2017/Jul-Dec/Announcements/Staff Updates

02 Special Facebook Live Q&A starting soon!
Special Facebook Live Q&A starting soon!

Get ready for a special livestream Q&A on our Facebook page. Join us for a chance to win prizes, ask questioms and more at 1:30pm PST!

03 Watch the live broadcast of our panel at AX & receive the Conventioneer Achievement!
Watch the live broadcast of our panel at AX & receive the Conventioneer Achievement!

Hey guys. I have some great news!

Everyone who watches the live broadcast of our official Gaia Online panel happening today at 4:30pm PST on Facebook will be eligible to receive the Conventioneer Achievement.

We can't wait for you to join us! See you soon.

05 More internship opportunities at Gaia
More internship opportunities at Gaia

Gaia is currently looking for talented individuals with experience in product management, and also looking for candidates with marketing experience.

Please send your resume to gaia-jobs@gaiaonline.com!

05 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PDT! So ask away!

Did you miss Ask the Staff today? Get your questions in for next's week ATS at our ATS pre-event thread!

06 Regarding Gaia Box Tickets
Regarding Gaia Box Tickets

Hey Gaians,

Anyone who sent an e-mail to gaiabox@gaiaonline.com should have a reply to their e-mail. Please check your e-mail inbox regarding this reply, if you do not see it, please check your spam and trash box. If you still do not see it after that point, please go ahead and send another e-mail to gaiabox@gaiaonline.com with your username and we'll get back to you via private message regarding your order.

Thanks for your patience, we apologize for the delay!

07 Trading broken!
Trading broken!

Sorry we have a bug causing trading to break. It will be fixed in 10 minutes.

07 Anyone up for a ROAD TRIP contest?!?
Anyone up for a ROAD TRIP contest?!?

Hey everyone!

Just a little notice that we have a new community contest up and running - the ROAD TRIP! Contest. Just tell us your favorite road trip/vacation story and you could win a cool prize pack of items for your avatar.

Free to enter and open to all Gaians, I can't wait to hear your best road trip stories EVER! :0

Head on over to the contest thread and join the fun!

-Sisky

09 Avatar Builder Disabled
Avatar Builder Disabled

Hi all! Avatar builder is temporarily disabled because there's something coming soon™ We'll let you know when the builder is back online!

10 Arrrrghhhhh! A Pirate-y Avatar Contest
Arrrrghhhhh! A Pirate-y Avatar Contest

Ahoy all! With the ocean above us (loving this header BTW!) and pirate-y items aplenty', I thought it would be super fun to have a pirate-themed avatar dress up contest.

Join the fun and get your swag on -if your avatar is picked as the best pirate look in our new community contest, you'll win an awesome prize pack.

Free to enter, and open to all pirates..errrr, I mean open to all Gaians, I hope you'll sail on over to the Arrrrghhhhh! A Pirate-y Avatar Contest thread and join the fun!

11 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey Gaians,

We're going to be pushing today's Ask the Staff to tomorrow, July 12, 2017. Sorry for the delay, but we hope to see you all there! If you can't make it, be sure to post in our pre-event thread! See you all tomorrow at 3:00pm PDT!

12 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PST! So ask away!

12 Avatar Builder Online
Avatar Builder Online

Hi all! Avatar builder has been re-enabled, so you can get back to making your dream avatar in style. Happy crafting!

14 CI Changes
CI Changes

Hey Gaians,

We've made an adjustment to how opening Chance Items work in order. After opening a Chance Item there will be a 4 second delay before opening the next one. This is to help mitigate any potential server issues from opening up too many CIs at once. We're interested in hearing your feedback about this and will be browsing threads gathering it up.

Additionally, within the Loyal’s Fish Bundle Pack is the item, Aquarium Mimi Kitty. We've reduced the sell back on that item to prevent any abuse due to the previously high sell back on Mimi Kitty. If you have a lot of Loyal’s Fish Bundle Packs that you bought for the hope of getting an Aquarium Mimi Kitty and no longer want them, then please file a ticket at our Help Center before July 31, 2017 at 11:59pm PDT and we will be able to remove the items and credit your Gaia Gold back.

14 Update on cooldown period on item use
Update on cooldown period on item use

Sorry the item cooldown period was set to 12 seconds while the database was encountering issues. We have now set the cooldown back to 4 seconds so no one should see the error message anymore. Thank you for your patience!

14 [Sponsorship] Crusaders of Light
[Sponsorship] Crusaders of Light

Salutations, Gaians!

