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Good morning, Gaia! This is Cindy Donovinh with a brief update on the latest Gaia news:

Bored? Take a Halloween Survey

I'm sure we don't need to remind you that Halloween is coming up next month, since all of our lives pretty much revolve around it. But, yeah, Halloween is next month. In preparation, we've set up a little survey to get some opinions on what you love and hate about the holiday.

If you've got a minute, we'd love it if you threw us some answers. If you don't have a minute, please return to your important activities and forget you ever saw this announcement (which will self-destruct in ten seconds).


Take Our Survey!



Or not!

My Gaia Updates!

We're still knee-deep in feedback for the new My Gaia page, and we've spent the last week doing some tweaks and updates to make it more useful. A lot of people wanted to see the friend section come back, so we're bringing it back better than ever. Here's what's new:


• Your online friends now show up at the top, so you don't have to scour your whole list for someone to hang out with.
  
  
• If your friends are in the forums or a Flash hangout, you can now teleport to wherever they are.
  
  
• You'll now see up to 10 thumbnail images in the friends section. Previously, you could only see 9. Yes, we know that this tweak doesn't quite rise to the level of "holy crap, that's incredible," but we thought we'd mention it anyway.

We've also looked through your suggestions for new feeds and added the top-requested ones:


• Your feeds will now show you when items are sold or bid on.
  
  
• We'll send out weekly marketplace value updates for items on your wishlist.

We're also still hard at work at adding some new privacy settings which let you control what information your friends see about you, and which feeds you receive. We're always looking for more suggestions to make the My Gaia page as useful as it can possibly be, so be sure to drop us a line if you have any good ideas.

That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen. Stay tuned for the Evolving Item Report!

Big news, everybody: Gaia's looking for hot ideas for their next big item!

The Gaia Item Design Contest is back! This time we want your help creating the ultimate handheld item. How it looks is up to you. It can be cute, dangerous, funny, or even ever-so-slightly obscene. It just has to fit in a pair of tiny avatar hands.

We'll be accepting entries until September 30th, so you have plenty of time to work on your designs. Please take your time, and be sure to look over the rules and guidelines before you start. We're sure you'll come up with some great ideas, but we just don't want to end up with thousands of "plz do darth vaders iphone" entries.


Design a Handheld Item!


Reveal Your Most Jealously Guarded Secrets in the Contest Forum!


P.S. - In other community news, our Mischief Makers event at the CBS Early Show has been postponed! We'll let you know when a new date has been decided. Watch this space for updates.

Gaia Convention Tour: Gencon 2008!

Gaia Online will be stopping by Gencon this weekend, and we hope to see you there!


Where: Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana

When: August 14th - 17th

What: Fun, prizes, activities etc!


Expierence the exciting Gaia Panel at 1:00PM on Friday, August 15th in Room Capital 1. As usual, we'll be bringing plenty of free Gold cards and lots of other great prizes for a few lucky winners, including shirts, plushies, and a jumbo Kiki Kitty plushie. You'll also get a sneak peek at some new screenshots from the long-awaited Gaia MMO ZOMG! as well as a preview of some new Gaia merchandise! Be sure to bring your best questions to ask the staff in our open QA session during the panel.

As a bonus, all panel attendees will receive a special limited-edition ring for use in ZOMG!

Also, be sure to stop by the official Gaia Gathering at 1:00PM on Saturday, August 16th in Room Capital 1. Come get to know your fellow Gaians while playing fun games and winning prizes!

For more info on Gencon and all the latest news on the Gaia Convention Tour, visit our convention home page.

Gaia Towns T-Shirt Sale

Attention Gaia Shoppers: the Gaia town t-shirts are now on sale! We only have a couple hundred left, and we're itchin' to unload 'em all. If you want to show your Aekea, Barton, Durem, or Gambino pride in t-shirt form, head over to the Gaia store. Each shirt comes with a code redeemable for a virtual T-shirt and 1000 Gold.

Kiki's Road Trip: Connection in Hartford, CT

Gaia will be visiting Connecticon this weekend, and that means more chances for free prizes and more!


Where: Connecticut Convention Center on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford, CT
When: August 1st-3rd.
What: Fun, prizes, activities, and more!


