Are individuals with evangelical agendas suitable for the job of greeter?

in the threads regardind the suicide girls, it became apparent that a greeter had an agenda, that of evangelising in second life.

I'd feel better if they had an identifiable last name. At least they can steer clear of the Suicide Girls (assuming they can resist their own temptation!). People - Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, aso - aren't given the benefit of knowing with whom their interacting. This seems ... dirty.

Oh, I'm not denying the right of religious types to evangelise to those who are prepared to listen to them Csven, its them being Official LL sanctioned greeters that worries me.

I think if you open that sort of bag, you could find all kinds of personal attributes about people in the volunteer program and their beliefs to pass judgment on.

coco

There would be a problem if a new member had to pass a gauntlet of (*insert group here*) to enter Second Life.

But as it is, there are a variety of people involved in the program, are there not? As with Live Help, Mentoring &c.

Different people, different agendas, different ideals.



Why not? We have Gorean and Furry communities here, some involved with various programs. Why not the Christians, Zoroastrians, Lonely Accountants, Flat Earthers and Flying Spaghetti Monster worshippers too?

I fear that allowing only those with 'correct thinking' will be the greater evil.

We all have an agenda (mine is making $L, by the way). Nothing wrong with those honest about it; I personally find it refreshing.


Edit: though I didn't have the experience, I can only imagine what it would have been like to have a Suicide Girl first indoctrinate me into the culture of Second Life. Ah... I think I'd better leave this line of thinking riiiight here...

Probably true Coco, its a matter of who watches the watchmen in a sense.

I believe that your post should read in past tense, since you've done this yourself on many occasions.

As a man of faith (though not Christian) myself, I have no problem with greeters having and even sharing their own faith.

Sadly, faith is often perverted as a justification for judging and condemning others. Anyone who vocalizes this sort of thinking as a greeter is a dickbag and doesn't deserve the title.

Excellent point Enabran, I think (as usual) you have cut to the core of the matter.

Well, I guess what would concern me was someone having an unknown agenda and gaining the Linden's trust; an agenda also unknown to those they greet. If these groups were easily identifiable, they could still be greeters, but then people who wanted nothing to do with that particular group and their agenda could avoid them.

Can you imagine how angry Lewis would have been had a Linden greeter, associated with some Satanic group but unidentified as a member of such a group, been his SL helper upon arrival, and then (surprise!) invited him to a sacrifice as part of a recruiting campaign?!?!

Holy Batforumstink

It's not clear to me from that quote that Lewis intends to evangelize to greetees or anyone else. Perhaps it's subtle?

If I were officially Greeted into SL by someone preaching to me, regardless of what they were preaching, I would be completely turned off of SL.

If people want to be preached to, or regalled with the glories or evils of any belief or lifestyle, let them seek it out. What new residents have sought out is SL. Teach them about SL, and that's it.

I'd say it's as or more clear than the conclusions he's drawn. Such as how those who don't agree with him on the SG issue lack morals.

Are night club running theives that steal from SL residents and take advantage of noobs appropriate to work in the job of a greeter?


I would say, no. Yet, LL says YES!!


You get what you pay for. Why can't LL employ their own greeters so they can have a united vision when dealing with new residents? Ohh right, the system of havig paying customers do the work is better for profit margins.

That shows how little you know.

If I had started this thread but subsituted "evangelicals" for "black" or "homosexual", then you'd have been all over me like a pack of rabid dogs - and probably rightly so.

The simple fact is that you have NO idea what I do as a greeter, and probably have little to no clue as to what any greeters do either.

Jonquille explained what I do very well: "What new residents have sought out is SL. Teach them about SL, and that's it."

Let me tell you what I do. Firstly when I get the request, I send a message introducing myself, and telling them to let me know when they first log in by replying to the message. When they make contact with me, I go to where they are and introduce myself again as their greeter. Then I 'friend' them, and explain how to tell if I'm online and how to message me at any time in the future, or now if we get separated; and how Live Help works if I happen to not be online.