Our friends at NetEase Games have released their highly-anticipated mobile MMORPG, Crusaders of Light, and are kicking things off with a bang with a massive team competition unlike any other! Can your team be the fastest to take down Fort Desolation? Get a massive raid group going, and if you manage to pull it off the fastest, you and your conquering team could walk away from the rubble with a real cash prize of $400,000 USD! Get your team together and get into the game, because these riches are yours to be claimed, if you're strong enough!

No purch req'd. 18+. Registration ends on 8/31/17. Details at crusadersoflight.com

Join Now!

14 Intermittent Outages
Intermittent Outages

Hello all, we’re currently aware that parts of the site are not accessible, and we’re looking into the issue at this time. Sorry for any inconvenience, and we hope to have the issue sorted for you soon!

14 Outage Followup
Outage Followup

Hi again all, the site should be up and running no problem now, but if you encounter anything, please feel free to let us know in the Site Feedback forum or by filing a ticket at the Help Center. Have a good evening!

18 Session Errors 7/18
Session Errors 7/18

Hi guys! We’re currently aware that parts of the site are not accessible, and we are looking into the issue at this time.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to have the issue resolved for you soon!

18 Session Errors Followup
Session Errors Followup

Hi again~

The website should be up & running smoothly now, however, if you encounter any issues free to let us know in the Bug Reports & Technical Support forum.

Have a great day!

18 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PDT! So ask away!

Did you miss Ask the Staff today? Get your questions in for next's week ATS at our ATS pre-event thread!

19 Graphic Designer Wanted!
Graphic Designer Wanted!

For anyone who has knowledge of online graphic design, please let us know! You can send your resume to gaia-jobs@gaiaonline.com. Thank you!

21 Apparently it's National Junk Food Day - How about a contest? XD
Apparently it's National Junk Food Day - How about a contest? XD

Ok, so it's apparently National Junk Food Day here in the USA. While I try to eat pretty healthy, I have to admit I do occasionally love me some tasty, tasty junk food. Anyway, time for another fun community contest! Just post your favorite junk food and we'll randomly select 5 winners to win a fabulous Junk Fooderiffic Prize Pack!

Join the, uh, deep-fried fun here?

24 Certain Project Tickets Expiring Soon
Certain Project Tickets Expiring Soon

Hello!

This is a reminder that several Project Tickets will be expiring on July 25th at 11:59pm PDT. For more information about which tickets are being retired, and a refresher on other recent changes, check out the post here!

25Notice involving image hosting
Notice involving image hosting

Hello, Gaians!

We have posted announcements Minishops forums with the message below. Just in case you do not frequent these forums, but sell/buy art, we want to pass this along to you! This applies to all art trades including those outside the Minishops forums.

Thank you, and happy summer!

- - - - -

Due to unfortunate circumstances beyond our members’ and our (Gaia’s) control, Photobucket is not any longer a reliable image host for large-scale art shops due to limiting allowed bandwidth. This means that they are finicky about 3rd party linking, where the art is inaccessible to those who are not logged into the hosting Photobucket account.

Sadly, this has led to circumstances where either:


 * 1) The buyer is unable to access their finished art, or;
 * 2) The seller does not have sufficient proof that the art purchased has been appropriately delivered to the buyer.

All of this means that the potential for unintentional scamming on either end is very high.

We do not expect our members to pay Photobucket to remedy this situation. However, we do expect that this be taken care of so that scamming situations do not occur as a result. We have recently whitelisted Imgur, and DeviantArt/other art gallery sites are great tools for artists to host their work for long periods of time. Google Docs is another alternative in order to deliver art.


 * NOTE FOR THE SHOPS AND SELLERS:

We are extending a more than a month period for all active artists affected by Photobucket's new bandwidth limit to rehost their images on another image hosting service, have their goods delivered to the buyer in another manner, or have their Photobucket service functional. Reports filed involving non-delivery of art will be held until August 31st, 2017 @ 11:59:59 PM so everyone has the opportunity to fix the situation.

Within this time period, we expect artists to refund purchases or be ready to present their art. Otherwise, the Moderation Team will be unable to rule on behalf of the shop/seller in reported cases where Photobucket is the sole reason for lack of evidence. We also may hold artists liable for producing their goods in alternative ways, and if they are unable to, for refunding the purchase of the art back to the buyer.

Sellers need to host the art for a reasonable amount of time so the buyer has the opportunity to save/rehost the art themselves. It's highly recommend that you take a couple opportunities to notify buyers that their art needs to be saved/rehosted before taking it down, which we recommend hanging onto evidence that you have done so.


