The I's posts

Whimsy:
@The I: other than recolor, the one existing avatar site i can think of that caters to that more mature age group (15+ instead of PG13) is trisphee. they are in need of pixelists/artists/designers, and their avatar layering system is really quite special. if you would want to work with a site that already has developers and coders, then this is an option and it's easier than starting a site from scratch. on the other hand, starting from scratch would enable you to make something exactly like your vision if you have one, so it's your call.

Stinky:
with the sponsorships they get, user cashflow and the workload that goes into managing a site of any size i think it would be hard to compete without some significant capital at the outset. starting an avatar site these days is quite a bit different than in the internet of the early 2000's. many have come and gone and none really captured gaia's userbase, even as it has sank below its prime.

however as a potential user i would not be against someone running another avatar site regardless. to me the more the merrier. it would be neat to see something that stands out against others, gaia included. the problem i have with many of these is that theyre very similar, there must be something that will keep me logging in daily that others dont offer. users dont want to log into the same site over and over if that makes sense, theres got to be a niche. i think surveying people on various sites what stands out to them about each might paint a picture of things that would make it successful, things that bring it down, and things that you can do differently.

whats the average age of the userbase you intend to cater to? is it going to be child friendly? adult oriented? all-ages with a forum divide? this is important because it impacts the terms of service and the rules youll have to apply, not just the content of the site itself. is your moderation staff going to be paid or on a volunteer basis? where do you find them and what standards do you hold them to in their approach?
you don't have to answer these questions to me but theyre the sort of things that youll find yourself needing to answer on the way.

theyre not quite the same but petsites (ie neopets, aywas, flight rising, etc) can also provide a source of research material for an avatar site since there is quite a lot of overlap between these sorts of communities, the style of forums, events and the way sites are run is similar. you dont have to emulate them but you could survey people who use them as well. users of both sites will easily volunteer the gripes they have.

anyway hope that helps with your research.

Miss Sandman:
@The I: i used gaia back in 2007 / 08

Whimsy:
You'd need a forum code (phpBB or something similar), a coder to work on this code as well as code the additional things like the site appearance, avatar system, currency, events etc. and artists to make the items.