Stop by the Gaia Panel at 10:00AM on Friday, August 1st in Panel 2. As usual, we'll be bringing plenty of free Gold cards and lots of other great prizes for a few lucky winners, including shirts, plushies, and one jumbo Kiki Kitty. Attendees can look forward to a sneak peek at zOMG!, our long-awaited MMO, and some upcoming merchandise. There will be a QA session during the panel, so bring your finest questions.

As a bonus, all panel attendees will be among the first to receive a special limited-edition ring for use in zOMG!.

Gaia will also be emceeing the Connecticon Dance on August 1st and 2nd at 9:00PM in Marriott Ballroom, Salons D & E. Our emcee will be giving out great prizes, like shirts, plushies, and other goodies.

Finally, be sure to stop by the official Gaia Gathering at 8:00PM on Saturday, August 2nd in Workshop 1. Come get to know your fellow Gaians on a personal level and hang out while playing fun games and winning prizes!

For more info on Connecticon and all the latest news on the Gaia Convention Tour, visit our convention home page.

Makin' Mischief

You rascally Gaians continue to raise a ruckus in the name of fun. This latest edition of Mischief Makers surpasses the last one in size, making it our biggest concentrated offering of pure, unrefined mischief yet. Head over to the Mischief Makers page to see just how creative your fellow Gaians can be!


Go to the Mischief Makers Gallery


Don't forget: you can participate in Mischief Makers, too! All you have to do is show us the neat and fun ways you express your love of Gaia to the world!

Kiki's Road Trip: San Diego Comic-Con!

If you're visiting the San Diego Comic-Con this year, make sure to stop by the Gaia Online Panel! DJ Helsing and other Gaia staff will be on hand to distribute a healthy variety of prizes, including Gaia Gold, shirts, plushies, and a jumbo Kiki Kitty roughly the size of a modest human child.

The Gaia Panel starts at 7:30PM on Friday, July 25th in Room 5AB. Aside from the aforementioned prizes, expect to see a sneak peek at some new Gaia stuff in the works, including our new MMO. There will also be a QA session, allowing you to get any burning questions you might have off your chest.

To sweeten the deal, panel attendees will get a limited-edition ring for use in Gaia's upcoming MMO!

For more information about Gaia's showing at Comic-Con 2008, take a look at our convention page:

Opinion Poll

Our near-rabid Opinion Primate is foaming at the mouth again, which means he's hungry for your opinions. You'd be doing us a big favor if you voted. It's the only thing that seems to calm him down these days.

New Plushies in the Gaia Store!

Dedicated Gaia fanatics might want to take a look at the Gaia Store, where two very limited-edition plushies are now on sale. The Jumbo Kiki Kitty and Jumbo Coco Kitty plushies are super big and adorable, but also super rare. There are only 25 of each available for purchase! Given that these are so huge, they are aimed mostly at serious collectors.

These guys have been a huge hit at conventions over the years, and now you can finally bring one home.

Kiki's Road Trip: Wizard World Chicago, IL!

Gaia Online will be stopping by Wizard World at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Illinois this weekend.

You can catch the Gaia panel at 12:00 PM on June 28th, in the Jim Mooney Room - Room 4. As usual, we'll be bringing plenty of free Gold cards and some other great prizes for a few lucky winners. All panel attendees will get a sneak peak at Gaia's new Flash game, as well as new screen shots from the long-awaited "Battle" project.

For all the info on Kiki's Road Trip and Wizard World, check out our convention site:


Gaia at Wizard World Chicago

Hope to see you there!

The CBS Early Show: September 29th!

Remember all that mischief we caused on the CBS Early Show? Good, because we want to cause some more! Please help us with this noble mission by coming to the CBS Early Show Plaza September 29th at 6:00 AM for fun times, free coffee and bagels, and free Gaia prizes and Gold!

There is no age requirement for the event, though you do need to be a Gaia member. All attendees will receive an OMG Plushier or a Water Meat Plushie and 1,000 Gaia Gold. We're bringing over 200 plushies with us, so there will be plenty for everyone. Here's a picture to prove it:





If you show up wearing your favorite Gaia Gear, we'll even give you a special limited edition Ring from Gaia's new MMO. You never know, you could be the next Gaian to appear on live television!

