Gaia Online calls itself an “online hangout” for teenagers. Incorporating a social network, various online forums, a virtual world, and a gaming component, Gaia Online is one of the most popular websites among teenagers and young adults. This article reviews this website and tells you if it is worth your kid’s time.
Design
The first thing that captures your attention when you visit Gaia is the bright, perky anime theme. Borrowed heavily from Japanese comics, Call girls in Dharamshala the design has a flourish of bright colors, clean lines, and a very effervescent feel to it. Considering that this is a website aimed at teenagers, the design feels very appropriate.
Features
The main feature of this virtual world is its wide assortment of forums. Numbering over 151, these forums cater to virtually every subject and interest – from photography and surfing, to hip-hop and cooking. You will be hard pressed to find a subject not covered under the Gaia Online forums. Incidentally, Gaia Online is also one of the most popular message boards on the internet with over a million posts per day.
When you first sign up for Gaia Online, you will be prompted to create your own avatar in the form of a “chibi” character. “Chibi” is a Japanese term for a small man or child, and in anime, it refers to a small, childlike character. The chibi characters are diverse in their looks, and you will definitely find something appealing among the wide selection.
The avatar system is central to Gaia Online. Users can dress up their chibi characters and get them rated in the ‘Avatar Arena”, buy houses, furniture, and houses for their avatars, and take part in role playing games in the ‘Barton Town’.
‘Gold’ is the currency used in this virtual world. This virtual currency can be gained by participating in the forum, posting answers to other members’ questions, playing games, taking part in role playing quests, or even buying it outright with actual cash. In fact, you can buy pre-paid Gaia cash cards at select Target stores in the us.
Gaia Online has a vibrant virtual world called ‘Gaia Towns’. Members can buy houses for their avatars in these towns and interact with other members through games and chat rooms. You can also furnish and decorate your house and get it rated in the ‘House Arena’.
Other features of Gaia include an expanding games section with a wide selection of card and arcade games, and an ‘Art Arena’ where members can showcase their creative talent.
Content
Gaia Online is aimed squarely at teenagers. Some of the content on the website is not suitable for children under 13, and you may encounter some profanity use. Porn and sex is a strict no-no, and any posts about these subjects are quickly removed by moderators and staff members.
Community
Gaia Online’s strongest point is its friendly community. Its forums are among the most trafficked on the internet, and you can usually find dozens of answers to a question within a few hours of posting. Members are very helpful and there are a very few rotten apples (or ‘trolls’). The moderators and staff members are quite active and remove any objectionable posts at a moment’s notice.
Website Performance
Gaia Online, despite its huge traffic, manages to stay online 24/7, with very little downtime. The site loads up fairly quickly even during peak traffic hours. The games section might post a problem on older computers because of the heavy use of Flash and Shockwave, but on the whole, Gaia Online runs very smoothly, with very few outages.
mike