Gaia means.... (What does Gaia mean to you?)

[xx I met my fate xx]

I thought this would be a nice thread to have here. Most of us are in this guild because we are angry at the changes that Gaia has seen in recent months (or years). This anger however stems from the fact that most of us love this place for one reason or another. Even if you're one of those who says "I only stay for ---- insert ONE reason here ---", you still loved this site at one time and it still means something to you.

So, with that said...I'd like us all to go ahead and say what this site means to us...why we want to save it. My hope is to somehow get our responses seen at some point and perhaps pull on the seldom-used heartstrings of the staff. Maybe we can remind them that Gaia is not just a consumer base...we're a group of real people with feelings and for a lot of us...this site is like an internet home.  

[xx I met my fate xx]

I've been on gaia since 2004 (Started 03 but wasn't active). In that time I've grown a lot....from a 14 year old girl who thought she had all the answers to a 24 year old woman with a child of my own....I've seen Gaia go through many changes, some I've liked and some I haven't...but I stayed. I am not as active as I once was and I don't think of the place or the friends I meet there the way I used to...but there was a time when Gaia was all I had. I had friends but I only saw them at school because I couldn't afford to go out with them, I had a terrible home life, and I was all around miserable and unhappy with myself....

Gaia has taught me many things. Questing taught me to appreciate value and patience...to save and realize what I really wanted and what was just passing fancy. Roleplaying has helped my writing so much and without it I would never have been published. Drawing for gold has helped me to improve my art skills to a place I would never have gotten without the motivation from Gaia. Reaching out to others in the charity forums taught me how to be kind, and to remember that in the long run being good to others is important.

When I fell into drugs, my friends on Gaia were some of the first people to notice...even before people who saw me every day realized it...and they were also some of the most supportive in my quest to get clean.

There are people on Gaia that I have known now for a decade and I consider them to be very good friends. Internet friendships always seemed silly to me, shallow things that couldn't compare to the real thing but I've learned otherwise. It's not the same, that's true...but it's special in its own right and these people and I have literally grown up together on Gaia.

To me, Gaia is more than a website...it's nostalgia personified. It's home....and while I've got a home and a life and my own happiness now...I can't help but feel that the attitude that the site displays now just keeps it from being the kind of home for others that it was for me...that's why I fight for our community. That's why I will be heard...because others deserve to find home just like I did.  

[Madame Xiva]

Gaia means a lot of wonderful memories for me.

A lot of good times with dear friends, and the thrill of exploring something new.

At the bidding of a friend, I joined Gaia for the RP groups in 2006. MySpace was big at the time, and we had a wonderful (BtVS) RP group there, but MS started deleting RP profiles around that time. So, we came here and I hated it! LOL

Fast forward to 2007 and I tried it again because my friends were still here. It was then that I discovered the Marketplace. OMG!! I used to spend hours in the MP sniping good deals when you really COULD snipe bid auctions on Gaia. There was no extension to the time then. Gosh, I used to shake gold from trees in towns and post comments on my own profile to get gold! Daily Chance was nothing back then until they started putting NPC underwear in the DC! There was a vendor (This Is Heather) that used to have NPC underwear in her store for what seemed like millions at a time. She wore an Angelic Scarf that was so far beyond my means, and I just admired her so much. But I never won a pair of underwear. neutral

Nonetheless, I kept going in the Marketplace until I had my first million. Even when they did away with sniping on bid auctions, I kept going.

I never once bought Gaia cash (and I never will), and I still remember questing Benny the Puppy when he was WAY over 80K. I got him. And then I quested a Mythrill Halo until I got it. Years later, I've quested my way through at least six Devil Tails, ten Angelic Sashes along with Angelic Minis and two sets of Nightmare Minis. I will never forget the thrill of these quests and the fun times on Gaia. Making my avatar pretty back when I still cared to do so and going to rally just because.