To participate, just show up here on Monday, September 29th at 6:00 AM:


CBS Early Show Plaza
767 5th Ave and 59th St, right next to Central Park

For the complete lowdown, check this thread:

You Already Know We're the Best, But...

We woke up to an unexpected honor this morning: Gaia Online has been named as one of the 50 best sites of 2008 by none other than Time Magazine! Isn't that just unbelievably legitimate? Based on this victory, we fully expect Lanzer to be chosen as Time's "Person of the Year" in 2009.

Yeah, I know. You probably don't believe us. Well, GUESS WHAT?


WE ARE THE GREATEST!


As we post this, we're currently sitting right in the middle of the poll rankings at #25. If you're so inclined, you can show everyone who's internet-boss by rating Gaia and driving us up the ranks toward VICTORY!

Mischief Ahoy

We've once again updated our Mischief Makers page with a few more photos and videos from Gaia's most eerily devoted fans. Remember, this is an ongoing contest, so you can send us your photos or videos whenever you want and win some awesome items.


See the Mischief

Poll My Finger!

Another week, another poll! Please take a moment to deliver your opinions unto our simian pal. After you've voted for us in the Time poll, of course (sorry, we're still a little giddy about that).


Vote in the Weekly Poll

Mischief Makers

The latest installment of Mischief Makers is now up, and it's the largest one yet! Make sure you check out the Mischief gallery to marvel at the ingenuity of the world's most devoted Gaians:


Check out the Winners


With no limit on the number of winners we can have, be sure to submit your Gaia-related tomfoolery! You may be the next winner of some awesome prizes by submitting mischief of your own.

New Birthday Stuff

We've updated the birthday privacy setting with a new option. You now have three choices for your birthday: Hide, Show Full Birthday, and Show Month/Day Only. You can find the birthday setting in your Profile Preferences, located under "Account" in the My Gaia tab, or by clicking here.

We mention this thrilling fact because we're going to start sending out PMs with birthday alerts. When one of your friends has a birthday coming up, you'll get a PM letting you know. Don't worry, if you don't want a notice sent out on your behalf, you can change your birthday setting to "hide."

For some gift ideas, take a trip over to the Gaia Cash Shop and visit Flynn. She has some birthday themed items in stock.

Ask the Admins

Don't forget to stop by the Gaia Community Discussion forum every Monday at 6 pm (Pacific Time) for the Ask the Admins thread. Various members of the Gaia staff will be on hand to shoot the breeze and answer your Gaia related questions.

This past Monday Lanzer and some other Gaia staffers answered questions, and there will be more Q&A next Monday! Don't miss it!

Gaia's Goin' to Otakon!

We've added a whole slew of new stops to Kiki's Road Trip! You can now meet up with us at:


• Otakon 2008
  
  
• Dragon Con 2008
  
  
• San Diego Comic-Con 2008
  
  
• New York Anime Festival 2008
  
  For more information about these conventions and all the cool Gaia events there, check out our convention homepage.
  
  
  The Full Convention Lowdown

The Weekly Poll

If you've got a second, please mosey over to the Gaia Community Discussion forum and pay a visit to the Opinion Primate. He seems almost pathologically curious about your opinions, and we're worried that he might get unruly if you don't indulge him.


Speak Your Mind

The Gaia team recently had a little contest to spiffy up their boring cubicles with some decorations, and now it's up to the Gaian public to decide which team did the best job. Gaia 9 Action News has an exlusive video clip that takes on you a guided tour through the office, plus a whole bunch of photos. Enjoy!




Sales: Tiki Lounge

It's important to keep morale up during those high-tension business meetings, so our sales team went for a snazzy Tiki Party theme, complete with plenty of adult beverages:

Quality Assurance: Soviet Russia

In Soviet Russia, quality assures you! Our QA department is home to quite a few Russian nationals, and they decided to celebrate their history with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a bygone era:

User Interface: Shinto

The UI department is all about making stuff look good, so they went for a classy and understated Japanese lantern theme:











Reception: Kiki & Friends

Our reception area was beset by a plague of Kikis, Cocos and Grunnies!

