EVERYONE a shot, not just cash users

[VaniIla Coke]

okay and?
that doesn't mean s**t.
know that saying, 'actions speak louder than words'.
well, im waiting bitches.
dear lord, if they are gonna hide behind people buying gold generators as their reason for continue to sell that, then help us all cause they are really a piece of work.

[ChibiRodan]

mayakko

I'll be hopeful when they stop selling gold generators.

Don't we all hope this.

[2sarahgate]

xx I met my fate xx

Kuyusi

xx I met my fate xx

Kuyusi

Sounds like she's the only one taking it seriously sadly.

And the art shops ARE affected.
Two months ago I was charging 500k for a fullbody piece. Now I'm getting offers close to 100million. As much as I want to keep my prices low the fact of the matter is that if I charge 500k for 3+ hours of work I'm getting nothing.

I don't expect to buy one item off of my wishlist for every piece of art I do...but I do expect that saving up from 3-5 commissions should get me one item as it always has in the past. Now, unless I charge far more than I believe is fair, I can't do that.

I have taken 500k for art now just because those people were on my waiting list and still wanted art. I didn't feel it was right to say "yeah but you gotta up your offer" because back then that was a good offer to me. Getting offered a million gold for a piece was like this glorious thing that never happened.

I don't know...Honestly I don't think the solution lies in upping payouts. I think the solution lies in getting rid of GGs altogether, Releasing deflationary item generators and continuing the great work they've been doing in updating shops like Loyal's Bazaar. They also need to update the gold shops, release new features and if every feature HAS to have a cash option then perhaps make them have a gold alternative as well. For example powerups in switchem....They're 15gc and up...there's something to be said for perhaps adding an option to buy the same powerups for 150k in gold.

Annnd I'm rambling.

I'm right there with you sister. (I KNEW I remembered your name, do you remember this little beauty? Still one of my favourite pieces I've ever done. <3) Back in the day I charged 500k for full bodies too, when 1mil was an insane ammount of gold. Around 2012 I think I upped it to 2mil because of inflation, and now I just...I just can't anymore. I'm going with solid item prices in the future because gold is completely unreliable.

I want my art to be affordable for people, I do freebie things sometimes during events so at least people who aren't richy mcritcherson can get their hands on some art from me, but Gaia is basically forcing the industry of work-for-gold (something I've done since '04) to get insane.

And I like your concept of making game items available for gold, if I could pay gold for extra turns or powerups, you better believe I would, and I'm sure lots of other people would too. As it is, I can never get the final items in switchem because I refuse to spend my paltry sum of GC on that sort of thing.

I even said at the panel that I try to buy GC when I can (starving artist in LA, not much play money to throw around) to support the site and artists, but what they've done to the economy with the gold generators is just unfair and hurtful to those who can't shell out major bucks. Granted it gets the site much needed revenue but at what price? People who want to take the easy way out will always shell out the cash, but for those who enjoy the satisfaction of questing, and really only have gold as a means to use the site, they deserve better treatment. It's not just the deep pocketed users that keep this site going.

They even said at the panel that the "community" is the most important thing, and that it's what Gaia has always been about. I should have mentioned in my question that what they're doing with some of the GC items (read: gold generators) is very much damaging that community that they say they hold so dear.

I do remember that piece. <3 It's still the one I use as the post style when I don that avi. <3

Your prices were always reasonable for your unique style, well worth it in my opinion. These days though...the difference is not just that everyone has more gold. Some of us were lucky. When inflation hit I got rich because I already had a decent art following.

Others who don't do art...well they're the reason I have my charity thread. To most gaians who don't or can't buy GC these days and don't do art, 500k is STILL a lot! Now I feel like dropping 500k is nothing at all...the separation it created between the virtual classes is...terrible.

quite so. my primary income is BG, and that's 100k. i used to be fine dropping a mil on a good art piece, i could make up the ten days of work.
now? i've given completely given up my art quest and closed my request thread. i just can't afford anything. twas my second favorite thing on gaia after my thread 10mil...
i have 271mil to my name. more gold than i've ever had ever. but it's nothing nowadays. ;_; domokun stargate

[Little-Missy-Moo]

I don't feel it. Gaia could be taking feedback and making notes by browsing the Site Feedback forum. (Especially in regards to gold sinks and gold generators.) I don't think one person will make too much of a difference. emo

[Pewpewkachu]

Yeah, there is no hope for this place anymore. They've shown us pretty plainly where their priorities lie, and it's not with pleasing their users.

Grats, they have a mouthpiece now, that's not allowed to tell us anything we actually want to hear, because nondisclosure agreements, and also because they aren't actually TRYING to fix the gold economy, because it's 100% to their benefit if they ******** it up and force people to spend real money or leave (and believe me, they don't care if you do leave, if you never intend to drop any cash here).

[Owlie]

Pffffft, bullshit. We just got a 3.5 billion generator.