frozen_water
(?)Community Member
Offline
- Posted: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:48:01 +0000
To whom it may concern,
I have been a dedicated member of this site since 2003, and I still have a deep rooted love for Gaia, or at least for what it used to be. Unfortunately it has become increasingly apparent that GaiaOnline is becoming a radically different site from the one I fell in love with.
While there will be many things I miss about this place, most of them are already gone. I've seen many users leave in the last few months, and now it is time for me to join their ranks. I do plan on keeping my account on the off chance things to get better, but until they do my time is better spent elsewhere.
My Story:
Why it matters:
Because I'm not the only one.
People are leaving, even people who have been here for over 10 years are leaving. Just take a moment to let that soak in. Users who have not found anything compelling enough to make them leave in over a decade of being with this site, are now being driven off by these changes.
Look at the SF, this kind of negativity is only fueling a more destructive atmosphere. People feel like they're being ignored and manipulated. This place was once a strong community, now it's just a business transaction, and your customers aren't satisfied.
What's the feedback?:
Due to my experiences within the past year it seems necessary to spell this out in no uncertain terms. My personal experience can offer many insights into what's going wrong, my other megathread can provide specific examples of actions that are upsetting your users, but above all else my feedback with this thread is for you to start showing you care for your users.
It may be too late to stop me from going, but if you're willing to start placing a bit more concern on the impacts of your decisions have on the community you might be able to turn this thing around.
You don't have to sell your soul to make a profit, nor do you have to act like a charity, there is a middle ground. Gaia seems to have a taken a massive shift in direction, and yet it has failed to help it's community transition smoothly or be accountable for the fall out of it's actions.
I have been a dedicated member of this site since 2003, and I still have a deep rooted love for Gaia, or at least for what it used to be. Unfortunately it has become increasingly apparent that GaiaOnline is becoming a radically different site from the one I fell in love with.
While there will be many things I miss about this place, most of them are already gone. I've seen many users leave in the last few months, and now it is time for me to join their ranks. I do plan on keeping my account on the off chance things to get better, but until they do my time is better spent elsewhere.
My Story:
I've had this account since 2003 it's safe to say I've spent a fair share of time here. While my posting history was initially sparse, I lurked and played the games when I first joined, unconsciously absorbing the atmosphere and spirit of the site, and it impacted the way I think, and as dramatic as it may sound, who I am today. Young and headstrong I found my way to the ED and had my beliefs and convictions challenged, I learned how to properly argue a point, the formalities of debating, and most importantly how to open up my mind and be critical of even my own understandings. For something others may have seen as an insignificant aspect of my life, far from just providing general entertainment, this place has shaped the way I view the world.
So while this may seem melodramatic to some, I'll freely admit that my love of this site is more than it probably should be, this community is dear to me, and it was that devotion and enjoyment that kept bringing me back, for over a decade. It is that same love that made me want to spend money here, and I didn't mind that they were virtual items, it was a hobby and something I enjoyed, and I got more enjoyment out of it when I felt like I was contributing to well-being of the site.
The same dedication that kept me here for so long and kept me donating when I had the funds has now brought me to an unfortunate crossroads. Having known the Gaia that existed prior to 2013, I can't enjoy the site that exists now. Many users look back at the introduction of Gaia Cash as the downfall, I can't say I agree. I don't have a problem with the site trying to increase it's revenue, after all servers and staff aren't free, and overall we saw a definite improvement in item quality. I'm not blinded by rose-colored glasses that prevent me from seeing that Gaia is a business, and making money isn't a crime. However, trying to turn a profit at the expense of the those who support it, and in ethically questionable ways is not something I can sit idly by and accept, especially not from a site so dear to me as this.
