Another ***** was outed in the CB today.

[Infamous]

Source.

While the way it was done does not follow within Gaia's Terms of Service (trolling), threads like this have become more frequent within the past year. I'm sure some are more smear campaigns than others and Gaia's stance on it is to just warn/ban the person who created the thread (which is another issue), it is still extremely concerning that this is a continued pattern on the site.

I understand why Gaia does not use screenshots as evidence but I do feel there should be more time dedicated to investigating these matters by paid staff outside of "well, they didn't post that they were a ***** so we're not going to worry about that right now." Only banning the one account that confessed or did whatever gross action does not stop the ***** from coming back.

The [e-mail] email exists for users to send in evidence of people they are concerned about but if you're not willing to encourage users to go there but also not responding to their concerns when they do, then threads like this are going to continue to happen.

There needs to be a system in place to help proactively watch for this behavior. I know it probably is not in the budget but addressing these concerns should be a higher priority. Waiting for the next CB call out thread of the week or hoping that someone will actually report the incident correctly really should not be the method of choice.

Additionally, there should be more consideration about what content Gaia creates. The best example is the Eyes in the Back of Your... item and it's recolors. This is where Gaia created a school girl who lifts up her skirt to entice men to her before turning into a monster. Outside of the "turning into a monster" part, this item is a representation of a ***** fantasy; child seduction.

While I do agree that an "age" can't be placed on the item, we're still talking about a base that easily looks anywhere from like 12 to 16. And, if the admins want to have that argument out with me again, I can happily refer to other cases we can review where the erotic RP characters that looked like a child but the user stated the character was like 200. If you're not going to allow that bullshit with users, you shouldn't allow it with staff members.

That item isn't the only fetish item that is used for grooming. This site allows 13 year olds and I get that they know what a nude body is or whatever that argument is for those items but it also allows adults and some seem pretty intent on actively preying on the teens on this site. How is it that staff members are completely okay with items like Kama, Godina, Solimella, Tsunberi Root, and other items being sent to the younger members of the site as part of the grooming?

I know that sex sells but at some point you need to accept responsibility of the content you release on this site. Being sexy does not necessarily mean we have to physically grope our boobs or have poses where the arms are being used to shove them forward.

To simplify my feedback; if this was an adult only site, I would not give a s**t about current policies for content and there would be policies in place to keep kids off the site. You have, however, always allowed those that were at least 13 years of age. If you're not willing to create policies to better ensure the safety of your members as well as what policies for the content that is created, then that is a dangerous game to play and your are placing your own userbase at risk because of your own negligence for the sake of money.

[Ilubria Hime Sama]

I joined gaia many, many years ago.
I'm turning 29 in two weeks.I joined when I was 14
Most of gaia, the things that interested me back in the day was the rapid chat movement and meeting people from across the world.
Chatterbox and it's many hangouts were the biggest appeal for me and along with that were all the sorts of people who followed.

I can vividly remember my first encounter with getting sexual PM's back then and even the username of the person which I don't know is ok to disclose.
But as a curious growing up kid, the sexual talks of nature and so on were really interesting at the time.
I never really stopped to think about it till recently that, running into such a person at a young age, and being subject to the influence and suggestions that she made at the time did leave lasting impressions.
Luckily for me, nothing really bad ever happened but it did leave lasting impressions and led me to become sexually active. Nobody knows if I hadn't met them it'd been the same or not. But it wasn't something I should've ever been exposed to.

I've been on gaia a long time
I saw the change from a big rp community that stuck together and roleplayed and just was kind to eachother to the "whoever dies with the most items wins" attitude we have today.

From the start of the sex sells era (Punishing & Kama) to where we are right now were items are literally naked and erotic in nature (Tsunberi's boobs pressed forward pose, can't be interpreted any other way than erotic) where you can't even imagine a non sexual situation for the pose of the item, it kinda makes you think.

I love gaia, I'm still here after years, after a ban in which I wasn't exactly treated nicely the support staff, after seeing things drastically change.
And I'm fine with this.
Change in itself, is a good thing.

But gaia refuses to change from it's age 13 is where we start our target audience core; while also adopting the "sex sells" policy.

