Greeter Program

The Greeter Program is a feature Linden plans to implement soon. We wanted to preview it here to gather your feedback as we work out the details.

Overview -

We want to do a couple of things – 1.) show website visitors that Second Life is a friendly, accessible place, full of interesting people and experiences, and 2.) to encourage veterans to personally introduce new arrivals to SL. Those who volunteer to be Greeters will supply info that will be displayed on the website while they are logged into SL: a pict, landmark, and description of the type of introduction they are willing to offer. Greeters will also check boxes to indicate what SL knowledge they can share. Visitors to the website and those signing up will be encouraged to select a Greeter who will give them a personal introduction to SL.

How residents select Greeters -

People joining Second Life will be prompted to select a Greeter at the end of the sign up process. Selection will trigger an IM to the Greeter and provide the new resident with a landmark and instructions how to connect with the Greeter. Visitors to the website who have not yet registered can view the Greeter information but will need to sign up before they can contact any of them. Residents who visit the website can also view the Greeters. Selecting one will offer instructions how to IM the Greeter in-world and launch Second Life, sending them to the location of the landmark supplied by the Greeter.

How the info is displayed -

1.) Greeters who want to provide an introduction to SL based on the interests of the new arrival - with sub-categories or specialties like: Play, Personalize, Shopping, Building, and General. This group may be called Mentors since they might be a part of the existing Mentor group.

2.) Greeters who want to introduce new residents to a specific experience or place in SL – with sub-categories like: Games, Clubs, Shops, and Misc. This group may be titled Hosts.

How Greeters and Residents connect -

Ideally the Greeter will connect with the new resident shortly after her or she arrives at the Welcome Area – either through IM initiated by either party, face-to-face at the Welcome Area, or after the new user teleports using the landmark. Mentors will be encouraged to approach the new arrivals who haven’t made a connection with a Greeter and find out what they are interested in – and to IM other Greeters with this info if it makes sense for a different Greeter to help.

Your feedback -

Would you like to be a Greeter? If so, would you be a Mentor or Host? It’s especially important to get your feedback on the Greeter sub-categories. Would any of them make sense for you? What other sub-categories would be better? If you would like to be a host, what location or experience would you offer?

Please note this is not the official sign up process. We will provide plenty of notice when that time comes.

We look forward to your thoughts.

Sounds great! I remember when i was born the first person i saw was michael linden and he welcomed me. I swore at him and called him some bad things.. thinking he was a computer.. a program.. not really a real person behind a computer.. i tried to ask him complex questions and i was thinking wow they have great software to be able to do this.. then i found out he was real and wasnt a program.. i still blush to this day..

Anyway I think it would be a great addiditon except the fact someone could tag on as a greeter and then take advantage of the newbie by selling land etc.

Haney this sounds great ! I would be interested in this after my LH stint is up for sure! I think I will fit into the Mentor category. No additional suggestions here, looks like ya already got it all covered down on.

Fantastic idea. Sign me up.

LF

Sounds like a great idea Haney. I'd be happy to volunteer. Have to think about how exactly, but ya know...

Sounds to me more liek a PR stunt than anything seriously worthwhile.

You already have Mentors and Helpers. People hang out at the WA all the time.

Here's another class of the coporation asking for free "work effort" and offering "nothing" tangible in return --- the return will actually end up being "status" either self-claimed or implied by the group title. Just like with Mentors, Instructors and Live Helpers now, the imprimatur of the Titles themselves send a message of Linden Lab approval of the speech and actions of these individuals --- and that persists even when the titles are not active.

I do not condone this new program as I can see no benefit for the average SL resident, only continuing policies that will foster claims of LL favoritism in terms of who is selected to be a "volunteer" and who is refused, and further stratification/jealosy between residents for no useful purpose.

This is a bad idea.

Of course, I realize this feedback will be rejected and ignored as it is not positive, cheerleader commentary. Such is life.

I think I'd love to be a greeter as I already do many of those things described. I'm happy to help someone with anything from camera controls to where to and how to buy things.

Sometimes we all forget what it's like to be new.

On suggestion I'd like add though is a time-limit, as in, how long do you "greet" the N00b.

I'd be happy to chat with someone for a while and teleport them around places as part of my duties, but I would not want a permanent bond created or to be viewed as that person's "personal helper".

