Help Island Communicator Policy

Is there any way we can get a Linden endorcement of the Help Island communicator? It is an item that should be a MANDATED item to wear anytime a Mentor is on the island. Within H.I. at the various stations and areas we have kiosks set up. With a click a new resident can use one of these kiosks to signify they are having some form of trouble.

For users wearing their communicator they recieve a message with the name of the person in distress along with which station they are at. The kiosk itself sends a small particle beacon up to help identify it when in close range. Without the communicator all these calls go unnoticed and the new resident feels ignored. With the communicator these messages will reach anyone at any location on the island without fail.

If a Mentor is about to leave Help Island for the day a simple click on the communicator will give them a list of how many other mentors (wearing communicators) are currently at the island. With this feature a simple click will let someone know if they need to make a request on the Mentor IM for replacements if someone is available. Without this feature a given mentor would have to fly around the entire island and careful check each area to see how many others are around to determine if reinforcements are neccisary.

With the communicator if a Mentor is faced with a question form a new resident and is unsure they can use the co mmunicator to say a message on a channel that will get heard by every other mentor on the island. The system in use on the island gaurentees this message is not limited to a 100m range between avatars. If someone else has a quick answer the reply can be immediate allowing the new resident to get much needed information without a lengthy delay. For people wishing privacy the chat feature can be muted and wearer will not recieve any broadcast chat so as not to be disruptive.

There is absolutely no excuse for not having a policy where the communicator is a required item when working on Help Island. The help features of the island benifit greatly from its use and new residents feel neglected when their pleas for assitance go ignored / unnoticed.

I ask that this be made official. I ask that this be not only supported here but some announcement be made to the group as a whole, possibly via the group voting tool at some Lindens discretion.

Considering this is /not/ an issue of privacy and it /is/ an issue of better helping out I dont understand where anyone would have an objection other than a 'i dont wanna' excuse. Please support this. And please make this official policy.

Agreed, it also screw me up when i go to leave and i see no one else with a com on but when i fly around there are 4 other mentors on HI

I totaly agree with Seronis! Communicator must be on when u are on HI, is a better way to help newbies and is also a form of respect for the other mentors that are volunteering on the island.

Ciao

There are A LOT of reasons to not make the communicator mandatory.

For a start, I've had some problems with it, it causes me lag and a lot of the time I don't want to have it on.

Also when I'm helping someone 1 to 1 I don't want it sending me messages.

And some people I know disagree with the use of it altogether, and see it as talking behind the new residents backs.

I very rarely use the communicator and my time on help island would decrease dramatically and may even stop going all together if I was forced to wear it.

Zap

Sorry it does NOT cause any form of personal lag to be work. Low prim and low texture and it has no client side pesonal effects. The network of relays are on the island at ALL TIMES regardless if you wear it or not. It is also a remakebly effecient relay using the bare minimum of active resources. The script perfs (visible via Ctrl Shit 1) are not bad on help island either. Your lag point is moot.

Dont want to have it on? If you want to be on help island wear it. You are volunteering to HELP people and that is what the messages are for. IT HAS A MUTE BUTTON to filter out the regular chat if you are personally against that fact but at least when you see

Joe Avatar has requested for help at the Northern Scripting Pier.
Joe Avatar has waited for help at the Northern Scripting Pier: 60 seconds.
Joe Avatar has waited for help at the Northern Scripting Pier: 120 seconds.
etc...

You will be able to possibly politely zoom your camera over to that area and send the new resident an quick IM letting them know you're busy with someone but that help will arrive when you are done.

The communicator is not for your benifit. It is for the benifit of the new residents and the volunteers as a group.

Talking behind someones back? What do you consider normal IMs or group IMs in general?

If you feel you cant wear the communicator on Help Island then by all means serve your time in a welcome area instead. Or at an info hub. Or on one of the Orientation Islands. Those are no-script land and the communicators wouldnt work there regardless. But by not wearing them on Help Island itself you are adding a BURDEN to the environment instead of a benifit.

