I'M Begging you...DO SOMETHING!! PLEASE

I've been on for almost 2 years now, and I take great joy in Second life, but do we not have mentors any longer? I go to Help Island and OI, but I haven't seen a mentor since you chopped the legs out from under so many of us. what gives?
There are many of us EX-Mentors that are still helping the newbies, but we sure aren't getting any help from Linden Labs.
Do you no longer care about the new people coming to Second Life? What gives??...DO SOMETHING!!
I find newbies, just standing with no idea what to do or how to do it, just last night alone I found 12 on Help Island with no clue what so ever, and not a Mentor in sight.

Second Life is such a wonderful place, do you not see that?, are you so out of touch? are you threatened by Mentors? I just dont understand, or maybe I have a bigger love for Second life than Linden does.

JUST DO SOMETHING, EVEN IF ITS WRONG, BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!!!

Palmer Whitfield

I must agree from the bottom of my heart, Palmer.

I also remember the months, when newbies got quick help on OI and HI and they were happy to get support immediately. As I am one of those who were kicked for offline time while moving, I cannot see what's happening there now ... but what I realize are so many more newbies not not knowing about these little things they got help for in former times. It has become more time and energy demanding to help them when they arrive among us who we still try to help them.

The little mistakes have summed up to great misunderstandings then, when they have spent 1 or 2 days (or more) in SL without finding someone to help.

Well, LL is a small company (compared to what they created and compared to the number of customers) so they have to do things quick and easy (unfortunately that mostly also means dirty, which is a management rule). So of course they - overwhelmed by the numbers of mentors - chose a quick and easy way to get rid of some of them.

However the consequence is a lack of motivation for many. Mentors were kicked, while they contributed great stuff, mentor coaches were abolished though there IS a difference between helping and teaching, communication only goes one way and many residents - not only mentors and ex mentors - feel that they are not listened to.

OK, the relative small crew at LL cannot answer everything, but as I see, the lack of communication (being perceived as lack of interest in their customers) is a general problem. Feedback does not arrive ... so also this thread might not be read by a LL employee.

Consequences: lack of motivation.

Motivated customers, motivated mentors, motivated helpers are a great resource for a service company with a product that needs a lot of explanation for new customers, as we find it with SL. I always hear educators praizing how we use SL as a teaching and learning platform, but then they say: You might be 1 or 2 years in ahead of other platforms, but we will NOT use it because of the high demand of explanation needed and the low support offered for the newbies.

So there SHOULD be more support and more communication on the way back (listening to the feedback of the customers) and less requests to read all in the numerous ways LL spreads (and thus hides) information.

I second your beg: DO SOMETHING, do it quick and to it in the direction of motivated mentors, good coaches (teachers) and better communication.

I remember when i came on sl almost a year ago,the first place i was sent to was a block of buildings with roads,i guess much like a city block.
There was no info at all,no mentors and no avys around.
I roamed around the same block for a long time i was beginning to think that was all there was to sl.
I did finally get a message telling me i was ready to go to help island,there i did come across a mentor,she was very nice and gave me some info,as i mentioned to her at the time about my time on the city block that i figured they left you alone at first to try and figure things out for yourself because thats how it seemed to me.
I have tried to find the place i first was sent to but always end up on the public orientation island
One thing i do remember during the time on that city block was when i did finally come across an avy all she said to me was "you're ugly" and walked off

Hi Nikita, yes, I know that place. All mentors (and ex mentors) know it. On my first days in SL I also found it difficult to get the instructions what to do and learn there (hunting rats with a car and learning to fly).

Your example clearly shows, how important motivated mentors with some brains are for SL. Due to the way, new customers are sent to the orientation islands, it happened often that one was left there, no new ones came, as the system waited for all to have left there, but mentors didn't come, as the SIM mostly looked empty.

So the new resident walked around there for days ... or even weeks, telling in RL that SL really is not thaaaat great.

I know of a few mentors, and I also did, who searched the map for orientation islands with only 1 or 2 avas on them and helped them into the real SL.

