Gaiapedia:Sandbox/Criticisms of Gaia Online

Some aspects of Gaia Online, such as the new layout and naked avatars, have been the spark of criticism.

Naked Avatars
There was a glitch that caused certain combinations of clothing to turn invisible, without turning on the default underwear. This naked avatar glitch was used by many users, some for artistic and non-vulgar purposes. Some even pointed to the MPAA PG-13 standards regarding nudity, which appears to be somewhat more lenient than Gaia Online's current PG-13 policy. NOTE: This glitch has been fixed by the administrators and is no longer a concern.

Premium Feature?
A survey released by a third party company included a question in which it mentioned the addition of a paid "Premium" feature. This, along with the release of items the administrators promised against, lead many to believe that they are going against their word and are going to make Gaia more for money rather than for the people.

Layout Criticism
The recent release of a new layout has created an uproar among some longtime users. Several users dislike the new layout, believing that Gaia should revert to the old one. In addition, a new homepage change has caused confusion for some. A few users are questioning if Gaia is attempting to make things easier or look "cooler"; others have no objection to the new layout or prefer it. The new layout includes: a shop system in which the user can browse each shop according to newest items, different categories of items, and price; the new menu at the top of the window allowing access to almost anything on the site; a new profile page which shows a user's friends, comments, journals, multimedia, signature, equipped items, and wishlist items.

Inappropriate Ads
There have been some reports that there are ads being shown on Gaia Online which promoted a service that requires you to be 18. Many Gaians say that this and similar ads should be removed. Note that administrators cannot remove these ads.

These ads are viewed on occasions including others dealing with the same topic. Many Gaians are disturbed by this, but a small majority of the Gaians say there is nothing wrong the ads shown on Gaia Online. If users are disturbed by these ads, they can use AdBlock, Opera Browser, Foxie or other add-ons to block these types of ads. If users can't switch to another browser or use the adblock extension, they may report the ad to the administrators so they may deal with it. When reporting the ad, copy the location of the banner to help them investigate the problem.

Neglect to Male Avatars and Sexist?
Due to the fact that females have more items, including the G-LOL items, another controversy has emerged, questioning if male avatars are being neglected. It is considered by a few that male avatars are given ugly faces and smiles, while the females don't have that problem.

Females avatars have a greater selection of items under 500 Gold than the males have. Females also have more color selection of their items. Since Gaians have the choice of changing genders, some males changed their gender for better item selection which alters the male-female ratio on Gaia. However, this may also be attributed to men who prefer female avatars in principle, or that Gaia apeals more to females.

Killing Off Characters
Recently, many people were upset after Ian was shot, causing a controversy on killing NPCs. He was not the first character to die, although their was less of an uproar when the Von Helson Sisters were crushed than Ian, who was an NPC from the start.

Profane Words
In some people's opinion, swearing is a problem. Many users use profanity, this makes others uncomfortable. Concerned parents may prevent their children from visiting the site, although anything more than PG-13 rating is against the ToS. A word filter was released (todo: find date word filter was released). Many feel that freedom of speach includes 'bad words' and that anyone who is bothered by it should use the filters.