I'd be, and have been, more than happy to exchange cards and say "drop me line if you need more help", but that has never been abused by someone who approached me for help player-to-player. There was an understanding that I had the same goals they did, have fun, dance, shop, etc.

With a greeter being "picked" I'd worry about an unhealthy relation formed if the purpose and goal is not set out explicitly.

Questions:

1. Would greeters be on call at any time? Or would they be called "as needed".
2. Would there be any compensation for more time or being a more popular choice?
3. Would there be a rating system or track record based on n00b feedback?


Sub Category Ideas.

1. Clothes (buying, wearing)
2. Communication and Searching ( FIND, MAP, Calling cards, IM )
3. Etiquette and Behavior (PG/mature rules and guidelines for behavior)
4. Render Settings (optimizing setting for less lag or to see more detail)
5. Playing games (tringo, mahjong, tag, chess, captions, primtionary)


-BlueMan

I agree, but I think the solution is simple: Wherever the user is prompted to pick a greeter, make sure a little note / disclaimer pops up to let the newbie know that (a) they're contacting another player who is a volunteer and not an LL employee, and (b) the purpose of this Greeter is ONLY to help them get oriented in SecondLife.


I do have one objection to this idea, though: The "sub-categories". IMHO they needlessly complicate things. If people want to be learning a lot about complex topics, they should seek out mentors/instructors/classes.

The average newbie will be slightly overwhelmed when they first start SL - if we start giving them a 20-item list to choose a "specialty" greeter from, they're going to get even more tense/confused. Plus, if they want to explore multiple things and are being handed off between different "specialists", it increases the chances they will become lost and/or confused.

Also, I strongly believe that with the huge range of possibilities that SL offers, newbies aren't going to know from Day 1 what they "really like" about SL. So they need to be introduced to a wide range of the "basics"; and we should let them explore the detailed stuff on their own once they form an opinion of what they enjoy doing in SL. And again, detailed learning is precisely what classes & mentors/instructors are there for!

I believe that every Greeter should cover a wide range of topics in a very basic way, and these topics should include:

1) Communications & Ettiquette: How to talk, whisper, shout, & IM people in SL. How to exchange Calling Cards. Basic social behaviors in SL. Maybe Gestures, too.

2) Mentors/Instructors/Live Help/Customer Service: A brief instruction on how to contact these different groups; and what they're there for.

3) Movement & Navigation: How to walk/run/fly (if they skipped that part of the Intro Island), how to use the Map, how to use Landmarks.

4) Appearance: A brief recap if the user skipped that part of the Intro Island or was confused by it.

5) Money & Objects: The basics - how to pay, how to get paid. How to grab objects (if that was skipped by the user on the Intro Island) or buy things.

6) Inventory & Clothes: Use clothes to show how the newbie can browse around their Inventory and pull objects out / put them away.

7) Events & the "Find" Tool: You have to use the "Find" tool to see an events listing, so it makes sense to briefly discuss its various bits - then show the user how to find Events.

Constructing Things in SL: This should be very very basic/brief, letting the user know they can make their own Animations, Textures, Objects, Vehicles, Scripts, etc. Just give them a taste of the possibilites, not actually discuss it in detail. Suggest to the player that they seek out more information in the world, if they're interested.

9) Mentors, Instructors, Live Help, Customer Service: Recap of what you talked about before on this subject - it would be nice to finish off this way so the user feels like they're being "handed-off" to these folks for more information & help in the future.

I figure you can cover all this in about 45 minutes or so - which is probably a good length, as you want to present a decent amount of information; but don't want to "tire" the user, or overload them too much.

I believe that LL should come up with some basic "bullet points" for each of these subjects; and distribute them to every Greeter to use. The Greeter should be free to add to the list or explain it slightly differently; but this way we would assure the users of a certain broad set of basic knowledge, for minimal effort on LL's part.

Also, if we could put all of the Greeters into an SL Group, that would enable some positive cross-communication. Take the following example: I'm talking to Newbie A, and while covering object-creation he asks about where to get information on making Animations. I don't have any idea myself - but if other Greeters are grouped with me, I can instantly send out an IM to them; and one of them might be able to recommend a Website / Landmark / Location / SecondLifer with information.

Lastly, I agree with Blueman - we should try for some kind of rate/feedback system to track greeters' performances. This would allow us to weed out Greeters who are either jerks or are simply not able to give the newbies the kind of guidance that they need.