This way to work was never described officially, but was chatted about among mentor buddies and mentor coaches and a few mentors who felt the need to look after new residents individually and not only go to where most of them are.

Yes, most mentors go where many newbies arrive. Sure they are needed there and they do great work there. But I am glad that there are some that go the other way and help those individuals that are lost ... like you were. Unfortunately, you did not happen to be online in your city block when one of them was on.

You will not find that place. Only way to get back there is to become a mentor ... errrrm greeter in a few days, weeks, months, whenever they open the application page again. Only mentors/greeters and new born residents can go there.

Hehe there is another way to see that place again: make a new basic account and do NOT go over a community gateway, just do it from the SL website and ignore all invitations to community gateways. Then your new ava will be on one of those islands again and you can roam that city block again.

Hehe, happens to me too, I met 3 of these you're ugly "people" during my 2 years in SL. The great advantage we have in SL is that there is no need to answer or react.
Remember, with that words they tell a lot about themselves and absolutely nothing about you.

Most of them walk off after their insults, and that is a good idea, cause there is no need to listen to any further words of such people.

Maybe meanwhile you know a lot of the stuff I have told now, but I thought it was an interesting story that makes clear, how necessary mentors are that are - as Gandy said it - motivated and find their individual tasks also in those niches, that the VTeam might not even think of.

"Lack of Motivation"

Indeed. Sadly, I find myself in this exact position after spending countless hours in SL over the past year, primarily spending my time to provide help to those who were new and seeking answers.

Much the same as I was helped when I first became a member, I made it my personal goal in SL to become a mentor so that I could help carry out what I believed was at least part of LL's mission...to welcome, to assist, and to support its customers, both old and new. Instead, I have seen new residents mocked and their questions either brushed off or outright ignored by those on Help Islands and Welcome Centers..including some of those residents bearing the Mentor tag. I have seen new residents wandering about and made efforts to assist them, finding afterwards that they were actually afraid to ask questions for the reasons just stated. I have seen the public Help Islands continually made the target of numerous griefing attacks by scripted objects with ARs submitted frequently, yet with no response by LL to combat the problem.

I then see, from other posts on this subject on both these forums as well as the Volunteer Portal, that the SL locations where I and others who are not "official" mentors ~cannot~ go are virtually empty of any Mentor assistance whatsoever...evidently due, at least in part, to the sweeping cuts of the mentor group made recently by the Vteam...leaving new residents without the needed support and assistance to make an optimal transition. And they now seek to divide the group even more into "greeters" and "mentors", but with only greeters being permitted to access the new-resident areas, cutting off access to others who seek to help them. They have further kept the new mentor applications page closed for over 6 months, cutting off those residents with a sincere wish and motivation to assist from ever being able to reach the areas where those newcomers are first entering SL.

I am sure there are many, many Mentors and ex-Mentors still carrying out their efforts to support new and newer residents as best they can within these constraints and for that I applaud them. Unfortunately, from what I have seen and read on these forums as well as on the Volunteer Portal pages over the past year, I have come to the sad conclusion that LL simply does not seem to care. They do not seem to care either about the official volunteer group (other than how they can further divide and reduce it) nor do they seem to care about newer residents, despite the lip-service given that subject. Why should they? I am sure their profits will continue to grow despite those who try entering SL and then give up after a week or so due to lack of support.

I wish you all well.

Thanks guys for the response, I was beginning to feel like I was the only one still out there.
I also remember that "City Block" when I first came on, it was so bad that i just quit. I came back 3 months later and a Mentor found me, he was such a great guy, answered all my questions, showed me around sl, got me some better cloths, even taught me how to fix my hair. He is no longer on sl, and that is a great loss.
He convinced me to be a Mentor and later a Mentor Buddy, and I was proud to help several become Mentors, that gave meaning to sl, wasnt just a game anymore.
I can no longer go to the HI's or OI's and HIP and OIP use newbies as targets to shoot at. I have blasted more than one ass for doing that, it really pisses me off.
I was on vacation when I was dropped from the Mentor program, but to be honest, SL didnt help me do my job that much anyway, no training, no support, we did have this stupid island we could go to, with a help board that didnt work anyway, I still help as many newbies as I can, I find them everywhere, sometimes they just drop into my sim...lost..frustrated, and lonely. I find them in the sandboxes or wondering naked someplace, not even knowing how to put their cloths on. Linden if you do read this, Isnt that kinda sad?

