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Gaia Online (Pronounced geh-uh online) is an anime-themed forums-based website. Originally named "Go-Gaia", it was opened to the public on February 18, 2003 by Gaia Interactive, Gaia first began as an "anime linklist with a small community," but it was openly stated by founder Derek Liu (username "Lanzer") that the website was moving towards that of a social gaming one. It eventually became the forum-based website it is now. Big-Boards.com reports Gaia is the largest forum on the Internet, with over a million posts made daily, over a billion posts total, and over 2.5 million unique users each month. Gaia also won the 2007 Webware 100 award in the Community category.

Users of the site, known as Gaians, create a customizable avatar for which they can purchase items using virtual currency called Gaia Gold, which is earned by engaging in many activities, including: Flash games, posting on the board, daily chance, fishing, the casino, voting in the arena, playing the market, and also shaking rocks, trees, and bushes in the gaia world. Gold can then be used to purchase online items, which can be equipped onto the user's avatar or car, stored in the user's inventory, or placed in the user's Gaia Home, a virtual, furnishable house.

Users may also use real currency to purchase special items or in-game currency. This may be used to purchase special items.

Special Events

Gaia has various special events during the year, ranging from special comic updates to interactive site qualities, often in a theme of the holidays (Halloween, Easter, Christmas, etc.). During such activities, users may sometimes take part in an active story line of updated plots, sometimes participating in multi-user interactive theme games. On rare occasions, Gaians may actually vote upon the plot during the event and change the outcome so as to appeal to popular demand, such as during the Trial of Ian.

During all events, there are Gaian prizes of virtual items to be added to the customizable Avatars of users, obtainable through time spent on the site. Most Gaian events conclude after the duration of at least a week, usually longer.

Features

Private Message System: The private message system often referred to as "PM" is a way to communicate with another person. This may be to ask them if they would like to "trade" or join a "guild". This is sent like virtual e-mail.

Trade: Gaia allows users to Trade with each other through the site. The user types in the name of the user that they wish to trade with and both users are able to trade the items that they have in their inventory.

Guilds: Guilds are a group started by a user that pays 20,000 gold. The guild consists of captain, vice captain(s), crew(s), and the members. These members can communicate with each other in the guild's private forum.

Profile: Gaia allows their users to create a unique profile that users can design and tell a little about themselves (this looks somewhat like a myspace profile. Instead of a picture their avatar is shown).

Forums

Gaia Online's forums system is a modified phpBB-based collection of message boards, containing many main forums, which are further divided into subforums. Users' posts usually appear in a speech bubble next to the poster's avatar. Gaia claims that its forums are the largest on the Internet, an assertion supported by Big-Boards.com. The forums generate the most site activity of all Gaia's attractions, comprising 25% to 30% of site activity. Gaia Online's forum system also includes a private messaging system.

Donation Items/Monthly Collectibles

Monthly Collectibles (formerly called Donation Items) are limited-edition online items purchased with real currency. In June 2003, users of Gaia Online petitioned for a "donation system" in an attempt to increase site revenue, Gaia Online released its donation system, in which for every US $2.50 a user pays to the site, the user receives an item known as a "Sealed Envelope" in his or her inventory. On the 15th of every month, the Sealed Envelope disappears from the user's inventory and is replaced by a "Thank You Letter" for the month in which the user made his or her payment (for example, a "Thank You Letter for August 2004" if the payment was made in that month of that year). Users are then able to "open" these virtual letters to choose one of two or three Monthly Collectibles to be granted to their inventory from each letter. These items were known as Donation Items until potential legal problems prompted the name change. Monthly Collectible items and the Thank You Letter items they are found in are specific to the month that they were released in: for example, the items found in the Thank You Letter for April 2006 can only be found in that letter, and one could only purchase that letter in April 2006. Letters can be purchased over the phone or via PayPal, credit card, traditional mail, Gaia Cash, or text message.

Games

Gaia Online currently offers eight Flash games: Fishing, Towns, Word Bump, Jigsaw, Slots, Cinemas, Cards, and most recently, Gaia Rally (which is sponsored by Scion). These games comprise of 10% to 15% of total site activity.

In most games, users can win different items or online currency that can be exchanged for items. For example, in Gaia Fishing, users catch fish and garbage, which can be exchanged for fish-shaped hats or clothing made out of recycled garbage. Gaia is eventually going to be releasing a battle system, but the release date has not been set.

Towns

Gaia Towns (often simply called Towns) is an online world on Gaia where users' avatars may move and interact with each other, and collect gold and small items to make rare or common items. Users' homes are placed in Towns. Homes can be designed by getting different house items in the stores or marketplace.

