Goodby SecondLife Mentors

I think that _is_ probably part of the problem. At the moment, there are just too many HIs and people are too thinly spread between them for mentors to get to them - and without mentors, as you've said, people tend to get stuck.

Mostly likely it'll be an automated OI then to the welcome area. I'm sure at one of the meetings a while back they mentioned that newbies preferred _not_ having mentors on OI.

Yes, somewhat swamped, depends. Not too badly. Our gateway mentors still exist. (SecondAbility Mentors) and our greeters program is growing; We have lots of people that come in that have/had no idea what kind of community to choose, and just kind of close their eyes and point. It's really swamped mostly if say, there's been some kind of media hype or tv show or 'SL in the news' somewhere. There was something like that on Brazilian TV not long ago and we were swamped with Brazilians; (not disabled people in particular, just peopel). Translators working hard that day.

You can tell when Lindens know they've been stupid because they don't enable blog comments.


SLA sucks. It's crap. They ignored all the feedback that was given. It's a step backwards to go from having somebody in-world walking you though things to telling people "oh.. just go to this piece of shit web system and fight though it."

edit: Love this from the FAQ...

So successful we had to shoot them.

The nice part is that Mental Mentors and The Mentor Lounge groups are already working to open a new Q&A group so that not all resources are lost. The cross communication between volunteers still exists, just, outside of a Linden Lab managed context. NCI, Oxbridge, HPI, Dreams, and many others will still be able to manage all the people that make it to the main grid. (^_^)

To me, being a Mentor was never about the tag, which I seldom if not never wore. It was a resource. It was an access group for the Help Island locations and an informational query point for the times when I would be totally stumped by a question. (^_^)

The thing is... Nearly all of the volunteers are still here, in some capacity. There was no pay. There was no prestige. Though, the volunteer islands were fun. (^_^)

I just really do hope that Linden Lab finds a way to get it right for the new resident. This is not something you can automate. You will need a living breathing person that can adapt to the needs of each person who steps their foot in the door of this wild and wooly virtual world. (>_<

I saw this comming..
Maybe the next thing its take out all the third echange sites like eldex,VirWox, DX Exchange etc....

Amen, Sister.

Poor newbies.

Why should I do anything to help Linden?

I'm a moderately helpful critter. Why should I continue to invest my time helping their customers when they very obviously do not care?

For the customers, not for the Lindens. They need help, some (most) at some level, to learn how it works. They know nothing of the politics, are just arriving and want to learn. It's a better reason, to me, than helping the Lindens, anyway, it's never been for the Lindens, has it, but for the newbie?

Actually, I thought this program died well over a year ago. At least it may as well have done so, except for the efforts of a handful of dedicated Residents who kept doing the volunteer work, even though LL acted as if the program no longer existed.

When I first came to SL, in late 2005, one of the first things I tried to do was volunteer for the mentor program. I had been an administrator in a roleplaying web forum where my main duty was welcoming and assisting newcomers. I came up to speed rapidly and was eager to help others. But LL essentially gave me the cold shoulder, and indicated that they didn't want any volunteers. So I directed my time and efforts elsewhere.

Corporate-speak would be hilariously entertaining...

...if only it didn't have actual consequences for human beings.

Ok, lemme rephrase the question..

Why should I cover for the Lindens by helping their customers when they, the Lindens, keep going out of their way to make things more difficult for me?

edit: and no, it's never really been about the tag, though it sorta felt a little validating to be officially recognised as 'at least a little helpful', and it's always been about helping out anybody who needs a hand. That said, the *company* that's profiting - talking real US$ here - from my efforts has consistantly shown that they are not interested in helping me. So.. Why should I help that company?

Again, for the new residents who just want to learn how SL works. You already know what you're doing, and how to do what you want to do. It's just.......not their fault, the newbies.

It started long before that really.

Around when I joined (1-2 months after I think) LL discontinued the Greeters and Instructors.

Then Live Help slowed down its recruiting over the next year until they no longer allowed new ones. In spite of meeting after meeting about "the future" and "guarantees" that LL "valued" the Live Helpers and had no plans to close it down in spite of no longer adding any new ones until Blue announced the end of it and oh "I decided it several months ago" which was a fun stab in the back and contradicted everything he'd been saying mere days before then.

Rinse and repeat for the mentor group. Same "stop caring, slowly break it apart and let it die its own slow death while we pretend to care" tactics (and same for the forums here really).

At the last Live Help meeting (2 years ago now?) Blue (who was leading the VTeam back then) outlined what is now "Second Life Answers" as the future way for helpers and mentors to help residents so he'd already arranged the demise of mentors all the way back then.

In the beginning there were Lindens. They gave us tools and said "go forth and build a world of wonder. A world as you see it in your eyes. Build clothes and animals and plants. Make new hair and skins so you are ore attractive. Dance, and walk and fly in your own ways. Add all things to the world so that it will be good."

And the masses went forth and forged their dreams into reality. Others came and took the tools and applied them to the new content and build more. The world was robust and alive.

Then the lindens looked out on the world and coveted the richness therein. "This is our making," they said to themselves. "Let us take back what is ours. We are the makers, for without our tools these things would never have existed."

Thus began the reclamation. SLX would become Xstreet and be swallowed by the Lab to become her beast. Machiavelli Linden conquered OnRes and spread its ashes to the winds so none could rise against the new beast. The harlot Zendra Linden beckoned to the perverse. "Come to me. Free land for wicked," she proclaimed. Those who would not go were driven to her as their lands were annexed and the homes abandoned.

The trail of tears left vast properties in its wake. Barons became paupers, lamenting "please stay and dance at the club or shop in our mall," but the clubs were boarded up and the malls were filled with derelict freebies.

Scrooge Linden saw that the silver did still flow in small places and devised a plan. "We will make them pay to be the chosen few who may buy and sell in the name of the beast." For indeed, there was silver flowing through their hands and those hands needed to squeeze in order to grasps what they claimed were rightfully theirs.

Get onto Concierge help and ask to be added to the group as a concierge customer, well thats what I did

LL whipped the voluteer section of this forum down to very rapidly.

And that is SO lame! Go to a website, ask a question, wait an hour or two or maybe a few days...get no answer, or wrong answers, or conflicting and confusing answers.

This is a virtual world. We live here, not on a website. We have problems here, and questions here. This is where the answers should be provided. Face to face, one on one.
That's what the Mentors did. That's what all the non-LL sanctioned volunteer helpers, organized or not, still do.

Go to Web 1.0 to get answers for Web 2.0? What is wrong with this picture?!

Well...

I can actually see LL problem with sanctioned Mentors or heck even a sanctioned forum. (Don't get me wrong. Just because I can understand thier problem doesn't mean I like the way they choose to handle it.) With any sanctioned activity they have to be willing to put rescources to it and guide it or there will be abuses. LL has simply been unwilling to stand behind these type of community things.

QFT

Let's you and me go off to the pub and be bitter, cynical and disillusioned.

/me is already there.

Did we all see that LL just posted that they're gonna start charging people for listing freebies on slex, too? edit: hm.. or maybe not.. I can't tell.. It looks like they're still allowing freebies but will delete them. Or something. Whatever. /me goes off to do something that pisses her off less.

or maybe ...

Allow me.