We need more Greeters/Mentors

thanks for the advice isablen. very helpful!

pypo, i'm sure there are plenty of helpful people in the WA. but i can't seem to weed them out from the others, and i'm sure the newbies can't either. in the last day, i've seen 5+ newbies leave the WA because they were ignored. they all left with a remark about how no one was helping them. i IMd them each of them and was able to help them. but that doesn't speak well of the WA, and the majority of the people hanging out there.

I show up sometimes very late at the WA. I have a very bad computer that slows waaaaaaaay down when I enter the WA, and even more so when there are many people there.

I try, seriously. But it gets so bad after 10 minutes that I can't stay. So, I show up at night, and help who I can, at least until I pass out from staying up too late.

Well right now there are at LEAST 5 Mentors in the WA. Each one is speaking with a new resident and having a good conversation to answer their questions! I think the notecard people receive when the TP into the WA, that explains to look for Mentors and Liasons is a great idea.

Also a bit of GREAT news, a few Lindens are setting up "How-to-Videos" in the Need Help paviliaon. YAY!

Sorry this was double-posted.

Just read through all the posts on this thread with interest and managed, by-and-large, to get past the "it was flaming/it wasn't flaming" element.

My reason for reading through everything is that I've been considering volunteering as a Greeter, and have been trying to read up on as much as I can and is available from others.

I'm still a relative newbie, but in my first two or three weeks, certainly before I'd bought some first-land, the welcome area was the place I would appear in when logging on. I get the impression there are a load of folks who do the same because, well, as yet they have nowhere else specific to go. The WA seems to be a staging post for new SLers.

Perhaps the creation of a newbie hang-out might prevent those who have been in-game for a couple of weeks from clogging up the WA with sound files, animations and stuff so that the area is free for Greeters to meet the entirely fresh player?

Just a thought... admittedly not terribly well put

And finally an apology. Last night (Tues 27 Sept) I ambled back over to the WA, just to see what was going on. I spotted a mentor, talking with a newbie and awandered over in the hope of having a chat with the Mentor about volunteering and also to say hi to the new player. In the end the new guy and I ended up enthusiasticly chatting about a whole bunch of of stuff until suddenly the attending Mentor walked off without saying anything. If you were that Mentor... I'm sorry - I didn't mean to steal your thunder!

Actually, Jim, in my experience, that particular Mentor was probably more than grateful to have you helping him/her out by taking over the burden

Even Linden Liaisons are more than often very relieved to see people spontaneously appearing and helping newbies out — of course, some of the Liaisons gently nudge a newbie towards the Greeter or Mentor groups, and that is something I would definitely applaud and even encourage.

I Read thru all these post for a interesting topic this is. I've been in SL for many months now just not quite a year yet. I used to by default get logged into Welcome Center when i first got here everytime i log on, till i found somewhere else to use as location log on.

SL is a really great place and many helpfull people who take the time to help, i see it most of the time and many do so. The Welcome Center is a great place, however when i got here i never really enjoyed been there or got much of any help from the people that was there around the center. Most seem too busy in their own playfull converstions and antics to pay attention to a newbie standing there looking dumfounded. If you ask a question to some near by you can get ignored or may take a while for someone to respond to you. To a newbie you just feel plain ignored. So much of my time as i appeared i just rather bypass the welcome center and stumble my way inworld and take chance telling someone i'm new and ask them for help or a few moments of been mentored to as a newbie.

Even as a veteran here in SL i can sometime just go to welcome center to see whats going on there form been inworld. Its Laggy there, for one. I see some newbies getting help from some there and i see some newbies look plain lost standing around. I wasn't a mentor or a greeter, i just took my time and ask them at welcome center in IM if they are new and if need help, much is always the case since sometime it can seen confusing to newbies at Welcome Center. I just take them someplace neutral from there and help them with whatever they need help with and spend sometime a hour or two mentoring them. Many of those newbies i made a friend of and funny they do stay around SL more, i know they IM me for help often. I guess i'm not a official Mentor or Greeter but i do the job on my time the same. I stumble on newbies in world and i just take time to mentor or help them. I don't have to be at the Welcome Center to volunteer my time as a mentor or a greeter. But it would be most helpfully to be there to do so for a newbie. But it help if many at the welcome center was not so lost in their own conversations, playing antics and pay attention to newbies, they really not hard to recognise.

