A way to alleviate the overwhelmed Customer Service

I was wondering if it would be possible to assemble some of secondlifes long standing residents to field some of the simple or questions we may have answers too having been residents of SL for a rather long time.

I think by adding another link to the help options like "Ask a Resident" and having some of our long standing residends become part of that service it would take some tension people have been having towards live help taking time to respond due to our current resident count.

By having Ask a Resident field some of the easier questions as well as some of the technical ones we have had experience with. The Resident helpers could either then Refer the person to live help or having answered the question free up live help to get to more pressing issues.

I know I spend due to my proximity to a Hub at least an hour or two helping new and newer residents with questions unanswered in the orientation... heck i remember my starting days and Orientation was why it too me two months to come back and try again. You could also possibly have approved residents be a part of the orientation process... having a friend help me after my difficult beginnings and getting used to something as simple as walking without hitting a wall I know someone live in orientation would help...

I dunno... just a couple ideas that might make the answers needed in game or in orientation be more personal.

Thanks for the ideas LordGrim. Too some extent this is the theory behind Live Help, Mentors and the Resident Answers forum. We agree that there's a wealth of knowledge out there, and if people are willing to volunteer their time to help we're very grateful. In case you aren't aware, there are offical volunteer groups. You can register to join at http://secondlife.com/community/volunteer.php,