1.) you can mute it
2.) its the easiest way to talk with each other on help island without using group chat.....and or shouting back and forth
3.) it has 3 small scripts in it...i dont think 3 small scripts would cause much or any lag

I completely agree with Seronis and all of the reasons she gave supporting it. It just makes good sense. Hopefully this policy will go into affect along with the others that have been proposed in another thread.

It's inevitable that among our group there are some who don't like being told what to do. To them I submit this: We're not an anarchist group - we can't be. Honestly, I don't always like being told what to do either, but I won't go so far as to deny the necessity of authority and order.

Be a team player; help the group out, and please wear/use your com.

I am under NO obligation to wear it, and until such time as I am, I'll chose when and when not to wear it. I've been a mentor for a long time, before help island and communicators of any kind have been around, and I'll choose what aproach I take to mentoring.

Yes.. BEFORE help island existed it had no purpose. The only WA in major use was Ahern after all and thats NO-SCRIPT land. Of -course- you would not have used one when they were not available.

With help island, and a more structured set of information available, coupled with the fact the number of new people in a given day has dodecadupled (20x increase) comes a need for more organized behaviour, -while- you are in this new environment.

So please STAY OFF HELP ISLAND and do what you've always done if your wish is to avoid anything new. Help elsewhere. But while on Help Island and with its SPECIFIC NEEDS the communicator should be mandated uniform.

I'm by no means telling you to wear it anywhere else. But new places such as H.I. have new requisites and this one needs to be policy.

And for what its worth 90% of the time im NOT wearing my Mentor title i still wear my communicator. With a 100m range i've had more than one instances where a fellow Mentor was in a sandbox nearby with a quick response. I've had people use it and find me. Its useful elsewhere as a communication method to avoid spamming the whole group. But I'm not supporting its mandation anywhere but on H.I.

The feature is too useful, and an INTEGRAL to how Help Island works.

You have got to be kidding..

You won't tell me to wear it anywhere, let alone off help island. Until there is any Linden input what-so-ever on this matter, I will continue to mentor in the way I see fit. Whether that be with or without the communicator and on or off help island.

OK, two different sides to this one

I don't like being told what to do or how to mentor.

I think it is wrong in so many ways to change the rules and requirements of what a volunteer must or must not do after they have volunteered.

However, I think that we should ask (repeatedly) that all mentors (and to a lesser extent the greeters and live helpers there) on HI wear a communicator.

If they really don't want to, that's fine, but it is an incredibly useful device that causes no client side lag, virtually no server side lag, uses a tiny amount of screen real-estate, has a mute function to cut out the chatter, that can be left permanently muted.

It is a service to the other mentors to help them know who is present and who is not. Especially so, rencently, with the HI population being so drastically increased by the new registation stuff.

So, please, everyone, please wear a communicator when you are on HI, and please, everyone please try to avoid telling people how they may or may not mentor.

Me too i don't like to be told what to do, even if i think that wear a comunicator don't change the way how i mentor.
I think that rules can be changed if the situation change and with the new registration procedure the situation on help island is on the way to change imho.

I still believe that wear the comunicator improve the way i can help new citizens and is a form of respect for the other mentors on help island.

Let's find a way to self-regulate the question

Sorry for the maccaroni english

Ciao ciao

Do you ever go to HI? What time of day would you be there if you were there?

First off, I completely agree with Seronis. The communicator has been an extremely helpful device. WHEN IT GETS PUT ON! I've called for backup a couple of times now in group only to have someone reply "But I'm already here." Hmmm, didn't see you and your comm is off. There are also times we don't need the newcomers knowing what we are talking about.

Secondly, for those who think the mandatory use will change how they mentor, I ask how? No one is asking you to change any techniques, language or location. Seronis is simply asking that while on HI we wear the comm. We are getting alot more newbies and being able to talk to each other is becoming a necessity.

I so agree with Seronis, that since I've joined the mentors group, ( not long, I admit that) I make sure I have it on before I ever TP into HI.