I'm not sure why more residents not volunteer and be Mentors and Greeters, time maybe and schedule, linden taking too long to approve them. I would'nt want to be at the Welcome Center much with all the lagg and people lost in their own conversations there, Yet its a great place that can be made better. Sometime just seem like a hang out spot for many.

Urban, my suspicion is that the reason there aren't more "helpers" at the WA is precisely because of the clientele that hangs around there. The WA is not bad most of the time, but when it is bad, it is downright offensive. Plenty of nights I know I should go and help out at the WA and I don't because I just can't take the audio spamming and the gutter level conversation of 15 year olds who haven't been caught on the adult grid yet.

So, non-attention to the overall climate of the WA ends up driving away both those who are there to help and new residents getting their first taste of SL. Abuse Reports seem to mean nothing and seem to be rarely acted upon here in the one area where there should be limited tolerance.

I applied to be a mentor last week, and I hope I am accepted soon.

However, I felt that the lack of a mentor tag shouldn't keep me from going to the WA and meeting newbies, answering questions, etc.

There was a good group of people there. I said hi several times and walked around for about 15 minutes, during which time no one spoke to me.

I hope that isn't the response that newbies get.

I have recently applied to be a greeter. I too have gone down to the WA and meet newbies. I just look at their profiles and see when they are born. I will then ask if they have any questions. As a relative newbie myself, I was fortunate to have quickly met a couple of people who helped me considerably. I am grateful to them and wish to help.

As a side note, my SL companion is a greeter. He will often get a call when we are at home. He then TPs the person to the house and together we help them. I think that having them brought to a personal home and welcomed helps them to feel more comfortable and be less intimidated.

Jen

I received some clothing files from someone who was otherwise occupied, and that's it. I'd really like to have a greeter or mentor. Or some guidance. I have no idea what I'm doing. I never even know where I am when I log in. A formal mentor program would keep people from quitting. This is my third time back and I'm still lost and no one talks to me. They disappear. Walking and flying are fun for a while, but I'd like to have a mentor.

[email]denisel00@aol.com[/email]

I had a trial subscription, which I quit because no one ever talked to me and I didn't know what to do, now I have a free one and would love to learn more, but it's the same thing. Nothing.

You guys really need a mentor program. I'm not an idiot. I'm just lost. I've been told to go to Events. But they're not events for new people. The web site said there were guides for new people. One screen shot showed someone at a "How to Build" site. Make it obvious. I can't find anything.

Hi Denise

I'm sure you'll get plenty of offers, but try IM'ing me in world, I'll give you a few pointers. Even surfing the forums can be a great way to learn stuff and find new places.

I'm pretty new myself, I've been in SL for about 3-weeks and joined on the free account. I've met many great people and seen some cool places.

I've lived very cheaply so far, I visited money trees for a while to kep my cash up, but there's so many free or $1 places that you really don't need to spend much to survive.


I usually log on around 7pm Pacific (or a few min after) and stay until 10 or 11, I don't mind spending 30min - 1hr giving a few pointers as one Newbie to another.

As one of the Welcome Area wallflowers (I spend maybe 1/2 of my in-game time hanging there), I do agree that a stronger Mentor presence would be beneficial. This might sound a little bit hypocritical since I myself am not a Mentor, but that is due to the fact that I believe I'm too new to SL and ignorant as to where the cool, popular attraction "hotspots" are that would entice more new players (I refrain from the term "newbies" since I have seen many take it in a derrogatory connotation) to stick with SL.

One of the reasons why I like hanging in the WA so much is that I really enjoy helping out new players. I usually end up helping 2-3 new arrivials per day, and teach 1-2 people per week how to build in the Sandbox. I believe that if you are a person who has benefited from the enjoyment that Second Life has to offer, it's your obligation to let other people know the possibilities that SL can offer them.

I'm very liberal, but I also agree that the WA needs more policing. As the first impression point for new users, there is far too much soundclip, particle, and stupidity spamming.. A new player's first SL experience shouldn't be listening to the Six Flags theme looped for 10 minutes over a bunch of crazy animations and particles that reduce even the fastest gaming rigs to 4fps mud.