Palmer Whitfield

You know, i have to agree. I started playing SL about 8 months ago and was sent to said city block. I had no clue what to do and I think there were 20 other people there asking the same questions i was. I tried for a bit but then gave up. Thankfully a friend of mine in another game said they also played SL. They took me under their wing and showed me the basics. I think a mentoring program other than Newbie island (that's what i called it) would be so much better.

Anyone ever think about having "Mentors" register and when a newbie logs in, they get "assigned" to a mentor for X days or until the mentor lets that person go. This way, the mentor can IM the person, show them around the real SL, and make sure they learn the ropes.

I don't know.. just an idea from a former newbie

Sad and true at the same time unfortunately. The setup as it is right now leaves nothing in terms of help or tips to anyone joining the grid. The old starting islands (as clunky as they were) were still laid out in a fashion that could get the newbies moving after some fiddling.

The recent cuts on the Mentors groups was carried out in a really bad way in my view. The alert was sent, but there was no check as to if it even went through to everyone. With the grid as unstable as it has been, the message never went to who knows how many and instead of sending a backup say through email; those mentors got the boot with no chance to even contact anyone to explain. -Shrugs- Honestly, there was no help coming from LL through it anyways.

SL is continuing on its path of being about the commercial bigwigs more then the thousands of individuals who helped SL grow. I see that survey about the experience getting better each time I log in, but I never answer anymore...why bother when no one is listening?

Oh yes,you are right. Linden Labs doesn't help for newbies ether do they help for the old ones that needs some help also.
All they do is take money once you logged in and sent it into your account. I'm sure it is not fair,look at other games! By giving out some help Linden Labs could put out at least 1000L$ once people register so they could get things they need and don't look like newbies...I do really feel sorry for the newbies cos rich people in second life harasses them cos of their looks.I'm sure Linden Labs could give out some money for the new people in Second Life...Lindens always collect thousands of L$ cos they take money from the existing residents.



And anyways i think that Linden Labs takes L$ from people too often...

Hey guys.. how about this.. how about if the helpful people gather up and create a group of helpers..? we can also set up a land that contains all the freebies and goodies for the newcomers? i carry a box in my inventory which i have sent to a couple of "thankful" people.. it's a shame we can't help more and more..
plz IM me if u r interested.. i would really love to help people.. in terms of clothing, skin, ao.. everything.. and i don't mind giving them instructions if needed. we just need to sort this out.
happy new year everyone

I'm not giving up on the poor newbies, I just need help. I sent an IM to Jeska Linden,(only name I could find) and let her know what was happining to the newbies....The only respones I received was ....Simply NO answer at all.... only way I can take that is "I don't care". I really dont know how else to take it.

I was on HIP the other night, and it was the most vuglar, nasty place I've seen in SL to date.
(trust me I know sl), there were out and out attacks on newbies, vuglar language, Oversized sex organs, pushing and more than a little name calling, making fun of the newbies was the entertainment for the night. As usual not a mentor or linden in sight and no way to call one. I may get an AR over my actions the other night (LL if your reading this....YES I DID IT!!!! and I WILL do it again too!! ) but I managed to tp 3 new people out to my property, all were happy to get away, but I am sorry to say that one was so put off by the experence, that I fear she will not return to sl. but 2 out of 3 is better than none at all.

I wish i could say that this was a one time thing, but we all know it isn't

As far as setting up a private mentor group, I'M game for that, im sure that many of us can combine our resources and knowlage to at least save a few good people. Mabe just maybe we can make a difference to some coming to Second Life.

