My Words (GOOD NEWS! 2-9-14)

What are your thoughts on Flynn's Booty?

Love them.	2.3%	[ 3 ]
Don't care.	9.1%	[ 12 ]
Hate them.	88.6%	[ 117 ]
Total Votes:			[ 132 ]

[Shadowfax_Luc]

TS Sailor Cronus

Well, maybe we can still inspire change. I came this far; I'm not giving up now. blaugh

Agreed. The day Gaia is vindicated will be the day I make a hall of fame to recognize all the users who sacrificed so much of their time in the last few months to advocate change to Gaia's infrastructure. It may not happen overnight... but I'll be planning on making that thread and hopefully the thread's list of names and avatars may be as large as your thread here.

[TS Sailor Cronus]

Shadowfax_Luc

TS Sailor Cronus

Well, maybe we can still inspire change. I came this far; I'm not giving up now. blaugh

Agreed. The day Gaia is vindicated will be the day I make a hall of fame to recognize all the users who sacrificed so much of their time in the last few months to advocate change to Gaia's infrastructure. It may not happen overnight... but I'll be planning on making that thread and hopefully the thread's list of names and avatars may be as large as your thread here.

I vote that you place frozen_water at the top of that list. heart

[Prism Rose]

TS Sailor Cronus

Prism Rose

Though, in the over-all scheme I do not feel that using another person's departure like this is healthy to your cause.

Ah, how so? Care to expand on that thought?

Like I said before, it wasn't censorship that caused the removal of the thread. There are a lot of people that are mistaking this as something that goes alongside Gaia's choice to sell/advertise certain stuff when it doesn't. Gaia Cash thingers and modding stuffage are two different neighborhoods.

Don't get me wrong- it sucks that someone is saying that they are leaving and/or going on hiatus of an indefinite length for any reason. Though, the reasons that some people choose as reasons for leaving may not something that affects everyone in the way that it's being portrayed. What happened with her and her thread was quite a bit different from what I've seen. I mentioned reasons in another thread about how Site Feedback was being treated by some members. If a thread's environment is toxic, let it be good or bad feedback, then the thread should probably go for the best of the community. If a thread is maintaining bad mojo, like an all-out riot, that would be a reason for Staff to remove it.

As a reader and a participant in the forum, I stand by this. If a thread is riot-inducing it's fair to say that some members will join in just to join in. Such as, even though a bar fight might be between two people who just decided to throw a knuckle sandwich at each other, some will find this ample reason just to punch the guy next to them without provocation. An anger machine is not productive and very contagious.

I am not at all saying that she didn't have good reason to write and update her thread. Though, if it's best for the community to remove the cause of a riot, then I can't disagree. I am also not saying that her personal reasons are not good reasons for her to leave on her own accord- they are her reasons and I would never dream of trying to take something like away from someone else. It's just not going to be an ideal that is supported by everyone since it's her own personal choice because of her feelings on the matter.

Myself, I can totally get behind members getting discouraged about sticking around because of the economy and what gold generators are doing to the community on the whole- that affects every current member on the site now and future members and a very valid concern for the livelihood of the site. But the whole thread thing and the conspiracy theories around it, notsomuch.

[VaniIla Coke]

damn this is from October.
I didn't really come back to gaia until after the fall semester ended. and even before that I wasn't here over the summer either.
so it has been ******** up for a while now, eh.

[its a curse]

I didn't see that offensive survey as I wasn't active at the time.
What was the point of it?

[Shadowfax_Luc]

VaniIla Coke

damn this is from October.
I didn't really come back to gaia until after the fall semester ended. and even before that I wasn't here over the summer either.
so it has been ******** up for a while now, eh.

Since last August. Btw, if you didn't know... L0cke is gone. Pan and a bunch of artists are gone. And DJ Helsing left. L0cke went ahead and said he left because of the change in direction. Pan and the artists were laid off. And DJ Helsing left for another job... but anyone who watched those monthly videos can tell that he was enthusiastic about Gaia like no one else. So there was most likely a falling out.