For the naysayers: Yes, LL is "passing the buck" to us to do the greeting - but since it would be prohibitively expensive for LL to hire people, and we have plenty of creative volunteer-types in the world anyways, it just makes sense.

Not only that, but many people here talk about SL having a culture. If we welcome new users and get them off on the right foot, socially-speaking, we're going to be able to craft a more cohesive society / culture in here.

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

P.S. Blueman: Why would we track which Greeter newbies pick more? They won't know who's who when they pick, so it would be totally random.

HAY HAY HANEY

Well, this is cool to hear about. It makes Second Life more like Wal-Mart... in a good way!

I'm gonna toss out some idea shrapnel here. This isn't meant to be particularly cohesive and is tangential but maybe it'll be of some use, or inspire future ideas.


-I'd be curious to know who came into Second Life after reading Snow Crash and seeking some aspects of that novel in here, or... are otherwise interested in seriously discussing futurehumanism and visionary ideas. I joke that SC is "prerequisite reading". It'd be nice if there was a checkbox for that, or that at least, some Greeters would write this in their introductory info. I've met several newbies who've expressed such a direct thing to me, and 5 minutes from entry, we went on to discuss the works of Stephenson and Gibson et al.

-I don't want to make any burdens, but it would be cool if someone new to Second Life and interested in the greeting experience could not only fill out categories like that, but ALSO write -- in their own words -- more about them, their interests and what makes them passionate. Information that would be completely voluntary and shown to MentorGreeters to help facilitate "best matches". Obviously, some personalities are going to bond better than others, and I'd like to see close kinship that works out, as opposed to disastrous "first contacts". Communication is a two-way street.

-how will certain tricky-yet-forseeable things be dealt with: for example, in the Shopping subcat, say someone expressly became a Greeter to only advertise a friend's store. Eh. Or greeters whose dishonorable behavior would be a parallel to certain stories of mentors we've been learning about lately.

-will "Adult" Greeting categories be allowed? For example, someone comes to SL with an interest in a "Ye Olde Grande Poseball Tour" after reading about it at a 3rd-party website. Or, someone with interests in BDSM, Gor, and soforth. I believe this to be a legitimate question, whatever that means.

-sounds to me like we're going to have a whole lot of human networking, which is great to me. I can easily believe that some time after having this program open, that not only newbies will get to know Greeters, but Greeters will get to know each other better and make recommendations in turn, i.e. "Oh you should talk to so-and-so, he really knows his way around planes if you wanna take a tour of the skies." This would be an extension of what already happens when one Live Helper/Mentor refers someone to another.

-on that note, if -- pardon, WHEN -- simcrosses get more stable, there could be a subcategory for "Travel", or expanded exploration of the world through vehicles. This is where I see a future "Group Teleportation" mode coming in handy, or even a "fly connected so noone gets lost"-type thing. I've tried to show people around in my Hammerhead and Tigershark and Kalista and other vehicles, but simcrosses really frustrate the experience. Seeing such a vast world unfold before one's eyes really awakens new possibilities.


On the Question tip, I do have one cute one that comes to mind: in addition to a Custom Title -- which really isn't that visual to some people -- would there be uniforms for people to wear, or even a cute little badge to represent the identity of a Greeter? I was thinking of Wal-Mart and their blue unis and smiley faces, and well, you know . . .


And yes, as Blueman mentioned, I do believe a mutual understanding is necesary. Would be sad to have Greeters being stalked. Uh-oh. :\

"Hello, my name is ... "
"would you like fries with that?"

Torley brings up some good stuff.

I propose that we keep the Greeter's presentation to strictly "PG" topics. If the newbie asks, then the Greeter is free to tell them taht adult stuff is in the game and can be found in any "Mature"-rated area. But for the sake of liability and either the Greeter or Newbie's ability to be offended, I don't think it's appropriate for the Greeter to volunteer any information about that sort of thing.

I also agree that "Advertising" should be strictly prohibited in Greeting activities! Its one thing to say "if you want to learn about building objects, check out the Ivory Tower or SL University"; or "If you want to shop, there are plenty of Malls scattered across the land." - its another thing entirely to say "If you want to buy cool objects, check out the Mall in the LaLaLand Sim - Dresses start at L$150!". Its hard to define the difference between an honest recommendation and an advertisement; but its easy to spot the difference.

