For my second Adolescent psych essay I have decided to do an ethnogrophy (cultural study) of an internet community ... gaia of course. Just like any other ethnogrophy i'll talk about the establishment of the community, the economy, the legal system (mods, the TOS, etc...), current problems (inflation , and such). And of course I have to throw some psychology s**t in there, so i'll try writing some stuff about online relationships (romantic, and friendships), and of course why gaia is so appealing for adolescents (escape from reality perhaps) and adults and how the two categories differ. I figure it'll be the easiest essay i've ever written, and hopefully i'll get an awesome mark (I did pretty good on the first essay).
I might want to interview some people for it and get personal opinions, so I may call on some of you for comments. And if you dont' want to comment just tell me to ******** off, I won't take it personally and i'll still love you of course. I also plan on making a bit of a questionaire and putting it in some of the forums (GD, and chatterbox most likely).
If you guys want, it would be great if you could answer these questions:
When did you join?
What prompted you to join gaia?
What has kept you comming back to gaia?
What do you think keeps other users comming back?
Where do you generally spend your time on gaia?
How closely do you feel gaia emulates a real life community / society?
What separates gaia from a real life community / society?
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Throw away my misery, it never meant that much to me, it never sent a get well card.
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Demonic Haze Community Member 
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Staeus Von Wolfenhart
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User Comments: [3] [add]
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What prompted you to join gaia? Friend of mine wanted gold from a referral
What has kept you comming back to gaia? The friends I've met here that aren't willing to leave.
What do you think keeps other users comming back? The same reason I stay I guess. Also some people just like the format which doesn't seem to be duplicated anywhere else.
Where do you generally spend your time on gaia? In the Guilds & private messages
How closely do you feel gaia emulates a real life community / society? Too closely. Fads & pop culture from society heavily influence the direction the site takes. The administrators seem to prefer following the masses rather than making intelligent decisions that could benefit everyone.
What separates gaia from a real life community / society? Real life generally has some form of checks & balances but on Gaia the administrators answer to no one & their authority rules absolute.