Now that most everything is sold and I have more than enough to buy the once-coveted Angelic Halo, I have no desire to do so, and I would trade all the gold I've earned in heartbeat just to go back to those times when I used to meet up with my friends and shake trees for gold and not feel like I had to buy Gaia cash to "belong."

I miss that. A lot.  

[Lady-Ecanus]

Gaia is the place for me to go when things get rough. I had a bad spot of depression last winter and almost had to drop out of the only college I have ever wanted to go to because my academic standing was so bad. The entire time I was going through forums on Gaia and even without participating myself I still felt like part of the community. The people of gaia are my people and because of that I have the guts to post on threads that I never would have before. I'm not afraid of starting conversations for fear of getting mocked. gaia has turned the insecure follower of 13 into a confident goal oriented 20 year old. I would not be writing novel, or hanging out with friends or even be open about my orientation, if it weren't for Gaia.

Gaia saved me and then made me better. You can't replace that.  

[Metternich]

I may not say much, but my role plays are the opposite!
I love Gaia since it's the one place I can role play with awesome people!  

[Princess Zelda21]

Hmm, not sure where to begin. I suppose I would call this place a mini anime type site, which is kind of what it is to me. I started coming here around, 2007 to 2008 I think, but then got hacked once. So, I made a few spare accounts to be safe and came back. Anyhow, I got into RPing for the most part, which was what kept me rather occupied and has been one of the few things that inspire me to do some writing of my own now and then. Sure I may not interact much with others in guilds or forums, but that's ok, I'm used to it I suppose. This has been probably one of the few decent interactive places I've enjoyed most and, I guess will stick with. So, that about wraps it up. ^_^*  

[Pegasaurus Rex]

Gaia is my second home.
I joined in 2007 because two of my best friends did. I loved it instantly--I could dress up as much as I wanted! So many items! I remember questing for the Pixie--the item I wanted most. I saved and saved and finally bought it for a whopping 30k. I thought I was the coolest thing around. Some small site quests were the coveted Emo Glasses that all the cool people had. Saving up, what is it? Like 4,500 gold? Oh, back when gold meant something...
I loved the events. The first event I participated in was the Summer Water Balloon Fight! That was the funnest thing I had ever done online.
Shortly after, my family moved. This was right after my freshman year in High School, so needless to say, I was not happy. I became severely depressed and had to go on medication for a while. Gaia allowed me to escape that. I lived for the events and story updates. For the super cool monthly collectible that would always work it's way down to around 30k in the market place. I played Puzzles and Word Bump. When Pinball came out, I was on that all the time!
Gaia is also important to me because my father joined a year after me and we had a lot of fun times during events, or clicking the Daily Chance at the same time and seeing who "won" (whoever got the better prize). He died four years ago, but I'm glad he created his account. I can read his posts, journal entries, his profile--it's all there and I often check it when I'm missing him. If he were still alive, I think he would have started a guild like this.
Gaia is so many good memories for me. That's the only thing keeping me here. If I joined today, I don't think I would stick around. I've already seriously contemplated leaving a few times, but I've stayed because I believe it can change. We just have to hit the right button--and in this case, I think the "button" is their wallet.  

[flowers for machines]

Take off your skin and dance with me...

I don't remember why I joined Gaia, because I didn't actually become active until almost a couple years after I made my account. And the only reason I did become active was to hang out with friends in Towns.

I eventually got into anoning, and met some of the most amazing people ever through it. I honestly don't know if I'd be alive now if it wasn't for my anon friends. Now, they're the only reason I stick around here, and since I can text or Skype them whenever I want, I don't even know if they're enough to keep me on Gaia.

Cut out your tongue and sing for me...

 

[Neo De Maneo]

Hmm what gaia means to me
I guess its a place I can belong and talk about the things my friends just dont get.I have made so many friends and well some of my time on gaia has been bittersweet but all in all i keep coming back for the people.  