So when things really started changing, (about half way through 2013 when the new management's policies started kicking in) I did everything in my power to call attention to the new direction and stop it. I became an active member of the Site Feedback forum, making threads and commenting on the changes, I even created a megathread outlining feedback on all of the specific actions that were upsetting myself and many others in the community. The problems laid out there ranged from the havoc wreaked on the economy, to blatant disregard for user feedback, to the condescending and harsh treatment of the userbase, and even extreme censorship. I joined a guild dedicated to bringing these issues and concerns to the attention of the staff, and trying to save the site from itself. Sadly, all of these efforts only served to prove how little the new management cared about the community, and how far they were willing to go to maximize profits at the expense of the community.
My interaction with Gaia became a very negative experience and a constant source of stress. I no longer enjoyed logging on, and the few escapes I still had were soon infected by the new management's actions. All of my time on the site was spent noting and writing about the constant influx of issues and slights against the users. Offensive surveys, non-stop cash sales, incessant spam for GC promotions, increasing censorship, and many other issues all seemed to swarm in at once, and with no reprieve. Even the events were destroyed by pushes for more money, and the thread offering feedback on all of this, trying to effect a change, that I meticulously maintained and devoted my time and effort to was soon deleted for bogus reasons.
After a long and hard struggle that stretched out over weeks, I finally managed to get the thread reinstated - in the chatterbox. I was upset by the inappropriate placement, and that it was ever deleted at all given that there was no legitimate justification for it. My appeals to the moderators were met with being told I was "intentionally trying to rile of the forum" and "trolling" other users. While initially I was somewhat relieved to have all of my hard work returned to me, it quickly faded. Unanswered question were never responded to by the moderators, using the communication channels provided by the site (including the usertalk e-mail address) received no response in over a month, and the general absence of any accountability left me feeling entirely frustrated and detached from the site I once considered a home.
I stop logging in for a while, and the longer I was away the better it felt. I realize now that there is nothing left for me here, at least not now. There are some amazing people in this community, and it breaks my heart to see the way they are all being treated. I've never been a part of anything like Gaia, what I found here I have yet to see any other site reproduce for me. It was this amazing and unique experience that I still cherish, but now it's becoming like any other site.
The over-monetization of every aspect (including the postponing of long promised updates because they don't "generate their own revenue" wink is leaving many of your once loyal users disenfranchised. You are losing what made you, you. I'm not just talking about the new directions you've been taking, I'm also talking about the consequences of it, you are driving away the people that made this place great, from staff to community members. Somewhere deep down I still believe Gaia can be great again, but I don't see that time coming soon and it just hurts to much to continue to sit around and watch it fall without any power to stop it.
I've done what I can, I've given the most direct and insightful feedback I could manage, I tried to get involved in and help make this site better for everyone, but sadly I've come to believe that the problems we face here are not something the users can fix. There are serious failures on the part of management here, and until they either learn to shape up, or are replaced by others who can I don't see anything turning around.
So while this may seem melodramatic to some, I'll freely admit that my love of this site is more than it probably should be, this community is dear to me, and it was that devotion and enjoyment that kept bringing me back, for over a decade. It is that same love that made me want to spend money here, and I didn't mind that they were virtual items, it was a hobby and something I enjoyed, and I got more enjoyment out of it when I felt like I was contributing to well-being of the site.
The same dedication that kept me here for so long and kept me donating when I had the funds has now brought me to an unfortunate crossroads. Having known the Gaia that existed prior to 2013, I can't enjoy the site that exists now. Many users look back at the introduction of Gaia Cash as the downfall, I can't say I agree. I don't have a problem with the site trying to increase it's revenue, after all servers and staff aren't free, and overall we saw a definite improvement in item quality. I'm not blinded by rose-colored glasses that prevent me from seeing that Gaia is a business, and making money isn't a crime. However, trying to turn a profit at the expense of the those who support it, and in ethically questionable ways is not something I can sit idly by and accept, especially not from a site so dear to me as this.
