Gaia Disappoints Me

[Lyvidian]

I've only been back to Gaia for 3 days and I already want to stop coming back. I'm a member from the go-gaia days, and I was pretty damn active back then. I think I stopped coming on a regular basis around 2005? Logins were few and far between after that, and when I came on and saw something I liked, I normally had the gold to buy it (so my inventory isn't horribly outdated). But... when did Gaia become so money hungry?

See my DJs? They cost me 25 cents! In 2003 that was the minimum donation, and you could only get 2 monthly collectables for yourself, and 2 as gifts for others. Now its a $5 minimum donation, and unlimited collectables? And whats with the evolving items? Seriously? Okay, I'll admit, I have a few of those evolving things, but none of them were paid for with real money.

Aside from the money hungry thing, the forums are just sad. I came back with intentions of using the writers forum, but it's so depressingly slow. That, and everyone posting there seems to be there for roleplaying and/or vampire/werewolve stories (no offense to anyone into that stuff, I use to be into it when I was in high school, but i've grown out of it).

Also, I'm not going to read a story that doesn't have a summary, and RARELY do I ever see one of those. Is that the trick to get people to read and review your work? Just leave out the summary? Improper formatting is also something I see almost everywhere (text walls as well), and that's just being lazy. Are my expectations just too high? What's the average age group for people hanging out/posting stories here now-a-days?

I'm starting to feel like the old person hanging out with/scolding the youngin's. v_v  

[Sami Von Disco]

There is a base of older users, but you have to keep in mind Gaia is primarily targeted at teens. So, the largest age-group sort of addresses why some forums are suckish. But when you think about it, not everyone in real life is a good writer, so why would you expect most people on Gaia to be? Not saying you should lower your expectations, but I am saying that Gaia isn't the place that is going to fulfill them. And as for the "money-hungry" thing, you have to keep in mind that prices have increased in real life since 2003, and on top of that Gaian staff has increased, and have their own bills to pay. Gaia is a business now, and in order for the site to continue, they need to turn a profit, or there's no more free log-ins, free events, free gold shop updates, free forums, free Guilds, or free zOMG. Also, it's the users that define a community, so you can't blame Gaia for the decline in that department. I think by them adding new forums shows that they are still very interested in helping users foster communities of their own. Not mention that they finally had the resources to update Guilds! I dunno about you, but if all it takes if for Gaia to bug me with Announcements for the forums/guilds to get better, so be it.  

[exdraghunt]

I joined in 2006 as well, but didn't really become active until 07 when I got my own computer.

To me, they really started grubbing with the whole cash shop thing. Not to put a downer on the cash shop, but it seems like every new promotion they do has to be purchased through the cash shop.

I think it's because Gaia has so many users young enough to get their parents to buy the little cash gift cards. The average age seems to be a thirteen-fifteen majority. Lots of younger high school students.

It's not just you who complains about the forums. I'm rather disapointed with how far down the majority of forums have fallen. Writers, Artists, and especially the University RP forum. (where i spend most of my time) If only there was a seperate forum for Lit-Adv. Lit RPs!

I'll also put in my two cents on the summary thing. I totally agree. Here, on FF.net, anywhere. Just like I won't pick up a book without reading the back cover, I'm not likely to read something with no or a poor summary. I just like to know a little of what to expect before I take the time to read something.  

[Lyvidian]

@ Eylios: Summaries are important to me because it tells me what I'm getting into before I dive into it. Like I said in my first post, I'm no longer into roleplaying or sci-fi stories, so it's annoying to have to read a bit (or skim through other replies) to see if I even want to finish it.

What I'm into (life issues/romance stories) doesn't seem to have a huge fan base here. I know there are romance stories posted on the forums here, but all the ones I've seen so far are yaoi/yuri, and that's also something I've grown out of.

And... I totally remember those user made advertisements! XD

@ Sami: I didn't really think much past the whole "why are all the good items costing real money? D:" thought. But yeah, I completely understand the business and "people need to pay bills" thing.  

[Articx-Frost]

exdraghunt

If only there was a seperate forum for Lit-Adv. Lit RPs!

Even if there was, it would quickly be filled by all the n00bs who think that they are advanced literate. Because they can't get in anywhere else, they spam the place and drive out the properly adv lit folk.

So there isn't really that much point of making one if it's just going to get dragged down. That's my opinoin on that.  

[Lyvidian]

@ exdraghunt: Omg, the University RP forums, lol. I use to hang around there during my roleplaying days. XD  

[Lyvidian]

Articx-Frost

exdraghunt

If only there was a seperate forum for Lit-Adv. Lit RPs!

Even if there was, it would quickly be filled by all the n00bs who think that they are advanced literate. Because they can't get in anywhere else, they spam the place and drive out the properly adv lit folk.

So there isn't really that much point of making one if it's just going to get dragged down. That's my opinoin on that.

Agreed. I can see a lot of "this doesn't belong here" replies.  

[Giyari]

I kinda understand the summary thingie. But I don't do summaries myself so yeah xD
Saying that My stories are all shorts, they only ger upto 2000 words at the most.  

[Lyvidian]

Eylios

Aaaaaaah, I understand now. In that case, I might make it a rule for people to post a summary above their story/whatever. As far as romance/life goes... all I can think of are my mom's trash novels (her words, not mine) and I think that's turned me off mystery/romance for a very long time.

AND THEY SHOULD TOTALLY BRING BACK THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

LOL! "Trash novels" XD Your mom is a writer? Romance stories are definitely... different... from the other genres. I honestly didn't get into romance until I got my first boyfriend and started getting all these girly emotions.  

[Scythe de Zaran]

I dimly remember the go-gaia days, but I wasn't active enough or at all enough to notice anything other than... why does Gaia use so much flash now and random stuff? Yeah.. wasn't really active until the past 2-3 years or so. But what everyone else says about Gaia being commercial is true. They need the money to do the developments, and their staff has probably increased by a lot too. Really wish they'd upgrade the guild system faster though. sweatdrop

I understand what you mean by summaries, like Giyari said, but I guess it depends on how detailed you want it to be. Would a line or two about the setting be enough? I really haven't looked in the forums since since I've been active because then the guild system was already out. I tried a once or twice and just didn't know what to make of it.

I used to write, but I moved to roleplaying because I didn't have as much time because of school,and it is fun interacting with others and randomly getting shoved into situations..  

[Simmering Moonlight]

I joined Gaia last year and it's already changed a lot since then. I remember the old search bar, the purple one, and the old MyGaia page. A lot of things were cheaper then, too. I'm not big on writing summaries since, personally, I can't write a good summery to save my life. I don't read a book before reading the summary, ever. If it doesn't have a summary, I put it down. The roleplays, too. I do roleplays since that's all I have time for, instead of writing. I write by hand in notebooks, since I can't get on the computer much. I'm not on Gaia really any more when I get online anyways. I check a few things, talk to a few friends, and that's it. I barely have any of those EI items because the cash is so much money now. I get that they have workers to pay and bills to get done, though. I just think it's a bit high . . .