This is also why we need some kind of "Greeter Feedback" tool for the Newbies - they should be instructed to report any unpleasant interactions or advertising by their Greeter. Obviously a newbie will deliberately say bad things about a Greeter now and then; because they're a jerk/griefer - so it shouldn't be a "one-strike, you're out" rule... But anyone who starts racking up negative remarks with regularity should be warned and eventually removed from Greeter status, if things don't improve.

A badge or big floating name/title or something like that sounds good. Uniforms are OK - but people might not want to wear them if it means taking of 4 or 5 items of your "everyday" clothing, every time you wan to put your uniform on...

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

P.S. For the record, I've been in SL for a little under a month; and would've been LOST if it wasn't for the fact that my RL brother acted as a de-facto Greeter when I first arrived.

I have long been lobbying for something like this! Excellent. Sign me up!

I will volunteer.

The experience should be basic, like Thread and Torley suggests. It ought to take about 30 mins to an hour. Many people are nervous about meeting new people at first and it is good to have someone willing and able to help out. The criteria does not have to be cast in stone, as you talk to each other, you learn quickly what aspects merit the most attention per individual.

Interesting idea, though the displayed group ID should be marked as 'SL Greeter' to prevent incoming Urufugees / Uru players to ask odd questions.

Otherwise I don't see a problem with this. Tread's concern about it staying PG is a must, as well as the general concensus that some sort of feedback or other accountability feature be put in place.

I may concider this, but would probably prefer to do classes of this caliber instead. Nothing against the program, its just my RL hours suck.

Thanks to Torley, I read that as Greefer program. pfft.

Oddly enough, I half did, and got as far as thinking out my post for the feature suggestions forum. Then I thought better of it.

Then do what many of us have been quietly saying ever since you changed the website, and fix the bloody website. When I visit www.secondlife.com, I can not tell what Second Life is. With the old site, I could at least get a good idea of what, precisely, SL was. The new site has too little information and is too hard to navigate.



Use the existing Interests -> Skills section in our profiles. If it needs expansion, go ahead. Then, under this skills section add a button that allows people to apply for inclusion in this program. If they're accepted, this should enable a checkbox on the same page in our profile that when checked makes us available for Greeting.

Avoid the use of the Live Helper Group system, please, because of things like this. The Live Help Group system forces players to have to appear to be in their "Live Helper Job" even when they're not. A simple checkbox that doesn't change the appearance of the helper visibly would solve this problem before it becomes one. A SL Helper Group in addition to this check box would be ok, if only to enable Greeters who are actually Greeting people to be easily seen by the newbie. As long as Greeters aren't forced to wear the tag any time they want to be available, it might actually be something I'd be willing to do. (Hell, if Live Help had the group title requirement removed, I might actually apply too... I used to be a Helper in MUX)



I'm not sure I like the idea of giving players a landmark that early. Players -should- first explore the welcome area, and if they're given a landmark right off the bat they might be tempted to go explore, missing out on all helpful people in the welcome area. In addition, if they're given the landmark as early as when they reach Orientation Island, they might miss out on the island itself, which would be very bad.



Only if I don't have to wear a title any time I want to be available to help. I'll wear the title when helping, if I think the newbie might need that extra bit of "Where is he?!" help, but I don't want to be forced to wear a yellow armband around my bicep marking me as a volunteer of LL's at all times.



Most likely a mentor, since my only real skill is scripting.



I'm not sure I understand them, honestly. MAYBE they should be renamed to something a bit more descriptive of their actual job, like "Creativity Mentor" and "Activities Host"? But then, once you start splitting the group up like that, what happens when someone wants to find out about scripting and parties? Do they get one greeter for each thing? Doesn't make much sense.



Now see, this is the part I really don't like. People who are officially sanctioned by LL who's sole job is to... what, promote a specific place in SL? Uh... What was the major complaint of the Top Picks program again? Favoritism? Think things through a bit, LL! People'll be screaming favoritism all over again, and THIS time they'll actually have a good reason.

I'd be all for this but for the fact that it is adding another group of volunteers when the current ones (mentor and live help) are still quite understaffed.

I was a mentor way back. I was anxious to hit my 30 days so that I could drop my "resume" of newbie helping that I had already done on Char Linden. I dropped out of Mentor because it was far easier to hang around Ahern and wait for someone to ask a question and then offer to give them a personal tutorial than it was to hold events thus making myself a target for push-gun griefers.

