Welcome to Gaia! ::

Updates







Thank You!

Here's a list of thank you's I want to give out for the help I received on this guide. Without these people, this newbie guide wouldn't be complete!

Terradi - Forum Etiquette (also located in a Friends Chat sticky)

Redwing van Beethoven - Gaian Dictionary

SaraWhiteWolf - GAIA Hangouts, GAIA Journals, and GAIA Fishing guide and for continuing support and help on the guide!

[Rau] - Making the Maps Guide

teh xtina - GAIA Casino and GAIA Housing guide

Delphian Wyrd and the "Realm of Time" crew - Providing space for me to start this guide

The Windy GAIA Fishing guide

David-Batista - Collecting GAIA Towns images after the Towns update

Other Moderators - Reviewing this guide and helped make it perfect enough so that it could be used by all newbies who choose to read it.

...there are just too many to list! If you have contributed to the guide one way or another, THANK YOU. If it weren't for you, this guide wouldn't have become what it is now. biggrin

Starting out as a newbie isn't easy. It takes a lot of work, stamina, courage, self-confidence, and patience. The biggest worry a newbie has is what people will think of them, making friends, and most importantly, making Gold.

So this is why we've made this guide for you. To help you make gold quickly, easily, and effortlessly. (Okay, well, maybe not effortlessly. Gaia takes a lot of effort.)

The easiest, and probably quickest way to make Gold is to become an Exchanger, or a Vender. Its very hard to start out with for newbies, because you still have to have a little gold saved up to start doing both. So for now, we'll start out with the easier things.

A few ways you can learn how to make Gold, is by checking out this helpful guide:
The Ultimate Guide to earning gold

Here is a quick list of some easy things you can do to earn gold:

arrow Posting
arrow Lurking/Clicking Around
arrow Voting on Polls
arrow Commenting/Rating art in the Art Arena
arrow Using artistic talent and creating art for other users to buy
arrow Commenting/Rating avatars in the Avatar Arena

When fishing, there are very easy ways to make Gold.

If you enjoy fishing, and you're looking for a nice small profit, all you have to do is catch the fish! After you do this, go to The Ole Fishing Hole and sell your fish to Old Man Logan. For every fish you sell, you get gold. So if you catch a lot of fish, and sell them, you'll get a lot of Gold!

The fish come in all sizes. The bigger the fish, the more gold you get. The rarer the fish, a lot more gold you get. Its that simple!


Now, if fishing isn't your thing, but playing slots is, then Gambling is most likely for you.

There are two ways of gambling on Gaia.

GAIA Slot Machines/Black Jack.

If you're into Slot Machines, then here's the deal.

Every token you buy is 1g. If you buy 100 tokens, you'll be paying 100g.

If you take it to the slots, the maximum amount of tickets you can get for 1 token is 100,000g.

If you sell 100,000 tickets for at least 1.7g a piece, thats 170,000g.

From just ONE token! Now, that's a LOT of Gold.



What is Gaia Cash?

Gaia Cash is the second currency offered by Gaia. The main difference between Gaia Cash and Gaia Gold is that Cash cannot be freely earned like Gold. You have to purchase it with real money directly from Gaia or buy Gaia Cash Cards from various retail stores. Gaia Cash can only be used in the Cash Shop. It cannot be used in the Marketplace. Some stores such as the Gaia Cash Shop only use Gaia Cash.

How do I get Cash?

You can purchase Gaia Cash directly from Gaia by going to Shop>Get Gaia Cash. You can also purchase Gaia Cash Card from some retail stores.

Where do they sell Gaia Cash Cards?

Currently Gaia Cash Cards are sold at Target, Walmart, 7-11, Speedway, Blockbuster, Rite Aid, CVS, Best Buy and Staples in the US.

How do I redeem Gaia Cash Cards?

You can redeem Cash Cards by going to Shop>Get Gaia Cash>Redeem a pin.