You can expect the userbase to not go to great lenghts to find some erotic suggestive pose. This makes sense. It is like locking gunpowder and a lighter in two different safes and someone opening both to start an explosion.

However if you have 13 year and around kids around, with tons of easily accessible nude poses and very revealing or suggestive items, Such as the eyes in the back of your item.

You're basically putting a lighter next to the gunpowder on the table.
If you leave kids to play with fire, they're going to get burnt.

I would like to either see gaia do it's bit to make erotic items and suggestible items less acessible for minors, or to separate the adults from the minors.

It's not unusual for a predator or such to get outed somewhere on gaia at least once a week.
I'd like to see Gaia be a safe place for kids. Or to see kids away from Gaia.

At the very least, I'd like to see Gaia acknowledge these problems.

[butt stuff occultism]

honestly, just make the site 18+

that’s a majority of active users anyway.

[Infamous]

Ilubria Hime Sama

Thank you for that insight. I agree that this is something people shouldn't be subjected to and maybe instead of all the "never give out your password" reminders, Gaia should do more education on internet safety. Maybe if more people could realize that they were being groomed and how to report that behavior, this would help prevent the same person from targeting others later.

And I agree, even if Gaia doesn't have an instant fix (which I'm not expecting them to) but at least acknowledge that they have a responsibility to their users.

[Biochemical]

butt stuff occultism

honestly, just make the site 18+

that’s a majority of active users anyway.

[Infamous]

butt stuff occultism

honestly, just make the site 18+

that’s a majority of active users anyway.

Biochemical

butt stuff occultism

honestly, just make the site 18+

that’s a majority of active users anyway.

They've already said no to that idea but I agree that if they want to continue with the content they are creating, then the site needs to see a change on who is allowed to view it.

[Ilubria Hime Sama]

Meromictic

Ilubria Hime Sama

Thank you for that insight. I agree that this is something people shouldn't be subjected to and maybe instead of all the "never give out your password" reminders, Gaia should do more education on internet safety. Maybe if more people could realize that they were being groomed and how to report that behavior, this would help prevent the same person from targeting others later.

And I agree, even if Gaia doesn't have an instant fix (which I'm not expecting them to) but at least acknowledge that they have a responsibility to their users.

Rather than just scream at the wind and complain though.
I would also like to actively seek out suggestions on improvements.

Such as you mentioning better and more varied warnings to dangers other than just account safety.
But also suggesting changes that can go from little changes. (Stricter item screening during creation, a higher priority for possible predatory actions in the reports,or having community events on personal safety and what is and isnt ok)
Or possible larger and more drastic changes(Age verified subforums or forums, restricting acess to ero tagged items somehow)

I am personally really partial to verified forums somehow.
There are limited forums such as Heaven, and the Paw forums which have conditions to be entered so I like to imagine there'd be a way to set a parameter for verified accounts or such.
I do not know anything of coding to see if this is reasonable or not .

[cryborg]

tbh the site should be 18+

they could maybe even make a second site for kids or something with a lot fewer items and no adults allowed? idk.

something should be done.

[Erynne]

cryborg

tbh the site should be 18+

they could maybe even make a second site for kids or something with a lot fewer items and no adults allowed? idk.

something should be done.

They did actually create a second site for 18+ in 2014, but the problem was all the kids went there instead. Tentcl.com failed so hard, it didn't even last the year.

[cryborg]

Erynne

cryborg

tbh the site should be 18+

they could maybe even make a second site for kids or something with a lot fewer items and no adults allowed? idk.

something should be done.

They did actually create a second site for 18+ in 2014, but the problem was all the kids went there instead. Tentcl.com failed so hard, it didn't even last the year.

wow I didn't even hear about that. wasn't here at the time.

[Patutot]

Gaia doesn't take screenshots, other than easily falsifiable, because everything that happens on the site is reportable. What happens these days is because of strict Gaia policies, people tend to move to a different communication medium (like in that example, Discord). The problem with this is even if you met those people from Gaia, Gaia has no hold over that and it's something that you have to take up with Discord or any other messaging apps.