I'd applied to Live Help over a month ago and aside from a autoresponder mail receipt have heard absolutely nothing. If I've been rejected from LH, fine, let me know. If I'm in some queue, let me know that.

So there is a third category of SL volunteers being formed, can we expect the same? I really enjoy helping people and although am not expert at any one thing am competent in most. But again, the official channels are a tad non-responsive. Yes, I know that every Linden staffer is overworked, but most organizations cannot wait to get their hands on volunteer labor. I still feel it easier to hang in Ahern between projects and wait.

Just one avatar's view.

I must say that I totally agree with this! How about giving the Newbie an IM window or the Calling Card of the Greeter they are assigned? That way they can communicate, and the Greeter can come meet the Newbie wherever they are; OR the Greeter can offer a TP to the Newbie, if that is a better solution - but I think it should be on a case-by-case basis.

I know that I was stuck on Orientation Island for 3 days dealing with a Router problem. When I finally got in-game, I was given a BUNCH of Landmarks from my RL friends; and completely missed out on the Welcome area for the first week I was in SL, because I ran off to meet my friends and explore the landmarks they gave me! Had I hung around there for awhile, I would've certainly gotten up to speed on some things faster.

Bottom line: The Welcome Area is a great part of the new-user experience. The Greeter program should add a "personal touch" on top of it - not be a replacement for it, or discourage the use of the Welcome area.

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

P.S. "GreeTer", not "GreeFer", not "Griefer", and certainly not "Reefer"!

I would like to volunteer also.

I think keeping it uncomplicated would be the way to go.

I have met two rl friends at the welcome area and the first thing they wanted to do was LEAVE the welcome area because it's so confusing there.

I agree the program is a good idea. Having a person walk you through things individually greatly speeds up the learning curve and decreases the initial frustration.

My only concerns are that you'd need a lot of volunteers because once you bond with a newbie, they're yours for life. haha. I mean, you can't just *stop* answering their questions on day 5 or 6 or 7.

I'd be happy to help, but I'd probably only want to help two newbies at a time. More than that might interfere with my own sl experience.

Hmm, I have a mixed opinion of this "new program". My first reaction was very similar to Eggy's: "at long last, we have been asking for this feature a long while, it's time it gets implemented!"

Thankfully many people already posted their feelings about this program, which made me think twice and elaborate a little more

Like Malachi, I'm also on the "waiting list" to become a Life Helper (in my case, for over 2 months). With 260+ Mentors, Instructors, and Live Helpers around, I assumed that there was no real need of more volunteers, and so, I did not insist (despite not having received an answer beyond the automated one, as Malachi referred). I assume that if by some reason the number of Live Helpers drops in number, Daniel Linden (which I assume is still responsible for the LH program) will call the ones who are on the application "queue".

I also remember that after 4 months or so of being a Mentor, I once asked Char Linden on how I should apply for becoming an Instructor, and what the difference between Mentors and Instructors is. In her always cheerful and friendly manner, Char patiently explained this silly Mentor that "they are the same thing". Only, Mentors are basically around to offer volunteer help, Instructors do organized classes. Still, these classes are called "Mentor Events" and, to show your commitment to the Mentor group, you're expected to hold... Instructor classes.

Clearly there has always been a mix and a confusion among these two programs.

Now we get the Greeter program. The principle is sound - new players don't really want to ask LH questions directly, they would easily welcome someone else to ask some starting questions. I'd certainly would have loved to do the same when I started (I got lucky, Nova Linden "befriended me" on my first day in SL, but how many new players did not have as much luck as I did?).

Now I also remember than I offered my help to Char when she "enrolled" me, telling her I was always ready to help out people if she wanted to IM me. Of course, I think she never did, but ocassionally, some of my fellow Mentors called me to help to deal with some griefers at the Welcome Area. This happened seldom, there is really not much coordination among Mentors, but the truth is, I have done some coordination, like helping out Mentors with their events, or splitting small groups of newbies among 2 or 3 Mentor friends, so that we may help them out better, on one-to-one interactions.

So, what I see is, there should be three different "new" things on the Mentoring side of SL...

