Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm actually one of the people who has figured out how to use the marketplace well enough to not need any real money. One look at my aquarium is enough to show that. I didn't buy none of that with cash (Yes I realize I pretty much only have Cuttlefish) but look at the items in the tank. I only started in Gaia May 2008, but according to tektek's analysis of my ineventory I'm already worth quite a bit (for a newb).

I only came here because a friend let me play with her avatar's looks one day, and I ended up enjoying it. I'm sorry to see so many Gaia Cash items showing up, but I'd rather have to work the market for a while to get something, than not have a site because Gaia ends up bankrupt.

As to EI's vs. MC's: the above-mentioned friend is severely annoyed with the fact that all her old MC's are out-modded by the EI's. She also remembers when someone having 1000 gold was an accomplishment. And now we have items selling for millions of gold (Chickie Slippers). I may be a relative newb, but I still think of this site in long-terms because this friend of mine was often talking about it.