How do I spend my Gaia Cash?

You can use Gaia Cash to buy any item in Gaia's shops. Click on the "Buy with Cash" button instead of the "Buy" button. You can also use Gaia Cash to purchase Monthly Collectables and buy exclusive items from the Gaia Cash Shop.

Is Gaia Cash Transferable/Can I buy it for my friends?

Gaia Cash cannot be transferred to another account. In addition, you can only buy Gaia Cash directly from Gaia for your account. You can't buy it and have it sent to a friend. You can however buy Gaia Cash Cards and your friends can redeem them on their accounts.

Does Gaia Cash Expire?

Nope. Gaia Cash will stay on your account until you spend.

Where do I find clothes?

When you first start off, you will have peasant clothing in your inventory. Mouse over My Gaia and click Dress Up on the menu bar below. Click on the article of clothing you wish to put on your avatar and click Save Changes.

To obtain more clothing, you may visit the seven clothing shops of Gaia, all linked to in the Guide to Maps section of this guide. The shops are:

Barton Boutique
Barton Jewelers
Barton Flowershoppe
Gambino Hat Rack
Gambino Outfitters
Durem Depot
H.R. Wesley
Crate & Apparel

You may also buy clothing from the The Gaia Exchange or the Gaia Marketplace.


Each NPC's shop layout look similar to each other. The main differences are the shop's NPC and the items sold.




To buy an item, all you need to do is simply click on it. A small box containing information about the item will pop up. It looks like this:








Monthly Collectables are limited edition items users can buy for their avatars. They come in Monthly Collectable Letters. Each Monthly Collectable letter comes with a choice of at least two MCs. Some letters may contain three Monthly Collectables.

There are two ways to obtain a Monthly Collectable letter:

1) Buy it from The Gaia Exchange or the Gaia Marketplace using your gold. To find out how much these letters cost, you might want to consult one of the Price Guides linked in the Important Links post or look it up in the Marketplace.

2) Pay $2.50 US Dollars to Gaia. Each $2.50 you pay will yield you one letter. If you wish to purchase Monthly Collectables, click here to do so!

Each Monthly Collectable letter contains a choice of two or three items (depending on the letter), secretly sealed inside until the envelopes are able to be opened. You can open these letters on the 15th of the month. Usually, an announcement will be posted in the Announcements forum when the donation items are released.

If you wish to see what the Monthly Collectable letters look like, take a glance at the image below!

This mini-guide should provide you with the basics of the new version of your GAIA Profile.



This guide will go in order, based on the list on the image above.

Note: To go to the page where you can edit your profile, mouse over �My Gaia� and then click on "Account Settings"



By clicking on the "Preference" link, you are taken to a page where you can change your account's details, such as password and E-mail address. Note that if you wish to change your E-mail address, you have to type your password into the "Current Password" box.

The "Preference" link page is the same page as the one you got to by mousing over My Gaia and clicking on "Account Settings"

You also have the choice to do the following:

• Show/Hide Online Status
  
• Lock/Unlock your GAIA Home
  
• Filter out profanity

For the three listed, you are not required to give your password.

In order to change your birthdate, gender and username, there is a link in Rina's directions. The world "available" should be said link. Click that and you should be able to make those changes.

Under the "Alerts" section, you will find the settings for Alerts and Text messages.

Text Messages
You have three settings:



Bubble in the circle next to the setting you want.

Note: Standard Text Messaging fees do apply.

Alerts
Alerts are emails or text messages sent to you when you receive a PM, Journal Comment, Profile Comment, Friend Request or there is an announcement on Gaia.

To turn on Email Alerts check the box next to E-Mail Address:

To turn on your Text Message alerts check the box next to Mobile Phone:

You can choose what you do or do not receive alerts for by checking the boxes next to the things you want to receive alerts about:



Upon clicking on "About" on the list of links, you will be taken to a page with a textbox. In the textbox, you can type up a little bit about yourself. The length of your description doesn't matter.