 * NOTE FOR THE BUYER:

Art buyers should be saving the art to their computer or rehosting their art that they receive immediately instead of relying on the artist to host the image indefinitely.

Once art is successfully produced, if a host or the artist takes down the image for any reason, the artist may not be liable if the buyer can no longer access the art. It is not the artist's responsibility to host the art for an extended amount of time, but they do have a a responsibility to host/provide access to the image for a reasonable amount of time in order for it to be saved and used by the buyer.

The above may not affect some shops! Check with the shop/seller to see if they will indefinitely host the art, or if they have a time limit of hosting the art for you. We recommend having this clarified in your shop's posts so there is not any confusion on who is responsible for this.

I hope this clarifies Gaia's position on such matters. Please use the allotted time to rehost, refund, or otherwise deliver any art that has been affected by Photobucket's new policies.

25 Allow Astra items to show up on Chrome
Allow Astra items to show up on Chrome

On the Chrome browser, for those who wish to remove the play button on top of avatars with Astra items that has Flash animation, you can adjust a setting here:

chrome://flags/#run-all-flash-in-allow-mode

You do need to cut and paste the above link to your Chrome browser for it to work.

Change the "Run all flash content" setting from "Default" to "Enabled", and hit the Relaunch button!

Thanks to Hateable for sharing the tip!

25 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PDT! So ask away!

Did you miss Ask the Staff today? Get your questions in for next's week ATS at our ATS pre-event thread!

26 In this farewell...
In this farewell...


 * It starts with one... It's so unreal. Numb...
 * In the end... there is a new divide.
 * Crawling... from the castle of glass.
 * One step closer to where I belong.
 * I don't like my mind right now... Why is everything so heavy?


 * It's cool to be a part of recovery. This is just who I am...
 * I don't go out and pick fights, I don't drink. I choose to be sober now.
 * I always wanted to be a rock star. That was my childhood dream.
 * As an artist, I want a reaction...


 * There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface.
 * I've become so numb, become so tired.
 * I don't know what's worth fighting for, tell me what I've gotta do.
 * I can't feel the way I did before, don't turn your back on me.
 * I may end up failing too...


 * I don't like to hold back, because that's how you hurt yourself.
 * This is a business of love and labor, if fans come up to me, I talk to them.
 * The fans are the biggest reason we do what we do.
 * Let's all choose to be a part of the cure.

The Requiem. The Radiance. Wisdom, Justice, and Love. What we don't know is what we pretend to be. Even in my remains- skin to bone- there is a homecoming from the roads less traveled.


 * You have inspired me in many ways you could never have known. Your talent was pure and unrivaled. You helped me understand that.

Go, you are not unknown. You are not alone. I'll be gone, but it was not all for nothing. One more 'light' 'forevermore'.

If you or someone you know is suicidal, or is struggling with other life issues, we ask that you please find immediate help. To assist you in finding the right resource for you, we have a list of phone numbers and websites you can contact for more help below:

Hotlines


 * National Suicide Hotline #1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
 * Mental Health America: 1-800-969-6642
 * Safe Alternative: 1-800-DONT CUT (1-800-366-8288)
 * 2ndFloor Youth Helpline: 888-222-2228
 * Child Health National Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4ACHILD or 1-800-422-4453
 * National Runaway Hotline: 1-800-621-4000
 * National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673)
 * Stop It Now Sexual Abuse Hotline: 1-888-PREVENT (773-8368)
 * Planned Parenthood, Inc: 1-800-230-PLAN (7526)

Websites


 * http://contact-usa.org/ [USA]
 * http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ [USA]
 * http://www.suicideprevention.ca/ [Canada]
 * http://www.samaritans.org/ [UK]
 * http://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/ [International]
 * http://www.befrienders.org/ [International]

A hotline numbers list covering a wide spectrum of topics
 * http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/tollfree.cfm

A list of suicide hotline numbers in each state
 * http://suicidehotlines.com/

How to Cope with Someone Who is Suicidal
 * http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htm

Helping Someone Through a Suicide Crisis
 * http://helpguide.org/mental/suicide_prevention.htm

What to Do if Someone You Know Is Suicidal
 * http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/suicide/MH00058

What to Do if Someone You Know Is Being Bullied
 * http://www.stopbullying.gov

27 Avatar Builder Temporarily Disabled
Avatar Builder Temporarily Disabled

Hi all! Avatar builder is temporarily offline because we've got new stuff coming soon™ We'll let you know when it's back online!