[Sash0]

Ive been on Gaia since 07
It means a lot to me I spend most of my time on here it is somewhere I can go when I feel down and it usually cheers me up, I'm shy in rl and seem to be able to express myself more freely on here to friends and guild friends alike, Ive spent a lot of time and some gaia cash on here also to get some of my items, quested also in the past, been addicted to rigs then unaddicted my self to stop buying them and quest items instead, have collected kinda a few items over the years old to newer that I really like and keep for when I want to change my avatar look, then verge came out and felt like some things changed, I don't like the site centering never wanted it and hope they give us a option, Most Ive spent on a item on here was the $75 plus the exchange rate for Lucky, I am not willing to keep spending that much on any other item, so try to ignore some of the sales if I can. I love Gaia but now seem to second guess myself more, Still love Gaia for the few friends I have left who are mostly guild members etc. and zOMG! which will have to play again soon since I want too, Met a lot of members on here lately that have been really nice and even helpful so Gaia has mostly been a kind place for me to come on to, have only had bad experience a few times over the years but got over them with the past Gaia staff helping me and my friends supporting me emotion_kirakira
Sorry I always write a lot when I feel like it emotion_kirakira  

[Alisseia]

¤¸¸.·´¯`·.¸·..>>--» ☜♥☞ «--<<..·.¸¸·´¯`·.¸¸¤

Gaiaonline is a free forum website with avatars that you can customize in a variety of different ways. It's a site that immerses it's users in it's own world with various events, making them feel like they're wandering around the world when they go from page to page, using the Manga and mini-comics to tell the story of the world, games that show you another part of the world, and having a community that's like a family, that community including those who work to make Gaia a great place. Many people consider this site as a home, and the other people on it as a family. When I joined the site I didn't expect to find this. I only joined because I saw my sister playing fishing quite a few years ago. She stopped playing, and I took over her account when mine got hacked and banned. I found a second home and family, even though I didn't know it then.
That's why I'm still on the site. I don't want to see all that it stands for end.

 

[Kathryn Anon]

Gaia, for me, was home. It was a place I could go to be with friends and to escape from the stress and chaos and disappointment of real life. Now all gaia is to me is a loosing battle. I want that comfortable atmosphere back - the sort of website that isn't constantly trying to make you feel like you're a bad member, or like you'll never be able to catch up, unless you "invest". My investment is risking viruses by not using adblock so that the site can support itself! Gahh....

I still love Gaia, I really do, but it is not the home it once was for me.  

[Amra Rose]

I joined Gaia back in 2007 when i was a freshman in highschool. My new bestfriend "Sheepity" had been a part of gaia for a few years by that point. He introduced my friend "Singing Seraph" and I to gaia with great enthusiasm. Gaia was all he ever seemed to talk about. I remember those days fondly. After i joined i could never get home fast enough to go join my friends in Rally, or try and earn more gold so i could get the "perfect" avatar. I loved being able to be part of an amazing community where there were people just like me. I believe Gaia to be partly responsible for cementing my friendships with the two people mentioned above. I took a hiatus from Gaia for about a year give or take, and i must report that i miss the connections i had formed durring my previous years. Looking back to 2007, and then flash forwarding to 2013 there have been some MAJOR changes.

I am ready to make Gaia what it used to be.  

[Pamina]

Gaia's been my refuge from the "real world" with all of its disappointments and frustrations for years. I have had so many fond memories made here, but now it seems the disappointment and frustration have finally found their way in.  

[Pwnder]

This site is the only site I have returned to consistently for over nine years. I've always loved the avatar development over the years too, its the Barbie doll I never played with as a little girl. What is most important has always been the features along with the fun of the events and games, basically the world. My deep dark secret favorite part of the site is some of the item descriptions. Laugh out loud funny!! Gaia has always reflected no-so-serious part of myself.
You know how many years it took me to get Chyaku Norisu Scarf??? The day I got it was face palm!

I'm not leaving though, I'm on the Streaker achievement and I have hopes that this is all going to tie the room together, eventually.