Once through Orientation Island and Help Island, and we hit the mainland, I tend to whisk them away as soon as I can because of the lag, to one of the many scenic bookmarks that I have collected - such as Clementia Park. I then go through the basics of how to move your avatar, flying, tracking someone via mini map, how Find works, how to teleport someone to your location, explain what a sandbox is, let them find one, tp there, then tp me. I then explain the basics of prim creation and manipulation, and get them to wear a box on their head so they know how to detatch it (because we all do). Sometimes I help them set their appearance if they aren't sure how to do that. Once they have got all from me that they need, I dump a load of landmarks on them, including places like The Shelter and YadNi's, and once they tell me they're happy to wander around on their own, off they go, knowing I am only a PM away. It may take 20 mintues, it may take 2 hours, depending on the user. It doesn't matter.

I'm quite sure that if *any* evangelising was being done, someone would have reported me by now and I would probably not be part of the Greeter programme.

I suggest you get your facts straight before making threads of this nature in the future.

Lewis

That quote of Lewis' doesn't say he used his Greeter position to evangelize. I don't think it is appropriate to use a volunteer position to push any agenda.

But, c'mon, to the point you're really getting at, "Lucifer," practically every religion in the world teaches that you need to live that religion in your every day life, in everything that you do.

I haven't been following the Suicide Girls thread. I gathered they're punk or fetish chicks who get naked online? Sounds good to me. Reminds me of SL actually. I just thought the issue in this thread was whether Lewis was going to be evangelizing to people.

The only way that my faith affects my role as a Greeter is that I have sought out a whole heap of landmarks that are suitable to take new players to as part of my 'introduction to the great diversity of SL' fantastic builds that do not include any sex clubs or shops - I could list them but I don't think that's really necessary or relevant. If they want to seek out the sleazy side of game, that's their choice - and I do not need the guilt of having introduced them to it myself.

I hardly think that is really a crime, do you?

Lewis

It might not explicitly state it, but it certainly suggests it strongly Aaron

Ohh but Lewis you said you are a Christian, which is now a crime cause hating Christians are cool. So, yeah you have basically just committed the biggest crime of all.


Enjoy your time in forums.

You make no sense whatsoever, so if you were trying to make a point you have failed dismally.

I'd say try again, but I honestly don't think the results would be worth the bother.

Lewis

I doubt that. If someone self-associated themselves with a group (as you did), made generalized judgemental comments (as you've done), and then made the specific comment you made (which is extremely suggestive), I likely think of it just as I think of this one.



Your absolutely correct: I've not monitored you. However, I am familiar with the greeter system.



That doesn't conflict with anything I can imagine being done by someone with an agenda; in fact it's partly why I expect the position would be so influential (duh).



I assume during all that interaction you either use Chat or IM. I further assume that you do not have a tightly-enforced Linden script which prevents you from having any opportunity to discuss anything else whatsoever.

Given those assumptions I can only say what you essentially said to one of the SG members: we'll see if you're telling the truth or not.



Wow. You're "quite sure". That's comforting.



I suggest you review my posts for "facts" and check to see who started this thread (HINT: IT WASN'T ME).

I don't think it's apparent from the quote that Lewis *is* a Christian. I would be surprised if someone who makes as many "half-empty" kind of comments as he does was "following the words of Jesus" as they say.

Whether he is or he isn't, it's not what he believes but what he does anyway.

Proselytizing is the key. You can believe anything you want inside your own mind, that's no ones business but yours. On the other hand, if you had evidence that a particular person was trying to convert someone, then you might have a point.

Greeters are a touchier situation in that they do their work in private and "one-on-one" so the potential for abuse is much higher, but there are Mentors for instance that believe in slavery, BDSM, Furry mentors, former griefer mentors, etc. I don't see this as a problem unless someone complains.

Did you AR her?

She's telling you that it's best for Christians to keep a low profile as to their Christianity on these forums, Lewis.

I'm starting to totally WORSHIP Eboni. (Well, except for her stance on First Land.)

coco