Screw you Gaia...

[Psycho Lee]

Trying to dictate morals to me, you ******** c**k sucks. Ugh, I swear this website is being run by the biggest morons ever.

Quote:

In an effort to keep your virtual lungs lookin' clean as a whistle, we're ceasing the sale of tobacco-related items on Gaia. Aside from being all gross and unhealthy in real life, we don't think they make your avatar look any sexier.

If you have any pipes, cigarettes, or cigars in your inventory, you're welcome to sell 'em back to the shops for a nice, tidy profit.

It didn't remove the Cig from my inventory, it just soulbound it. I'm not giving it away. They can pry it from my cold, dead, hands.

Who's to bet some whiny a** bible-thumping suburban soccer moms caused this? I'm sure some overprotective parent, monitoring everything their child does online to save them from the evil predators, noticed that Gaia avatars could have cigars and cigarettes. And they were like "OMG how dare they make smoking look COOL!", bitched at Gaia, and Gaia took this action.


The sad thing is, I don't smoke. My character does, however, to add to his personality and character. That's the point. Anyone who writes any kind of story or knows characterization knows that some characters, such as a cig-smoking film noir detective, or a cigar-chomping vietnam general, is going to smoke! It's just a part of their characters!

I see this as nothing more than either giving in to whiny overprotective parents, or trying to dictate morals. Just another way this place doesn't give a s**t about it's user base. confused  

[Twotone Soul]

Psycho Lee

Trying to dictate morals to me, you ******** c**k sucks. Ugh, I swear this website is being run by the biggest morons ever.

Quote:

In an effort to keep your virtual lungs lookin' clean as a whistle, we're ceasing the sale of tobacco-related items on Gaia. Aside from being all gross and unhealthy in real life, we don't think they make your avatar look any sexier.

If you have any pipes, cigarettes, or cigars in your inventory, you're welcome to sell 'em back to the shops for a nice, tidy profit.

It didn't remove the Cig from my inventory, it just soulbound it. I'm not giving it away. They can pry it from my cold, dead, hands.

Who's to bet some whiny a** bible-thumping suburban soccer moms caused this? I'm sure some overprotective parent, monitoring everything their child does online to save them from the evil predators, noticed that Gaia avatars could have cigars and cigarettes. And they were like "OMG how dare they make smoking look COOL!", bitched at Gaia, and Gaia took this action.


The sad thing is, I don't smoke. My character does, however, to add to his personality and character. That's the point. Anyone who writes any kind of story or knows characterization knows that some characters, such as a cig-smoking film noir detective, or a cigar-chomping vietnam general, is going to smoke! It's just a part of their characters!

I see this as nothing more than either giving in to whiny overprotective parents, or trying to dictate morals. Just another way this place doesn't give a s**t about it's user base. confused

I'm don't agree with gaia "baning" the cigarettes but I can't say I'm surprised, it was only a matter of time before some parent(s) decided to be asses and make gaia a rainbows and sunshine place to prevent the warping of their children's fragile little minds rolleyes  

[Psycho Lee]

Well, as I keep on saying, if you decided to put d**k in p***y and make babies, you have to take responsibility for the hellspawn that pop out 9 months later. For the next 18+ years, taking care of that spawn is a 24/7/365 job of great responsibility and you better not expect the rest of us to do it.


And, as expected, the GCD and Feedback forums are having a shitfest. I've never seen such anger. razz


What I really fear is that if it's cigs now, guns and weapons could be next. Gawd.  

[Selene Aries]

Yeah, this is just retarded to me. Even though I do not use any of the "smoking" items, I just cannot wrap my brain around Gaia's logic. Any idiot that starts up smoking because they saw a virtual item on a website deserves lung cancer.

So we are getting rid of items related to tobacco because they are unhealthy and could be a bad influence? Okay, so what about all the guns, knives and swords on Gaia?  

[Twotone Soul]

*nods* so much for freedom of expression eh xp  

[Selene Aries]

This is not America, this is web-site ran by a corporation. We have no rights.  

[Twotone Soul]

Selene Aries

This is not America, this is web-site ran by a corporation. We have no rights.

lol true  

[[-Erik-]]

Selene Aries

Yeah, this is just retarded to me. Even though I do not use any of the "smoking" items, I just cannot wrap my brain around Gaia's logic. Any idiot that starts up smoking because they saw a virtual item on a website deserves lung cancer.

So we are getting rid of items related to tobacco because they are unhealthy and could be a bad influence? Okay, so what about all the guns, knives and swords on Gaia?

Those will probably be replaced by more rainbows and frilled dresses.

 

[Nurses Aids]

Ahaha.
Awsome.  

[shishigashira]

honestly why did they ban the cigs? when the real problem is all the dirty stuff?  

[Shaviv]

To paraphrase what someone wiser than me said:

There are two possibilities. Either Gaia Interactive is pulling a big prank on us, or they're perfectly serious.

If they're pulling a prank, it's not really that funny.

If they're serious, well, they have a point. Part of the deal on restricting ads that promote this or that thing we consider a moral ill and/or a health risk, even though it isn't illegal, is to protect kids from it. Yes?

Now, it's not like seeing a cigarette ad is going to make a kid smoke, or that not seeing it (or seeing an anti-smoking ad) is going to make him not smoke. It's a personal choice, as it always has been. But that choice is influenced by what you see around you. If you see smoking and use of tobacco generally as a perfectly ordinary thing that people do, that's very different from seeing smokers treated as pariahs. It's somewhat of a subtle thing, perhaps, but it can have a major impact, down the line.

It's just one of many ways that public attitudes and regulation can interact, forming a positive feedback loop that changes the behavior of the overall population, if not that of individuals.  

[Krissim Klaw]

Shaviv

If they're serious, well, they have a point. Part of the deal on restricting ads that promote this or that thing we consider a moral ill and/or a health risk, even though it isn't illegal, is to protect kids from it. Yes?

And if that was the cause than they should have treated the userbase like valued costumers and explained exactly why they felt the need to do what they are doing. They also shouldn't have done it halfed assed. It's funny how only goldshop items are worthy of getting screwed over but it is okay for them to have their cash shop smoking items pimped out.

Instead however they pretty much flipped off all of Gaia by laughing at the fact they are suddenly taking away some very popular items without warning. =/  

[Atlaas]

I was more pissed off until I realized I still had it, and they weren't like, trying to destroy them completely.

I don't have a cig or a long drag, but that doesn't bother me
The cigar is my most used and favourite item on Gaia.

As long as I still have it I'm not really that pissed off.
That being said, I'm not for the ban.

 

[Shaviv]

Krissim Klaw

Shaviv

If they're serious, well, they have a point. Part of the deal on restricting ads that promote this or that thing we consider a moral ill and/or a health risk, even though it isn't illegal, is to protect kids from it. Yes?

And if that was the cause than they should have treated the userbase like valued costumers and explained exactly why they felt the need to do what they are doing. They also shouldn't have done it halfed assed. It's funny how only goldshop items are worthy of getting screwed over but it is okay for them to have their cash shop smoking items pimped out.

Instead however they pretty much flipped off all of Gaia by laughing at the fact they are suddenly taking away some very popular items without warning. =/

I'm not going to argue that this was a particularly well thought-out idea. I think it started with someone at marketing getting some phone calls from the Concerned Parents Brigade. I'm pretty sure that's how the censorship debacle got started, too, though there may have been a news item about a Gaian getting seduced by a ****** involved in that decision, too.  

[RedTail The pirate]

Dx idk what to say about the matter