NOTE: Whatever you submit will be viewable to the public. Make sure not to include personal information like your address or telephone number.



Under "Details", you will find information that was asked for on the previous version of the profiles. Here is an example details section:



On Gaia, you can search interests to find people who have something in common with you. Its a great way to make friends! Make sure you separate your interests with commas. They'll also show up on your profile.



Here, under the "Signature" section, you can put whatever you want to show up in your signature.

For information on how to add images to your signature, click here.



Here, in the "Theme" section, you can change the look and design of your profile. You can use the pre-made themes provided to you by Gaia or you can customize your own.

For custom themes you can use, click here


The profile options page has more options specifically for your profile. If your profile is set to "Current" on the "Preferences" page, you can change panel style of your friends and comments.

On this page, you can also choose what details are shown on your Details panel in your profile. Check the box next to the detail you want shown.


The feeds section allows you to control how much of which Feeds you see on the My Gaia page. You can also choose which feeds are published to your friends.



Under the "Wishlist" section, you can manage all the items listed in your wishlist. In order to add an item to your wishlist, find a user that is wearing the item you want. Click on the item and click "Add to Wishlist".

Once you've collected the items in your wishlist, return to the Wishlist section. You'll notice two drop-down menus next to each item - one for Status and the other for "Show Publicly". You will also see a checkbox - an option if you wish to remove the item from your wishlist.

The Show Publicly drop-menu is provided so you can make the choice on whether you wish for that item to be viewed by the public or not. A simple Yes or No question.

The Status drop-menu gives you the following choices:

• Wanted: Select this option if this item is one you really want.
  
• Questing: Select this option if this is an item you are currently questing for.
  
• Bought: Select this option if you have already purchased this item.
  
• Donated: Select this option if someone has donated this item to you.
  

The image above is how your wishlist is viewed by the public. You'll notice that some items have emoticons behind them. Here is a key to those emoticons.

scream = Questing
3nodding = Bought
heart = Donated
No Emoticon = Wanted

First off, how to get to your friendslist. To get to your friendslist, hover over My Gaia and click on Friends on the menu bar below. If you want to get to your ignorelist, click on the tab.

Adding someone to your Friendslist or Ignorelist.

There are two main ways to add people to your friendslist or ignore list.

*Way #1: Go back to your friendslist the same way we got there before. Hover over My Gaia and click on Friends. In the top right corner, under the purple site navigation bar, you should see a spot to search for a user. It looks like this:

Search for the user you want to add to your friendslist or ignorelist.

Way #2
If you see someone you want to add or ignore in a thread, you can simply click on Add/Remove Friend in the drop down menu under their avatar.




Regardless of the method you used, you will end up on a page that looks similar to this:


Check the box next to the person's name. Then click on either the "Add Friend" or "Add Ignored" depending on what list you want to add them to.
------

What exactly does the ignore system do?

If you have someone on ignore, they won't be able to do the following:

Send you a PM
Post in a thread you started
See or comment in your journal
See you as "online" (They will always see you "offline")
Comment you

Also, if you post in the same thread as a person in your ignored list, their posts will not be visible to you.


Getting Friend Requests






When you get a Friend Request, a little bubble will pop up next to your avatar. It will say "Hey I've got __ Friend Request". Click on that bubble. It will take you to a page where you can either accept or decline the request.








Create a Journal


Hover over My Gaia and click on Journal. You'll be taken to the Journal FAQ page. Read through it. Near the bottom of the page it says "Ready to get started with your very own Gaia Journal? Then click here to create your very own Gaia Journal. " Click on "Click Here"

On this next page you can set your Journal Preferences. Read the description under each setting to make sure you set up how you want your Journal right. Once you are done click on "Save Preferences". Congratulations. You've just made your Journal.