1) Clarify the Mentor program. Haney has just started his "new job" and has already done a few clarifications on the rules. But I think that Instructors, Mentors and Greeters should be the same group, just with different "roles". By being on one of them you should be on the other two as well - and not need to apply for different "programs". Instead, Mentors would be "generally around" whenever they wanted, be available for Greeting new residents whenever needed, and do some classes as Instructors as part of their requirements. But let them all be "Mentors" instead of 3 different programs.
2) Create a mechanism for new people to "call" a Mentor (instead of "calling" a Live Helper). I like the idea of having the web site show up available Greeters and having the new resident to select one depending on some choices (I expect that the easiest way to do it is having them a scripted badge which would signal the system that they're available for "greeting" newcomers).
3) Have an IM group for Mentors to collaborate among themselves more strongly. This would mean that you would be able to IM fellow Mentors to help you out. Say, you've just been summoned by a new resident to Greet him/her, but suddenly a new resident pops in at the Welcome Area, and no Mentor is available. You could quickly IM the whole group, tell the volunteers that another guy is in need of help, and someone would be able to teleport over. This would be much more effective, organized, and would certainly "impress" the newcomer with our level of coordination

I'm not very sure about having different "types and subtypes" of Greeters. New residents usually don't even know what they will like in SL or not. I think that there should only be one type of Greeters - let the new resident ask him or her about what's available in SL as a means of entertainment, and eventually the Mentor/Greeter would even be able to forward him/her to "specialized" Mentors (if there would be a way of "tagging" them).

I also disagree with Mentor/Greeters being able to "instantly summon" new players to their own location. This can easily be abused, as it was noticed on this tread. I'd prefer it to work the other way round - summon the Mentor/Greeter to the newbie's location instead (of course, nothing stops the Mentor for tp'ing him or her later to other places...).

So, no new group, but new roles for the Mentors - that's my suggestion

Notice that I (deliberately) leave Live Help out of the Mentor program - I generally agree that they have a completely different kind of organisation.

An interesting addition might be if new players (say under 7 days or so) don't generate dwell (or traffic). Then there'd be no immediate benefit to having them instantly brought to your home location. Of course you still have to get round the possibility of advertising, but I like to think that most volunteers are doing it for the right reasons... (and yes, I know there are some out there who think we're all in it for the money).

I don't particularly see how this program would not be used for advertising...not just for malls, but any place with members who sign up to be greaters and use their place to host the newbies (unless it's a private home or a sandbox). I don't see this as such a bad thing though...yes, some people will go to malls and clubs and end up customers as a result, but like Torley sorta mentioned, places like the Ivory Tower, The Learning Center, Montmartre Island and lots of other well-intentioned places will benifit from the publicity.

I don't recomend putting limitations on the kinds of places a greeter can take people to, but I think having a standard evaluation form or something for people to rate their experience and complain about things like "I think I was being advertised to instead of greated" would be good.

OK, I posted yesterday saying I didn't like the idea of a Newbie being sent to the Greeter's location in-world. With further discussion regarding advertising and such, I Really think its a BadThing(tm)! Let Greeters and Newbies either hook up at the Welcome area - or at most give them Calling Cards so they can chat first via IM before travelling anywhere.

I hadn't thought about people doing this for the dwell, though - Are there that many new accounts every day that people might "mine" them for their traffic? If so, then I agree it's a concern - and some kind of "newborn no-traffic effect" might be a good solution. However, I think 3 days is a more reasonable time-frame. That gives Newbies a worst-case scenario of a day at Orientation Island, and a day or two at the Welcome Area & talking to their Greeter, before generating traffic. In that worst-case scenario, a Greeter might be tempted to put off chatting for a few hours until the Newbie's no longer a "newborn", so they can be pulled to the Greeter's land. However, with a 3-day time-span, that's going to be a pretty rare occurrance. I think most folks get through O-Island in a couple of hours (depending on how long they spend on their Av appearance); so in most cases they'd "Meet the Greeter" with a couple of days left on their "newborn effect".

Certainly Newbies should be advised when they select a Greeter that they should expect to use the Welcome Area to learn some things; and that the Greeter should not advertise goods or services to them.

Take care,

--Noel "HB" Wade
(Tread Whiplash)

P.S. For those that have a concern about the "case-load", I suggest a simple solution: LL makes a little page on the secondlife.com website - either a stand-alone tool or part of a "user profile" page or something. Make a checkbox that a user (who's already in the Greeter program) can toggle - like an "I'm available for duty" switch. If they toggle it off, temporarily remove their name from the list of Greeters (either that the Newbie selects, or that is selected randomly for them - I see pros and cons to both ways of doing it).