So when things really started changing, (about half way through 2013 when the new management's policies started kicking in) I did everything in my power to call attention to the new direction and stop it. I became an active member of the Site Feedback forum, making threads and commenting on the changes, I even created a megathread outlining feedback on all of the specific actions that were upsetting myself and many others in the community. The problems laid out there ranged from the havoc wreaked on the economy, to blatant disregard for user feedback, to the condescending and harsh treatment of the userbase, and even extreme censorship. I joined a guild dedicated to bringing these issues and concerns to the attention of the staff, and trying to save the site from itself. Sadly, all of these efforts only served to prove how little the new management cared about the community, and how far they were willing to go to maximize profits at the expense of the community.
My interaction with Gaia became a very negative experience and a constant source of stress. I no longer enjoyed logging on, and the few escapes I still had were soon infected by the new management's actions. All of my time on the site was spent noting and writing about the constant influx of issues and slights against the users. Offensive surveys, non-stop cash sales, incessant spam for GC promotions, increasing censorship, and many other issues all seemed to swarm in at once, and with no reprieve. Even the events were destroyed by pushes for more money, and the thread offering feedback on all of this, trying to effect a change, that I meticulously maintained and devoted my time and effort to was soon deleted for bogus reasons.
After a long and hard struggle that stretched out over weeks, I finally managed to get the thread reinstated - in the chatterbox. I was upset by the inappropriate placement, and that it was ever deleted at all given that there was no legitimate justification for it. My appeals to the moderators were met with being told I was "intentionally trying to rile of the forum" and "trolling" other users. While initially I was somewhat relieved to have all of my hard work returned to me, it quickly faded. Unanswered question were never responded to by the moderators, using the communication channels provided by the site (including the usertalk e-mail address) received no response in over a month, and the general absence of any accountability left me feeling entirely frustrated and detached from the site I once considered a home.
I stop logging in for a while, and the longer I was away the better it felt. I realize now that there is nothing left for me here, at least not now. There are some amazing people in this community, and it breaks my heart to see the way they are all being treated. I've never been a part of anything like Gaia, what I found here I have yet to see any other site reproduce for me. It was this amazing and unique experience that I still cherish, but now it's becoming like any other site.
The over-monetization of every aspect (including the postponing of long promised updates because they don't "generate their own revenue" wink is leaving many of your once loyal users disenfranchised. You are losing what made you, you. I'm not just talking about the new directions you've been taking, I'm also talking about the consequences of it, you are driving away the people that made this place great, from staff to community members. Somewhere deep down I still believe Gaia can be great again, but I don't see that time coming soon and it just hurts to much to continue to sit around and watch it fall without any power to stop it.
I've done what I can, I've given the most direct and insightful feedback I could manage, I tried to get involved in and help make this site better for everyone, but sadly I've come to believe that the problems we face here are not something the users can fix. There are serious failures on the part of management here, and until they either learn to shape up, or are replaced by others who can I don't see anything turning around.
Why it matters:
Because I'm not the only one.
People are leaving, even people who have been here for over 10 years are leaving. Just take a moment to let that soak in. Users who have not found anything compelling enough to make them leave in over a decade of being with this site, are now being driven off by these changes.
Look at the SF, this kind of negativity is only fueling a more destructive atmosphere. People feel like they're being ignored and manipulated. This place was once a strong community, now it's just a business transaction, and your customers aren't satisfied.
What's the feedback?:
Due to my experiences within the past year it seems necessary to spell this out in no uncertain terms. My personal experience can offer many insights into what's going wrong, my other megathread can provide specific examples of actions that are upsetting your users, but above all else my feedback with this thread is for you to start showing you care for your users.
It may be too late to stop me from going, but if you're willing to start placing a bit more concern on the impacts of your decisions have on the community you might be able to turn this thing around.
You don't have to sell your soul to make a profit, nor do you have to act like a charity, there is a middle ground. Gaia seems to have a taken a massive shift in direction, and yet it has failed to help it's community transition smoothly or be accountable for the fall out of it's actions.