Add a new entry


To add a new entry to your journal hover over My Gaia. In the My Gaia drop down menu hover over Journal. Then click on New Entry.

Adding a new entry works a lot like making new topics on Gaia. Put the name of your entry in the Subject box. In the Message box write the body of your entry. When you are done click on the "Submit" button.

Lets start with getting to the Marketplace. Hover over Shops and click on Marketplace.

Once at the Marketplace, you will see an item search box and 5 buttons.

Step 1: Search for the item

Click on and search the name of the item you want.


Step 2:Click on the item in the Search Results.


For the purpose of this guide I chose to Search the word "Joker".






Step 3: Buy Now and Bidding




The item you want to buy may be Buy Now Only or may have bidding enabled, like in the picture above. Both of these will be explained.


Buy Now

: Use this button if you want your item now and are willing to pay the buyer's price for it. You'll get your item instantly once you have payed for it.
Once you have clicked on the button you will see something similar to this:


Input your password and click "Buy Now" to buy your item.



Bidding

: Use this button if you would like to place a bid on the item and not get it right away. You may be able to get the item for lower than the buy now price. Once you have clicked on the button you will see a screen similar to this:


In the box to the left put in the amount you want to bid for the item. In the box to the right type in your password and click on "Confirm"


Note: Bidding on an item does not guarantee that you will get it. Someone else may outbid you before the auction ends. If you are the high bidder, you won't get your item until the times runs out. That could be up to a two week wait. When you bid, your gold is taken from your account and held to insure that you don't spend the bid money. You can't cancel bids so make sure you really want that item.

Step 1: Go to My Store


Click on the button to get to your store.


Step 2: My Store


You are now at your store page. Your screen will look like this:




Step 3: Choose the item


Click on the button. On the next page you'll see a box that looks like this:





Use the orange arrows to page through your inventory to find the item you want to sell. Once you've found it, click on it.



Step 4: Set the price and listing type


You're screen should now look similar to the one below. It explains how to set up your sale.



Note: Items that have bidding enabled can only be canceled during the first five minutes of the auction. If someone bids on your item and you don't like their price, you are stuck with it if they are the high bidder at the end of the auction.


Step 5:Confirm your sale


The page to confirm your sale will look like this:


Double check to make sure that is everything is right. When you are done click on the "Next" button.

Note:Make sure that you double check the listing type and price. If someone buys a mispriced item, they are not obligated to give it back.

The next screen will look like this:



Congratulations, you've just put an item up for sale.

Step 1:Go to My store


Click on the to go to your store.

This time you should see a list of all the items you have up for sale.


Step 2:Click on the cancel button


Click on the button for the item you want to cancel.




Step 3:Confirm the cance


Input your password and click on "Confirm" to cancel your sale.



You'll get a confirmation page that tells you that you have just canceled your sale.



Note: After the first five minutes, sales that have bidding enabled cannot be canceled. Be careful when selecting your listing type.

This guide does not cover everything. Below is a list of links that contain information that you might find useful while surfing the site.

How-To Guides

Taking Screencaps - A guide showing how to take screencaps using different operating systems (OS). Thread owner: D!no

GAIA Towns Guide - A guide covering the basics on GAIA Towns. Very helpful. Thread owner: B5

How To Report - A guide covering the report system and the things that are report-worthy. Very helpful. Thread owner: Sevi Rais

Important Links

Gaia Directory - Gaia's very own search engine!

Gaia Item List - Long list of Gaia's items. Is it complete? Who knows. ninja

Text Color Code List - Looking to change the color of your text? Click for a long list of colors that can be used on Gaia. Thread owner: silv3rxwings

TekTek - Profile Themes - Looking to change the look of your profile? Click here for the many themes provided to you from tektek.org!

Image Hosting Sites

Photobucket
Photodump
Tinypic
Imageshack

Avatar Creators

Dream Avatar Creator - Provided by tektek.org
Gaia Avatar Simulator - Provided by Saikatsu