Palmer Whitfield

I was trying to become a mentor a while back, but the applications were closed off.
So I started my own little group of helpers.

The mentor status doesn't mean anything I assume. I just have this "Newbie Helper" above my head, and newbies understand it. So I reached the same result.

If you want to help out newbies, just make sure you are in a helper group, and start answering questions.

I reside in Hanja, which is the landing point for most newcomers. I'm not alone, there are a lot of newbie helpers around in Hanja. Charging nothing, but helping out.

I still like to become an official mentor, since I have advanced knowledge of almost any aspect within SL. So open the application again, people will join.

Just chiming in with my two cents as well. I, too, remember that "city block" AND the frustration. I joined, quit after an hour and didn't come back until I was forced to in order to participate in a grad class I was taking. I was lucky enough, the second time, to be greeted by a mentor who took me under her wing, tpd me to Calico's for hair, then helped me with a free AO,clothing and enough info to allow me to begin exploring. When I made it to the first class session, I was the best dressed avi on the block.

I would be very interested in joining an in-world helper group! I would hate to think that folks are so turned off by that "city block" experience, that they (as I did) simply give up.

I created an alt to test the theory that you have to be rich to look good. I sent him around to freebie places for a while (with less than perfect success), then switched to joining groups like FREE STYLE that advertise freebies and cheap products. I think he looks great, and people frequently tell him he looks good, and I think he's spent less than L$10 total on dollarbies.

Hi, everyone. Let me shed a little light and make a couple of suggestions.

First, the situation on the Help Islands. My HUD device typically shows me that there are ten or more Help Islands with between one and 14 new residents, but no Mentor. You're right, we need more coverage. More on that below...

Second, that "city block". That was "Move City", one of the tutorial areas on the old Orientation Islands. Those OIs no longer exist, so even if you are a Mentor, there's no way to go back to Move City. No great loss, we can safely leave it to the rats.

Third, an independent "helper group". Several already exist. One of the largest and most active is the Help People! group run by Brett Dumont. They have more people than LL has in the Mentor program, and they have their own island in world. If you want to work in a Mentor-like role, join one of these groups!

Fourth, how to help out on Help Island, even if you got kicked out of the Mentors: Make an alt. Send your alt some freebies to give away, and some explanatory notecards, and maybe a titler saying something like "ask me for help!". Leave the alt on Help Island...don't teleport to the mainland, or you won't be able to get back. Lucrezia Lamont has made a great folder of notes and essential items...IM her for a copy of her "Newbie Kit".

I've encountered several "helper alts" of this sort in recent weeks, and I'm always glad to see them. They're proof that no matter what management's latest bright idea is, there are always people out there willing...even driven...to help others.

LL Volunteer Applications: Still closed as of this posting, but there are rumors that this will change soon...so please keep checking the Volunteer page.

I gave up on mentoring shortly after the LH abandonment by LL. Im perfectly happy helping at NCI, probably the oldest one giving free lessons and a huge membership. I know at NCI my ideas wont be ignored and I also know NCI will do all in its power to help the volunteers involved with it.

The bickering that comes with the LL ran groups will always be there, but many of us learned this lesson and realize belonging to a LL group was not a great idea, many seem to still enjoy it but many have realized its not worth the headache. So pls dont stop helping if your not in a LL group, think of what helping means, not some useless title

I thought about doing something like this, over Christmas, but I was worried about getting into trouble with the Lindens over it.

As long as you don't wear a title that implies you are a member of the Linden Lab volunteers (SL Mentor, SL Mentor Buddy, etc.) you aren't violating the TOS or CS by doing this. After all, there are newbies who wind up stuck on Help Island for days, weeks, or months 'cause they can't figure out how to go elsewhere...or don't even know that there IS an "elsewhere".

Of course, I'm speaking as a private Resident. The Lindens will do what the Lindens will do, and I can't predict that. But I can't believe they'd punish someone who was simply trying to help others.