Lanzer's already posted an official statement that basically said "Sorry but we have to make money and this is the only way we know how". And if you mention the CEO or COO's name you'll get banned because there was so much fallout from a talk a certain someone had with the Manos Acceleration group... Just a fair warning. There is a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on Gaia. Basic summary, Gaia's philosophy has changed from the top down and the enforcement of the ToS has become all screwy in the past few months. It's not moderators fault or even most of the admins... it's just very backwards.

Speaking of people that have left though, there's been a pretty significant mass exodus in recent months. The only people really staying in SF are people who deeply understand and care for the community. The same with the GCD.

We all want the best for Gaia... and at this point I just want the community to be able to stick together while it seems as if we're under some sort of occupation. Businesses evolve, trade practices end... but communities lie somewhere in the middle and I'm tired of watching the top practically ravage our community and watching my friends leave one-by-one.

But with that in mind, I hope you stay. Some of us are trying to have fun despite the ridiculousness.

[TasteChaos]

Wow, that is one great OP.

Though, I have to be honest and say I skimmed a couple of parts since I read most of the threads you are referring to.

The thing that still angers me a lot is that presentation given by the COO. I've nearly accepted the cash-spam, ignore the gold generators, try to deal with inflation as much as I can.... But that presentation... The fact that they never bothered to apologize for it and even made excuses in its defence made matters so much worse. As if it matters at what location the presentation is given to, the point is the contents of it. In whatever context you place it, the contents will remain the same. It's one thing to want to keep your clients interested in your sales. It's a whole other thing to want to get them addicted to your site.

[VaniIla Coke]

Shadowfax_Luc

Since last August. Btw, if you didn't know... L0cke is gone. Pan and a bunch of artists are gone. And DJ Helsing left. L0cke went ahead and said he left because of the change in direction. Pan and the artists were laid off. And DJ Helsing left for another job... but anyone who watched those monthly videos can tell that he was enthusiastic about Gaia like no one else. So there was most likely a falling out.

Lanzer's already posted an official statement that basically said "Sorry but we have to make money and this is the only way we know how". And if you mention the CEO or COO's name you'll get banned because there was so much fallout from a talk a certain someone had with the Manos Acceleration group... Just a fair warning. There is a He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on Gaia. Basic summary, Gaia's philosophy has changed from the top down and the enforcement of the ToS has become all screwy in the past few months. It's not moderators fault or even most of the admins... it's just very backwards.

Speaking of people that have left though, there's been a pretty significant mass exodus in recent months. The only people really staying in SF are people who deeply understand and care for the community. The same with the GCD.

We all want the best for Gaia... and at this point I just want the community to be able to stick together while it seems as if we're under some sort of occupation. Businesses evolve, trade practices end... but communities lie somewhere in the middle and I'm tired of watching the top practically ravage our community and watching my friends leave one-by-one.

But with that in mind, I hope you stay. Some of us are trying to have fun despite the ridiculousness.

dj helsing left? wow that is something to really note. yeah. I remember those baseball games they would have too.
ive been hearing that if you mention his name, it would have serious consequences. he is basically Voldemort. I understand gaia has reached its low. most sites that care about the users try to not be so money hungry.
at this point I feel like we're watching a house go down in flames.

[TS Sailor Cronus]

Updated.

[TS Sailor Cronus]

GOOD NEWS!

Check it out, everyone! Gaia has recently RE-HIRED some of their past artists! You can watch this event unfolding in Winter Hue's thread, Welcome Back! (The Grand Return of Several Artists) <3

[TS Sailor Cronus]

(For the sake of organization, I have chosen to include all updates here until further notice.
PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS POST OR THE OP.)

-- updates --

Highlighted updates:
!- IMPORTANT NOTE -! Oct. 16, 2013: Deletion of posts and threads
This is a reminder to please be on your best behavior, on my thread or anywhere else on Gaia. Many threads and thread posts have been deleted due to flaming and trolling, but also it seems that including the names of Gaia's CEO, COO, or other staff is also a deletable offense-- or even bannable if the person is a repeat offender. Even many of the threads linked above have been removed. This seems strange to most people, given that their names were released earlier this year by Gaia staff, but that has become the new rule.