I think the communicator is a very useful tool on Help Island.
First of all, the new residents really do think it's great we get there where they need us. This can only be done without shouting, if we wear the communicator. If we wanted to cover the entire island, there would have to be many more mentors there at all times.

There are other reasons why I like the communicator:
Sometimes you just need some back-up while helping a new resident.
When confronted with many questions at once, you can ask a fellow mentor to come to a certain area, without shouting out or sending a message to group.
There are things we want to discuss with eachother, without 'spamming' the mentor group. I know sometimes this goes beyond professional, but we're only human.
Like many others said, it's helpful to see how many mentors are on the island, for instance when you need to leave.

On the other hand, I'm never really fond of obligatory things. So I do understand the duality. I for one wear the thing almost at all times. Mainly because I forget to take it off when going to the main grid.

hugs to all

With the communicator:
Start Loop

1. touch communicator
   
2. wait for response
   
3. message group for backup if required.
   
4. wait for positive response
   
5. Log out/go to mainland
   

End Loop
Result: maximum results, minimum fuss

Without the communicator:
Start Loop

1. touch communicator
   
2. wait for response
   
   
   IF response list = low | response list = empty:
   Start Loop
   
   1. fly by island
      
   2. IF avatars have none-volunteer tag, check profile
      
   3. respond to calls, check on new residents
      GOTO Start
      
   
   
3. message group for backup if required.
   
4. wait for positive response
   
5. Log out/go to mainland
   

End Loop

Result: Maximum fuss, possible endless loop, sleep missed, meetings missed, stress increased, help lowered, requests for help left open for up to half an hour.

In both instances, expired group chat sessions, off-duty volunteers and volunteers who also work in Live Help can't respond, and this delays the time it takes for Help Island to recieve optimum attendance.

A seperate observation:

There are Volunteers that do things that they are not told to do by Lindens (wearing the communicator), and those that do things they are told not to do by Lindens (hang about on the greeter hub- although greeters being there isn't a problem, since it the greeter hub).

Volunteers that wear the Communicator are often distributed all over the island.
The lack of crowding at the hub means they'll either go exploring because there's nobody at the hub, or they'll go exploring because there's a relatively dense population on the mini map.

Volunteers that do not wear the communicator tend to crowd the greeter hub, littering it with vendors, posing stands and other junk because they haven't the slightest clue of what is going on.


A summary:

Working on Help Island is structured around the Communicator network.
The communicator should be mandatory for working on Help Island, but not necesarily for all Mentors. Note how the communicator itself says "Help Islanders" on the bubble.

A note to those that would refuse to work on Help Island if the Communicator was mandatory:

We've been doing fine without you being on the comm network. It'll be easier to work without you on the Island entirely. Thanks

Agree with the entire post for both you, kai and sandy but this line just made my evening. Exactly my thoughts.

Just my L$0.02

I use the communicator now. Though if I have to leave HI, I have to leave and whether there is anyone to take over from me is irrelevent.

However, the day that it became compulsory, I too would stop going to the island. I've been a mentor long enough without problems and I don't need any newbies telling me what I can and cannot do, or what attachments I must wear... sheesh.

Yes, the communicator's a good idea, but don't you dare try to force it on anyone.

yep me too i have most of my snapz pics with the Help! d'oh

If the attachment bothers you, ask for a copy of so you can put it in something else.

I direct your attention, and those with a similar attitude to the uncensored version of my earlier post:the uncensored version of my earlier post.

When you work on Help Island, you are there to cater to the needs of the new residents, not your own. New Residents come first. You are NOT there to make yourself feel better with some twisted sense of self-rightousness by going "look at me, I'm ushering a new generation of residents".

Good Education Systems put the pupils' needs first.
Good Governments put the citizens' needs first.
Good Trainers put their apprentices' needs first.
Good Pet Owners put their pets' needs first.
Good Lovers put their partners' needs first.
Good Parents put their children's needs first.

Get the picture ?

Good Volunteers put the new residents' needs first.
Apologies for incorrect apostrophe placement, my education system did not put it's pupils' needs first.