27 Avatar Builder Re-Enabled
Avatar Builder Re-Enabled

Hi everyone! Avatar Builder is back online, so happy outfit crafting!

27 Gatcha Some Fresh BAEkery Love! A tasty art contest! <3
Gatcha Some Fresh BAEkery Love! A tasty art contest! <3

Om nom nom! Time for another community contest to celebrate the fabulous new Gatcha Fresh Baekery!

Just draw your avatar with the Gaia NPC you would most want to go to a cafe with and make sure to include some kind of pastry or baked good in the picture and you could win!

Stop by the tasty and official contest thread and check it out!

01 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PDT! So ask away!

Did you miss Ask the Staff today? Get your questions in for next's week ATS at our ATS pre-event thread!

02 Ads disable for funders now working
Ads disable for funders now working

Just found the bug that was making ads display for funders. Sorry for the long wait!

03 Inventory Loading Issues
Inventory Loading Issues

Hey guys, we're aware that there are some issues happening with loading inventories at the moment. Our team our developers are looking into it, and we will keep you updated.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

03 Inventory will be fixed in 5 minutes
Inventory will be fixed in 5 minutes

Sorry some of my latest features for Gaia Mobile had caused some inventories to now show up. I'm applying the fix now and things should be back to normal by 8:05pm PST.

07 New currency system is here!
New currency system is here!

Hello everyone! We've finally launched the new currency system on the site! We are monitoring the system and will be making small tweaks here and there such as balancing the grant amounts and patching any bugs that come up, but you are free to head over to your account settings page and switch to Platinum!

Here is a link to the currency system FAQ

Thank you and enjoy!

07 Marketplace listings will be expiring
Marketplace listings will be expiring

In response to the platinum currency, we will be expiring all current marketplace listings so all marketplace sellers can re-list their items with the new currency in mind.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but it should be just a one time thing.

07 Marketplace is back, please wait for your items to be returned
Marketplace is back, please wait for your items to be returned

The marketplace is opened again. However, the system is still processing all listings and returning items to their respectful owners. Please allow a few hours for all times to be returned. Sorry for the wait, we're working as fast as we can to return your item back to you!

08 Ask the Staff
Ask the Staff

Hey everyone,

Ask the Staff is now live! You can check it out here! It runs until 5:00pm PDT! So ask away!

Did you miss Ask the Staff today? Get your questions in for next's week ATS at our ATS pre-event thread!

08 arketplace Auction Items Returned
arketplace Auction Items Returned

Yesterday's marketplace outage caused many auctions to expire too early. For those who had been affected by this problem, your item that was placed in auction had been returned to your inventory and the transaction reversed. Sorry for the trouble! You can now place the item for auction again.

09 Sealed Angel Item Update
Sealed Angel Item Update

Hey Gaians,

We made a switch to how Angel Subscribers will receive their free Angel Item for the month. When you're subscription renews for the month you will receive a Sealed Angel Item. If you open the box, then you will contain the Angel Item for the current month. For example, if you get your box in August, open it in August, you'll receive the August item. However, if you open the box in September, you'll get September's item instead of August. You can decide whether you want to open it for the month or not!

If you did not open your Sealed Angel Item in July and want to switch your August item for July, then here's how to do it:


 * Open your Sealed Angel Item.
 * Claim the Magnificent Yin from the Sealed Angel Item
 * Visit the Angel Item Swap Tool
 * Click "SWAP ANGEL ITEM!" to do the swap.
 * You're all done!

Help! I'm getting sent to the Help Center instead of the Angel Item Swap Tool page! Please go ahead and clear your browser's cache. If you're not sure how to do that, please see this guide.

Help! That didn't work! If clearing your cache didn't work, try starting a private session with your browser. If you're not sure how to do, then please see this guide.

Help! That didn't work either! If those clearing your cache and starting a private session didn't work, then please file a billing ticket at our Help Center

09 A Little Bit of Lunacy!: An Avatar Creation Contest
A Little Bit of Lunacy!: An Avatar Creation Contest

Hello everyone!

To celebrate the awesome new The Stars, The Moon CI, we’ve got a fun new avatar contest starting right now! Just create an amazing celestial-themed avatar and post in the contest thread while the contest is going on. If your avatar is selected as one of the winners, you could nab a sweet celestial-themed prize!

Launch yourself on over to the official contest thread, and join the fun!

See you there! - Sisky