Rally

On June 18, 2007, Gaia Online and Scion announced their partnership, allowing users to create virtual Scions that they can customize with options like wheels, decals, fog lights, tail lights, and spoilers. and race and display them to other users in a Flash game called Gaia Rally.

Cinemas

Gaia Cinemas was released in April 2007, and allows users to sit in a virtual theater, and watch anime, education shorts, cartoons etc. with other Gaians. Users have the ability to throw tomatoes, fireballs, popcorn, as well as other things during a cinema session. The programs shown in Gaia Cinema are anime or cartoons shown with permission from Gaia Online's sponsors, films in the public domain, or films made by Gaia or by Gaians. Gaia has old classic films as well as new anime in their theaters like Suzuka and Moon Phase. Recently Gaia has created its own 3-D films, under the title of MMVII, that correlate with the Gaia Manga storyline. Quest movies also take place in cinemas, when you finish watching a trailer for a movie you will be able to get a free quest item. Recently released was Gaia VJ where Gaians can make a virtual living room cinema with play lists composed of videos from video-hosting sites including YouTube.

Gaia Battle

Gaia Online has announced it is developing an MMORPG where users will be able to battle monsters and participate in RPG style quests. The game will utilize special rings to simulate abilities. While a sub-forum for the battle system has been established, the official release date has not been announced. Also an informational site has been made for it, which can be viewed here.

Market

There is a full-fledged Gaia Market. Market is divided into four parts - Shops, Trade, Marketplace, and Gaia Cash Shop.

• Shops: There are various shops where NPCs sell different items for avatars, house, cars, etc. These shops are of all types, upmarket as well as economy. You can buy items using gaia gold or gaia cash. Items found in the shops can also be sold back to the shop for 50% of the shop price.
• Trade: Users can trade items and gold with other Gaians.
• Marketplace: Users can have up to 10 items for sale at once in this eBay like vending system. The cost of this convenience is a 2% tax on all gold earned from sales.
• Cash Shop: The most recent addition to Gaia's economy sells items for Gaia Cash (which itself is bought with real money). It includes high end items and special "evolving" items, that change over time.

• Monthly Collectables: These are rare items which can be bought with Gaia gold for around 5,000,000 gold.

Quests

The Gaia Quest system grants users items for performing certain tasks. Most quests on the site are for promotional purposes, granting items related to the featured movie or anime series for watching trailers. Movies promoted by the Gaia Quest system include Gracie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Golden Compass, Nancy Drew, The Last Mimzy and Bee Movie. Some quests are restricted to certain geographic areas.

External links

• Gaia Online
• Gaia Terms Of Service
• Media PSFK, and innovations company website, comment on business model
• Report on Gaia's apparent $9 Million investment
• Comment on Gaia Interactive Inc. 2007 finances
• Comment on rise of Gaia's popularity

Creator interviews

• Interview with Derek Liu, Big-boards.com
• Follow-up interview with Derek Liu, Big-boards.com

1. ^ "Move over MySpace, Gaia Online is here". GigaOmniMedia, Inc. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
2. ""Gaia Online"". PSFK. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
3. ^ ""Kids and teens have pushed at least 6 immersive online worlds to over 2m UU/mth in the US"". Lightspeed Venture Partners. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
4. "AlwaysOn: Gaia Online Profile". AlwaysOn. 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
5. ^ "Interview: Derek Liu, Gaia Online Anime Community". fif-flowers.com. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
6. Announcement of Link List removal
7. ^ "The largest Message Boards and Forums on the Web". Big-Boards.com. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
8. ^ Big-Boards.com only lists forums that contain accessible members and post counts. According to other sources, 2channel is the largest in the world.
9. "Gaia Online: Webware 100". CNET Networks, Inc. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
10. "About Gaia Gold". Gaia Interactive. Retrieved 2006-12-30.
11. Meadors, Brett (2005-06-20). ""Interview: Derek from Gaia Online-Largest Online Forum"". Retrieved 2007-08-23.
12. Goodstein, Anastasia (1 May 2007). ""Ypulse Interview: Craig Sherman, CEO of Gaia Online"". Ypulse. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
13. Monthly collectibles were originally released on the 25th day of the month; now, this occurs on the 15th.
14. Liu, Derek (2006-10-30). "Donation items name change to monthly collectibles". Gaia Interactive. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
15. ""Gaia Online announcement of Gaia Rally release"". 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
16. ""Gaia Online and Scion Allow Teens to Pimp their Virtual Rides"". 2007-06-19. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

• Misplaced Pages articles needing copy edit from December 2007
• 2003 establishments
• Fandom
• Internet forums
• Community websites
• Entertainment websites
• Virtual communities