Don't get me wrong. I do believe that this is an issue but the problem is these events, from what I see, keep happening in Discord. (Edit: there is a sticky or something about off-site issues somewhere just can't remember where it is)
And as far as ideas, I think the best Gaia could do is just making more reminders, stickies, etc - and the problem with this is a lot of people don't even bother to read them.

What I think could be done - though naive and idealistic - is for the community to act. How? Look out for each other. Remind each other of what to do. Interfere when you see something wrong. Report bad content. Strive to be good members of the community.
Of course, I'm unaware of what effect CB threads actually have but aside from calling them out, have proper measures been taken?
And Gaia does have a responsibility to us, but I think we have a responsibility to this community as well.

Ilubria Hime Sama

higher priority for possible predatory actions in the reports

Afaik, there is a priority system for reports. For example... a report categorized as "Sexually Explicit Content" is acted upon before say "Offsite Advertising". Although I'm not sure, I don't see why harassment reports wouldn't have top priority?

Ilubria Hime Sama

restricting acess to ero tagged items somehow

Interesting idea but the problem with this is how would people underage see that user's avatar?

[Trash Tanuki]

I joined this site early on in 2008. Back then I was super young. I was the exact age this site was targeted at and I was SO EXCITED to be here! I never had a lot of friends at school except my best friend who also came to this site. Rally was a major thing back then and the RP community was booming, Towns was popular, that's where I was most of my days. I spent most of my days talking to people about Naruto and Bleach, being the biggest dork I could of been.
Now during that time, I was getting into my puberty and finding out what a sexuality was. Back in 2008, the most explicit your character could be was wearing a bra and panties. I loved the fishnet items and would do as much layering as I could to look "cool" and goth. I was a pretty edgey kid back then and was easily turned away from the site after only a few years because of adults.
Now I used to be a Rally Queen/King in my heyday, but that account is no longer active and never will be again because honestly, I'm still to this day too scared to log on and also I lost my log-in info and really don't care to have it back. That account can die with it's rare items.
I was harassed by a lot of guys back then (this was back before I had come out as trans and began a transition to male, so men would approach me as a young 13 year old girl) would come up to "challenge" me to rally and say if they beat me they could do whatever they wanted to me. Which, as you know was super explicit and I didn't tend to lose, but still. It got to the point where I just wouldn't log on, I got harassing PMs demanding sexual acts from me and I just stopped coming.
This place that I had thought safe and could talk freely about being a kid, turned into a total nightmare. Now I'm not going to get into my huge disturbing past, but as a 23 year old adult on Gaia, I'm honestly terrified for anyone who joins up now. This site has become so adult oriented, yet the rule still stands you can be 13+ to join. Sure you can't post straight up porn to the site, but who needs porn when most of your items allow for avatars to be more explicit than a naked woman? Yes the avatars are chibi like and meant to not look originally sexy, but the more poses we get, the more explicit they have become and the more nude characters are getting. Honestly, as an adult, I couldn't care less as I am an adult and don't get hot and bothered by a chibi, but art is a HUGE part of this community and getting art isn't that difficult and NSFW exists.
What would be more comforting is to see the site go where it needs to go if it wants to go down this path. Either make the site 17+ or limit the 13-16 year old's interaction with adults. Even with all these rules in place, children are being preyed upon. This site is great and I love it dearly, but there needs to be a change. A lot of the loyal fanbase has been around SINCE 2003-2010. Any kid joining now is just a dangerous game. The nostalgia is great for a while, but after a while it becomes scary. It is growing more and more apparent that the staff needs to acknowledge what is happening instead of just hushing it and releasing items to promote the activity they are hushing.
Now making this big of a change isn't going to be easy, but if you are asking for money for these items, real life cash for these items that are grossly explicit and borderline pornographic, having anyone under 17 able to purchase them without their parents knowing what their hard earned money is spent on, is disturbing. There is a thin line between the responsibility of a parent and the responsibility of a site to take care of these things. Not all parents are going to be aware of what this site holds at first glance or even a skimmed milk glance. Also a site that says it's "safe" for kids 13 and up is misleading for parents and this site is extremely cutesy to the naked eye. What parent would be the wiser to actually go "Oh this site could be potentially extremely dangerous for my kid". Predators are out there and they are here on Gaia. There is no way else to put it. It needs to be acknowledged.

