| Apologies for the rambling post, but hopefully it sheds some light on the continued existence of the site: Gaia has been a bizarre and largely unwelcome fixture in my life for almost 20 years. It taught me basic market fundamentals (and led to early experiments with HTML, CSS, coding, and graphic design) but it was also my first brush with internet addiction, and I suspect it contributed to the development of ongoing stimuli-related executive dysfunction. The remaining users (primarily adults) seem to exhibit similar tendencies and/or other psychological issues. My parents hated it. Having been exposed to gambling mechanics [0][1] from a young age, I would never allow my children to be exposed to anything similar. I sometimes jokingly think of myself as an early casualty of the loot box era. Thankfully, few games have this effect on me; somehow this one remains uniquely addictive, a kind of perfect and insidious formula. The history of the site is an interesting case study in digital currencies, user retention curves, and the collapse of early social media. After a corporate buyout and subsequent mass exodus, it was largely dormant for years until being purchased and revived by the original lead developer. Many parts of it are completely broken and abandoned. It's a UX nightmare, extremely cringe, and basically needs to be gutted to have any hope of attracting new users. But a small, dedicated, and vocal user base remains. If the fundamentals are correct, sometimes people will stick around, even if management decisions are continually at odds with what users want. It helps that the items are also the best they've ever been, drawn by talented pixel artists who probably used Gaia when they were teenagers. I still have immense respect for the original incarnation and vision of the site. It emerged directly from the dotcom fallout, and was created by a small group of anime artists/programmers hacking away in a communal San Diego bungalow. It's one of the few relics of my childhood left on the internet, and I suspect it will be around for years to come. [0] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/835/640/c54...
[1] https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/956/433/66c... |