ToS, as of 10-16-13

BY USING GAIA ONLINE YOU AGREE not TO:
"stalk", harass, threaten, or defraud other Gaia Members;
send, post, or make available pornographic, threatening, embarrassing, hateful, racially or ethnically insulting, deceptive, tortious, defamatory, libelous, or otherwise inappropriate or offensive content to other Gaia Members;
intentionally interfere with the operation of Gaia Online or any Member's enjoyment of it, including intentionally posting inflammatory statements to get a reaction ("Trolling" wink ;

Please keep the above ToS in mind while you interact in the forums or with other poeple. DO NOT make any off-hand comments OR JOKES about wishing terrible pain and affliction on any members of Gaia's staff. DO NOT make any threads with the intention of flaming or causing any form of disruption among members or staff. DO NOT include the real names of people in your posts.

Current updates:

Feb. 9, 2014: Added GOOD NEWS! to the section, "is Gaia doing anything right?".
Also added a link to "the voices of other users". wink

Feb. 2, 2014: Added links to more threads, as well as a link to my topic, Don't Let It Ride, Make It Stop! to "the voices of other users"

Other updates:

Jan. 17, 2014: frozen_water leaving.
I feel it is important to report that frozen_water, author of the best thread about the problems with Gaia has announced that she is taking a leave of absence for an indefinite period of time. I strongly encourage community members to continue posting in her threads even in her absence so we can communicate how much the community means to us and to show frozen_water our appreciation for her efforts to have our voices heard in the hopes of encouraging change on Gaia Online.

Oct. 24, 2013: Added a link under "the voices of other users".

Oct. 24, 2013: Added sections "other disquieting issues" and "has Gaia done anything right??"

Oct. 16, 2013: Changed poll.
Very sorry if this has caused any confusion, but with the multiple answers available previously, some of those answers became redundant. So I took down the old poll and set up a new one limited to three answers in order to keep things simple. If you voted previously, you may wish to re-vote. Again, I'm very sorry if this has caused any confusion.

Oct. 16, 2013: Details added to links /
Added original post dates; also made note of which threads have been removed.

Oct. 15, 2013: Yet another release of Flynn's Booty.
Apparently during the last ATA, when asked whether Flynn's Booty would be released the response came back thus:

Quote:

Yes we will be. We know that there are some users that do not like this item, but there are actually a lot of users who do like this item.

The problems Gaians are having with this issue is this: Where precisely do these numbers lie? Are there more Gaians in favor of the constant release of Flynn's Booty, or would most people prefer to see it disappear forever? If Gaians prefer to have Flynn's Booty around, why is there so much fuss against it? And if the ones against its continued release are in the majority, could that be a sign to Gaia that money speaks louder than words?

In an effort to get at least some measure of opinions, polls are popping up everywhere across the site asking whether you Gaians would prefer to see Flynn's Booty's continued arrival, or if you would prefer it to be buried at sea, never to be seen or heard from again.

I would like to ask you to take a moment and vote in the poll included above, but don't stop there: let your voice be heard and leave a comment on why you do or do not enjoy the presence of Flynn's Booty in the Cash Shop.

Oct. 10, 2013: Added section: the voices of other users.

[Scobre]

I was gone six months from Gaia and wow this thread helped me catch up on a lot of things I missed while being away. So glad I was. xd I think I missed out on the bulk of this Gaia storm. I hope to see blue sky for Gaia soon now. Such good news about the rehirings.

[TS Sailor Cronus]

Scobre

I was gone six months from Gaia and wow this thread helped me catch up on a lot of things I missed while being away. So glad I was. xd I think I missed out on the bulk of this Gaia storm. I hope to see blue sky for Gaia soon now. Such good news about the rehirings.

Cross your fingers...

[TasteChaos]

The re-hiring of the artists may be a good sign, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. If anything the quality of the items will go up, which is nice, but for me that won't matter much since I won't be able to purchase them with all this inflation.

[TS Sailor Cronus]

TasteChaos

The re-hiring of the artists may be a good sign, but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. If anything the quality of the items will go up, which is nice, but for me that won't matter much since I won't be able to purchase them with all this inflation.

Oh, believe me, I know how you feel. We're all still wary right at this point. It's going to take a lot more than re-hiring a handful of artists to convince most of us to start spending again. Art was not the primary reason for the Gaians' ire toward the site, so of course it is not going to be the cure.

But, it may be a sign that Gaia's staff has been listening to us, and this may be the first step toward restoring the relationship of staff with community.