What is Gaia Online?

In short, Gaia Online (www.gaiaonline.com) is a social virtual world and community with it own virtual currency - gaia gold. For better explanation read one of previous articles - what is gaia online.

How do people play Gaia Online?

Not being a normal ?game?, there is no set way to ?play? Gaia Online ? and in fact, most users of the site prefer not to refer to it as a ?game? as it is more of a virtual community.

In a typical session on Gaia, a user may:

• check their own profile for new comments (publicly-viewable messages posted by other users)
• visit the forums for discussion
• debate in chat
• watch a video with friends in the Cinema
• purchase some new accessories for their avatar and round off their session with a hobby like virtual fishing
• taking part in any activity earns Gaia Gold, effectively rewarding users for participation

Each of these activities is achieved simply by clicking on links on the website and following on-screen instructions. No software is required to be downloaded or installed onto the computer, so the site can be used on any computer which can access and view content on the Web.

How do players sign up?

Signing up is a simple process. Users design their initial avatar using a simple on-screen system that allows them to choose gender, hairstyles, facial features and basic clothing. If you have ever seen the ?Mii? system on the Nintendo Wii games console, the system is very similar.

Following this, users select a name and password for themselves, and provide an email address to confirm the account ? a step taken to prevent unauthorized or automated sign-ups ? and then they are free to begin using their account. Personal information is not collected, though parents may wish to discuss what information is and is not appropriate to share on the publicly-viewable profiles which users can create.

It’s FREE

Using Gaia Online is free as the site is supported by advertising banners placed throughout the virtual world. However, each month, there are ?Collectible Items? available for purchase for $2.50 each. These items are exclusive, limited edition items of clothing or accessories for avatars and are available for one month only.

As well as Gaia Gold, items can also be purchased using Gaia Cash, which are essentially ?credits? purchased using ?real? money. Gaia Cash and the Collectible Items can be purchased via credit card, PayPal, telephone/Internet bill, mobile phone (payment by which also gives the user a Gaia Online image to use on their phone) or check/money order sent by post. Additionally, Gaia Cash cards can be purchased at major retailers.

Is it suitable for teens?

Gaia?s appearance is heavily influenced by Japanese animation (or ?animé?) and comics (known as ?manga?) which makes its appearance very appealing to teenagers who are interested in the genre. Gaia claims that their site remains suitable for a teen audience, and its Terms and Conditions forbid anyone under the age of 13 from signing up to the site.

Gaia recommends that parents spend some time exploring the site to familiarize themselves with it prior to their children signing up, even offering tips to help parents understand the community and site.

What is the real community like?

Because Gaia does not have a single pre-defined use, its community is very diverse. The site is clearly aimed at teenagers through its Japanese animation theme, but there are also a lot of college students and people from other walks of life populating the site to participate in its many discussions.

The popular message board section is organized by discussion topic. Because of this, a number of ?subcommunities? have sprung up. For example, the Chatterbox section is populated by a lot of younger people posting nonsensical messages for the express purpose of earning Gaia Gold. At the other end of the spectrum, Extended Discussion features weighty debates on a number of more mature topics, with abortion, homosexuality and religion seemingly the most common recurring themes.

Users can also join ?Guilds?, which are custom groups of people designed to discuss things around a very specific topic. Guilds get their own message board, and most Guilds require a letter of application to the Guild administrator before a new user can join them. This tends, in most cases, to keep troublemakers out of the Guilds.

Is it “safe” to let children visit gaia?

For the most part, Gaia is a well-kept community, with a group of helpful moderators drawn from both the site?s staff and the community at large. Every page on Gaia ? be it the ?VJ? section, where users can post videos from YouTube or other video websites, or the message boards themselves ? has a ?Report? button allowing concerned users to inform the moderators of any inappropriate behavior. For the most part, the community is self-policing, with troublemakers reported by community members and subsequently warned, suspended or banned by moderators.

Parents should note, however, that some users do post inappropriate material. The ?VJ? section mentioned above occasionally contains pornographic video postings, though these are swiftly removed by moderators once reported. All reports are anonymous, so users who feel uncomfortable about something they see online can feel confident that their concerns can be expressed without repercussions from the troublemakers.

As with many online communities, there are also some unscrupulous users who attempt to ?scam? legitimate Gaians out of their hard-earned Gaia Gold and even their whole account in some cases.