Your attitude, Siobhan, is exactly the kind of attitude that leaves a newbies without help, and volunteers without competent backup.



If you're not happy with the way the communicator works, make suggestions for improvements at the volunteer meetings instead of complaining about it.

*ahem*

This thread has gone too far.

I've said this quite a few times before, and it looks like I need to say it again.

Maybe not wearing a communicator hinders other volunteers.
Maybe not wearing a communicator neglects the new residents.

BUT

Wearing one is a choice. It is optional. It is not a requirement.
There is presently no rule, regulation or guideline mandating or requiring anyone to wear or use one.

Furthermore, there is no call to browbeat, bully or harass other volunteers into doing so in the absence of any such requirement.

I think everyone's already made their respective points. What is starting to happen now is not a discussion.

Being rude isn't going to help win any hearts or minds.

Let's all find something positive and useful to talk about, please.

I shall apologise for my means of delivering my opinion, but not my opinion itself.

Bad day, lots of stress, poor choice of vent. Sorry. My diplomacy skills need to be worked on.

I'm not telling people they have to wear it. When i find someone not wearing it I explain its benifits and how its not a privacy or spam concern because of the mute feature and have had a dozen mentors willing to pick a copy up at VHQ after i tell them how it works.

I'm not forcing them by any means because its not policy.

But what i AM doing is requesting that it become policy. It NEEDS to be policy and for all the reasons that everyone has said so far. So in-world i will continue to politely ask. Here we are wanting more done and to help encourage policy to be made all sides need their full unfiltered views expressed.

I dont take insult to someone having a different point of view, no matter how wrong that point of view is *wink*

This is just my personal perspective: I wasn't in an official Linden volunteer group until later in my Second Life. Part of this was because of my personal trepidation that I'd cause more harm than hurt with my "unique style" (to say the least). I soon found that my lack of self-esteem in this particular area was really holding me back, and then I burst forward, appreciating how many varieties of volunteer helpers there are. Kinda like those kung fu movie where you have a team of complimentary heroes, or Lord of the Rings, where you have this "Fellowship of the Ring" but each character had a special space.

We can't enforce Residents to wear any devices, even uber-helpful ones, because that's not part of our philosophy, and runs contrary to the very word "volunteer": some may consider it akin to "house arrest" (like being made to wear an ankle bracelet). I say that on a semi-humorous note, recognizing all the good that's come out of using the communicator.

However, as I've seen from similar Resident-created tools in the past--and massive creation for the making of this one--they are designed to address a void in the system, aka "Something Linden Lab might be able to provide as a standard tool, but hasn't... yet."

Internally, we have a lot of improvements to the Instant Messaging system planned. It may be awhile until they get here, but some, like timestamps, have already arrived.

Back to the mainline, perhaps another way to think of it is like this: for Live Helpers, you don't get Live Help IM sessions until your LH group tag is active. I believe it's worth discussing the parallels of how this might apply to being a Mentor. As in, you make your Mentor tag active, and what Linden system tools get automatically turned on? (And automatic's nice for those who'd otherwise forget. )

Hmm.. forcing a 'volunteer' is the issue then?

Well thats the thing. If it is a posted policy then we're not forcing anyone to wear the communicator even AFTER it becomes policy. But when people VOLUNTEER to be on help island specifically we are just declaring they are also VOLUNTEERING of their own free will to be subject to wearing the communicator.

No part of the policy im suggesting forces anyone to do anyone. We dont force people to be Mentors, Live Helpers or Greeters. They volunteer.

We also dont force any of those people who have CHOOSEN to be a helper to go to Help Island specifically. They volunteer.

What we need to do is make it policy that volunteering to go to Help Island ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL means you are also agreeing to wear the communicator, as not wearing it leaves new residents clicking on a "Summon Volunteer" kiosk thinking they have been neglected which is not the case. The only case is that people who are pretending to volunteer to help are volunteering to ignore calls for help.

Nothing im requesting forces anyone to do anything. It just makes it known that one very specific decision, that we have a PRIVLEDGE of making, comes with one responsibility as a consequence. That is all.