I *do* go help newbies on Help Island and the infohubs. I made an alt expressly for that purpose, and I don't have any title at all over my head.

You don't need to LOOK for newbies that need help, either. They come up and say, "Can you help me?" or "How do I go someplace else?" or "What is the point of this game?"

I don't give away anything except a notecard that lists some freebie shops, but that usually isn't what they're looking for. They just want to know how to move around and do things.

Most of the time all they really need is to know how to use Search. Other times they need some real hand-holding, which takes about a half an hour.


Which HUD is that?
::

I think the one she's talking about can be found on SLVEC, right next to the display boards that show what's going on on the HIs..

Thanks - I'll check it out.

I'm up for a bit of helping the newbies, as I've been told I am easy to get on with and very patient to talk to as a guy. Although I did start sl in 2006, I've only been inworld proper now for 6/7 months. I left because I was stranded and disenchanted with the assistance I got at HI and OI, which ended up with me being caged, forgotten and frustrated. Although I wouldn't claim to be as sl literate as most of you guys, I know enough about the basics to help the newcomers and could spare a few hours a week...... I do hang around at Hanja and nci.......and always hope to bump into forum posters.........I will IM kira first.

Its a great idea to pursue the unofficial group discussed and maybe we ought to be aware of the time zones too. I am UK so we could cover the bases for the nationalities involved. If we get stuck, theres always someone else to ask. Two heads are better than one except when you are wearing a hat, so my old granny said.

Right! It's Lum Pfohl's HI/WA HUD. It gives you the same information that the display boards do, but you don't have to go to SLVEC to get it! Last time I looked, it was in one of the kiosks in the marketplace area, but it may have been moved.

Hmmmm .... if it were that easy.

As a consultant and teacher I often talk to the "commercial bigwigs", also because the school I am teaching for did so good with SL as teaching platform ...

But when it comes to using SL for their companies you often even hear them laugh.

Here is what they say:

"We heard about the support given by the provider of SL. What we need is a minimum of support."

"We heard of so many who find it difficult to even move in SL. We will NOT make our customers take such a difficult way to our services."

"We tried it out. We stuck in a simulation with a dirty city block and there was no information about what can be done."

etc.

Conclusion:

You never know, who is in the audience.

There were many of the bigwigs, who tried out SL, but were lost like so many ... but LL decided not to improve the mentor group, but to cut them.

If you want to make money with the bigwigs, you need to show them, how easy (and supported) a normal customer can get in contact with them in SL. The thousands and millions of customers that would possibly find it easy to move in SL right from the start are also the only thing that the bigwigs are interested in.

No company is intersted to put money into SL and many sims, if they find that their customers will not come, that they get no support, that they will flee SL for being difficult to move in.

So is it really promoting SL to the bigwigs if they say: We shortly reduced the group of official mentors from 3700 to 1700 and closed the applications for new ones from June 2008 to January 2009 (and maybe longer) ... so this shows the support your customers will get on the grid ... ?

Bigwigs are interested in traffic, in many normal guys finding their way to their services. If LL wants to play with the bigwigs, they need to make the SL start a very nice experience for new customers. What they do is the opposite.

So to say with the first poster:

Lindens, DO something, and please do it quick.

ok......yesterday i had a couple of hours to spare, so I tp'd myself to 'Hanja' to hang around with voice on and see if I could help anyone out with my 'newbie friendly' tag on....
Needless to say it wasn't a very pleasant experience. In these two hours I had been propositioned three times, asked to go off and have sex twice, dance four times and not one person asked me for any help. The gesture spamming was horrendous, those on voice were either drink or on drugs swearing and newbies were being mobbed by alts and vampires. How this place can be considered a rendezvous for newbies I can't imagine. The few 'older' sl residents there, took little interest and I felt very uncomfortable and vulnerable. Some even told me they were banned residents back under an another account and some girls who were muting each other were arguing through my mic, when they heard their muted friends speak.
When I next have a few hours to spare, thinks I will spend it at 'Grendels' running around as a tiny rat, hoping not to be trodden on.