[Sei]

Okay, so yeah, this summer has been really hectic for me, but by the time August rolls around, I should be back in color (provided they want me back xD).

Summer, contrary to popular belief, is usually slower than winter because you don't have curfews or early classes. You have parties and other opportunities to spend time with friends and family that you may not have during any other time of the year. I think that when September comes, and things settle back into the slower part of the year, Trisphee will get busier again (hopefully more than it was last year).

Since I'm usually the one defending Gaia, I will say that although I don't particularly care for how they've done it, I can see why they would. Gaia's in a unique position; it's one of the few non-child oriented forum communities that is large enough to be able to even consider this possibility. Though they promised that they would never re-release old monthlies, etc., that promise was made long before Gaia became the business it is now. It's no longer five people in L0cke's basement. They're a big business now.

Not to mention that they've probably maxed out the appeal of their monthlies, RIGs, etc. and needed some new cash flow for the hundreds of new things they're supposedly doing. As much as loyalty and word of mouth helps, new methods of cash flow that entice those who maybe want a little more for their money (exclusivity and bragging rights) is always an option. They've been inching down this road for a long time.

I think the reason why avatar sites have been much slower and/or dying lately is because the market is absolutely saturated with them. Gaia is so big because it was one of the firsts and managed to get successful while there weren't many other options available. A lot of users are either devoted or chained because they do not want to start over again on another site. Gaia was quite a success, and as such, many other sites tried to cash in on this particular niche. As a result, they had to split the small amount of users and qualified staff members between them. This resulted in slower, less reliable results. Working on a smaller site is less a job and more a labor of love. Many coders would rather apply for a job at a busy forum or a job that is not forum-related.

In my opinion, Trisphee has stuck around for a while now, and even though it's a bit small, it is a wonderful forum. The staff is remarkably dedicated (and I've experienced this firsthand many times). I think that we just need a few more key people that can help get the ball rolling, especially helping poor Coda and Toho with coding. Other than that, I think we're in shape to keep improving with time.

Wow... this was really long. I'm sorry. >.>;;