Marketing & Casual Games: Rainforest

The marketing department went all out with the vines and animals and stuff to create a pretty convincing jungle:

Member Services: Member-Inspired Ideas

Gaia's member services & customer support staff stayed true to their name by asking Gaians for suggestions on how to decorate their cubes:

Accounting: Zen Garden

These guys need plenty of serenity, so they created a beautiful Japanese theme, complete with a giant sand garden:

Development & Flash: Underground Lounge

Our highly stressed-out devs made a huge effort to make their area little more fun. They removed walls between their cubes for a community vibe, put up speakers and a stereo to blast some music and draped the place in loungey velvet stuff:

Ops, Development & Project Management: Airline (Plus a Sweet TV!)

These guys have to constantly monitor the site to make sure it doesn't crash, so they blew most of their budget on a rad flat-panel TV, which they hooked to a computer that constantly monitors the site:

Judge Us!

The Gaia office is a pretty cool place to work, but until recently you wouldn't have known it by looking. It was kind of a big, boring, grey-walled cubicle farm, so we decided to spruce the place up a little. Since we're driven by a ruthless competitive spirit, we decided to make a little competition of it: each department in the company was given a modest budget to team up and overhaul their work area, and now we need you guys to pick the winners.

The winning team will win some kind of a prize, like maybe free coffee or dinner or something. The losing team will be fired and replaced with poorly-built machines. Choose wisely!

To check out the entries and cast your vote, visit this thread:


Judge the Decoration Contest

IRL Cinemas: Dallas, TX

We've been having a whole lot of fun with our free movie screenings, and we've got another one coming up. We're headed to Dallas, TX tomorrow to watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with anyone who'd care to show up. Just print your Gaia profile (it's your ticket in!) and head to the AMC Northpark 15 theater for the 6:30 PM showing. We've rented out a whole screening room, but keep in mind that it's first come, first serve and we might run out of tickets. Show up early, and make sure you've got a way to get home in case you don't make it in!

When you get there, just look for DJ Helsing. He'll be dressed up as his avatar:






Get the Full Cinemas IRL Details!

News & Tips from Gaia's Admins

Phony Password Pop-ups: Tricky scammers have been embedding phony password request pop-ups into images. If you randomly see a window asking for your Gaia username and password, don't fall for it. It's a scammer trying to steal your account. Here's an example of what these pop-ups look like:





If you get a pop-up like this in a Private Message or from a forum post, please remember to report it!

CAPTCHA Upgrades: More news from the frontlines in the war against bots: you may have noticed that we've put a "CAPTCHA" system into the Art Arena comments section, meaning that you'll have to type a secret word to prove that you're not an evil robot. Soon, we'll be putting a similar thing into the Private Message system, although it won't pop up every time you send a PM; you'll only see it in rare circumstances.

Gold/item buying - NO! We've said this before, but we thought we'd put up a quick reminder: if you buy Gaia Gold or Gaia items from anywhere but Gaiaonline.com, your account will be permanently banned. Buying Gold from outside sites is a violation of our rules, and it creates an industry of botters who annoy us all by spamming the site, stealing accounts and many other jerkish endeavors.

Reporting Helps! We'd like to take a moment to encourage all the good Gaian Samaritans out there to keep on reporting inappropriate stuff when you see it. It helps us out a lot, and the quicker something bad is reported, the quicker we can remove it. Your reports definitely make a difference.

Even if something is really blatantly foul, please don't assume someone else has reported it; we depend on our members to help us clean up the site, so please take the time to file a report. Thanks!

Weekly Poll

Question time! We all know by now that if you don't participate in the weekly poll, that annoying little monkey will keep shrieking until you give him an answer. We'd better give him what he wants:


Vote in the Weekly Poll

Gold Granting in Mochi Games

We've got some great news about the winning games in the Gaian's Choice Game Awards contest: GOLD! Now nine of the ten winning games grant Gaia Gold when you play them, so you can have fun and get rich at the same time. Look for the Gaia Gold icon to see which games pay off.


Play the Games!