The WA is a great place, and is almost always busy due to the fact that it is the nexus of SL, but having it mobbed by people who have no agenda of ever helping anyone out really can have a negative effect on new players. When a new player asks for anyone to help them out, and there are 15 people standing around and all 15 people ignore them, it portrays a really awful image on SL's society. I wouldn't have a problem with making the WA more restrictive in regards to who is allowed there, even if it means I cannot hang out there anymore. The overall professionalism and proliferation of SL is more important.

Unfortunately I also left the Greeters for this reason. I'm in the UK and was finding I was getting picked at 2am and falling asleep at my keyboard waiting for them to log in - half the time they just didn't. Even though I left them offline IMs, I felt bad for logging off and going to bed.

It's a great job, and I hope to do it again, but like Nimue I would love them to enable the picking of Greeters from the Welcome Area, not at sign up.

I swear, I am ready to just give up on Mentoring. This evening's appalling episode at the WA involved The Usual Suspects playing audio clips from porn movies...over and over and over again.

This so over the top that I IM the first Linden that I find online. The response I get is to be basically blown off and told to file an Abuse Report. Translation: "I could give a shit less about what sort of offensive crap is going on with new residents rezzing all over the place in a PG area and I have no intention of actually coming there to deal with this."

Who knows how many of those newbies ran for the hills to never log in to SL again.

So, it seems fairly obvious that the Lindens could not care less about the WA and the next time one of them can't figure out how to up retention rates I will play them some porn sound clips while I gyrate and talk about dildos.

If they don't care about their new residents, why should I? Honestly.

Someone give me a rational reason why I should care about helping new residents get their footing when LL clearly does not give a shit?


/rant of a disgusted Mentor

This sounds typical; I can't give you any good reasons.

I haven't had the experience of being blown off by a Linden; every Linden I've ever contacted has come over right away to help out.

However, I can understand a Linden whose job it is to, say, bug hunt, telling someone to file an abuse report. I guess I just got lucky and contacted the Liaisons.

It isn't the Mentors' job to play nanny, though Mentors are usually the sort of people who get fed up with other people's general unhelpfulness or rudeness.

I agree that the WA situation is generally stupid.

Most people who are there aren't bad in themselves -- they just joined at a time when doing that sort of thing was the norm.

I'm thankful now that the Lindens HAVE actually realised that the WA situation has deteriorated into teens bickering about each other since they have nothing better to do with their lives. I go there to help as well but since I'm an older one of SL I seem to have been the prime target of their lame bickering.

I'd become a Greeter/Mentor ONLY if they made the Welcoming Area invite only to those who are serious enough about greetings newcomers. I'm rather annoyed that I can't help someone because of the same and all the conversations going on at once a newbie can't pick out a Mentor/Greeter if he/she needs help nor can I help them cause I can't keep up.

The best suggestion so far seems to be to pick up newbies at the telehubs inside the "wings" (the actual place where they rez in when leaving OI), not at the centre of the 4 sims. It's not a "solution", it's a "temporary fix" until we get a better way to deal with the WA.

As to the way Greeters pick up new users... well... the current system is simply too cumbersome for both Greeters and new users. I have perhaps a 1/3 success rate, and that's not too bad — but half of the users I happen to Greet are never online at the same time as I am, they just figure out for themselves what the IMs are on the next days and eventually get in touch with me. I definitely agree that Greeters should be "called" from the Welcome Area — ideally, a "peaceful" WA, and not "the kindergarten break hour" WA we have right now.

I'd hotline this.

Lo, I specifically did not IM any of the bug hunter or dev team Lindens. I IM'd a Linden who's name appears regularly on the Greeter and Live Help IM channels, so I know he is involved in the customer support end of things. I didn't file an abuse report first because those take days to get any attention and I felt the situation demanded an immediate response. Apparently, I was mistaken in that notion.

I don't recall ever hearing anyone giving you a bad time. Sorry to hear this.

It's been off and on normally i'm very tolerant of those kinds of things, but lately its gotten beyond offensive and worth mentioning.

The good news — official meeting to discuss these and other issues!