[Shallotte]

Reposting this here

Shallotte

I don't think its possible for Gaia to prevent sexual conversations from happening- Because no matter what they do; kids and adults alike will find a workaround to speak sexually even on the 'safest websites' you can imagine. And In live chatting areas like towns; I think its realistic to say thats out of their hands.

However, I do agree that gaia should stop putting out so many naked/sexually suggestive items. A lot of items come out these days come out with the ability to remove the default grey undergarment the avatars have FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE of keeping avatars from being nude. And a bunch of items even come with heart shaped nipples or n****e dot covers; And I do have a problem with that.

Furthermore; I don't think the moderating for chatterbox and other forums is aggressive enough. At all. And the rules are much too lax for the age restriction laid on this website.

Like; I say this ALL the time:

If any parents looked at Gaia's chatterbox alone- they would immediately blacklist this website on their network to protect their children.

The chatterbox is rampant with talks of sex and nudity in extremely descriptive, full detail type of ways. Some people expressly talking about a sex act in detail and somehow getting away with it every single time. And there are many people who talk about committing acts of theft or other crimes in detail as well, and also get away with it.

Gaia has a rather SIMPLE fix for that; because this is a fourm: implement a CHAT FILTER.

The chat filter on a forum would prevent sexual topics from being made; and will prevent people from using direct sexual language and terminology that children can see. It would also prevent and stop users who ban dodge to post these topics. There really shouldn't be an issue with them implementing a chat filter- and the fact that they haven't done this yet either means one or more members of staff aren't paying attention to the sheer amount of lewed content being posted to this website; or worse- one or more members support it and are okay with it.

Which wouldn't surprise me at all, because at one point; the person we know as the host to pop square, was earlier host to an app that expressly encouraged gambling to minors. And no one on the staff seemed to think that it was a problem.

The real issue is that the staff do not follow their own rules, and they don't seem to understand what PG13 actually is. Because it's obvious to everyone else that this site is definitely NOT PG13, but when talked to about it- they deny that there is any issue with how they follow their rules.

For instance, me and another Gaian had a rather viral post in site feedback about moderators following rules for bans. WE WERE ENSURED; that the staff are definitely following the rules for bans. One of which was the rule that YOU CANNOT TAKE USERS MONEY AND PROMISE THEM AN ITEM THAT DOESN'T EXIST(I.e collabing with users for project tickets by saying "yeah you'll definitely get one when it comes out"....

....But later I found out that in Project custom(where there are members of the staff who actively collab with other users)..... that the art staff are breaking those rules all the time.

When I said in project custom forum that *preordering* or promising items that don't exist are against the rules... a user jumped on me and tried to defend that it was within the rules, and then accidentally dropped that the art staff do that ALL THE TIME. Which is why you always see project custom users, staff and their friends all wearing the new item the day before it's release. Collabing by promising friends and staff alike an item that doesn't exist is RAMPANT in project custom; Yet other users who are less popular and aren't friends with the popular users who do this are banned the second it comes out that they broke that rule. HMMMM.

SO in summary, yeah. The staff don't follow their own rules and guidelines. If you read a pg13 manga, you won't find ANY of sheer amount of explicit sex talk and imagery in it as you do on gaia online. And thats a huge issue.

Stop putting out nude avatar workarounds(That encourage minors to dress their avatars sexy and is what is fueling the sexual culture of this website with adults as well) and implement a fourm filter/chat filter. Implementing a chat/forum filter is the simplest and most effective course of action you could take on these issues. And it would make moderating much easier for the mods and keep minors on the site much safer.

Neopets and other similar websites have filters. Even when they weren't as popular. So I can't see any reason why gaia cannot implement one.

[Sorbet Nero]

Dang this was a good read

[garlic dead]

im actually a minor myself but yeah gaia should be 18+ bcause honestly? gaia can ban as many ppl for suggestive avis as much as they want but the truth is that theyre the ones making the items that remove the grey underwear.