Newbies getting lost!

Imagine this scenario. You are a newbie, less than an hour old. You just got onto Help Island and you are trying out a tutorial or you are talking to someone. You eventually notice that you can't move or talk and eventually you are logged out. So you log back in and find yourself in some other place with no one else around you. You have no idea what to do or who to talk to. If you do (somehow) figure out how to call Live Help, you are told that you can't go back.

This is what is happening to newbies when their Help Island sim crashes and they log back on too soon. There is evidently a policy not to return new residents to Help Island, even if they ask. (I wonder if this happens if they are on OI, too?) I would like to recommend the following:

a) If they are on an OI when it crashes and that OI isn't available when they return, move them to another OI. If no OIs are available, tell them they can't log in.

b) If they are on an HI when it crashes and that HI isn't available when they return, move them to another HI. If no HIs are available, tell them they can't log in.

c) Until a and b can be implemented programmatically, return to the policy of returning residents to OI/HI if they ask for it.

Well, there are a few things you can tell them.

1. The tutorials are also available next to the Linden Complex in Waterhead sim.

2. Most of what they need is also available at the Ivory Tower in Natoma.

3. If they're really that green, contact a Linden. Some of them (I think maybe Jeska) can teleport them back to a HI.

If all else fails, get out to them and help them... after all, we are Mentors, Helpers and Instructors, right?

It might depend on the Linden they ask. I had this happen to someone I was mentoring yesterday. I logged for RL fun and games, came back and the mentee was on the mainland and not happy.

Said mentee IMed Live Help, and about 10s later was rather abruptly back at HI.

I have been told by a couple of Lindens that they are not supposed to return *anyone* to Help Island anymore.

It might also help to explain to them that HI is a somewhat recent invention and in the old days we all somehow survived without it despite having to walk to school in 5 feet of snow uphill both ways.

Jeska stated in the recent monthly mentors meeting that nobody's getting sent back to HI regardless of circumstances. Should be in the posted meeting log.

That said, each HI keels over at least a couple times each day.

This is sad and a disservice to those who got booted out of HI because of a server-down.

Perhaps they should create a log of those who get booted out by the server involuntarily so that they can judge who really should be returned to HI and who shouldn't.

I'm sure a small bit of software can be made to detect a redirected login. I mean we get a message that the sim we're trying to log into is inaccessible and we'll be logged in to another sim.

Another approach is simply to block all redirects originating at HI, so someone who is in HI tries to login while HI is down will just get a failed login. Something like this can be added to the client.

LL, be nice to the newbies. I never got to see HI as a new resident, I didn't notice it was there. I made an alt just so I could find out what it was like and it was a really great place I'd loved to have stayed in for a while as a newbie. I don't want people to be deprived of that and get kicked out only because they logged in at the wrong time.

I realise it's an attempt to automate these things, but I think not letting them back under any circumstances is a mistake.

The person that I know that got back to HI was a genuine case, was there for another 24 hours or so and then left HI and is at loose in the big, bad world. When booted she was rather nervous about it all. After an extra 24h she's up and running happily.

It can make that much difference to a new resident. I'd suggest, therefore, we ought to investigate a way of getting this service continued.

Equally I can see that as newbie numbers rise, and the various HI crashes also increase (I got caught three times in 3 hours on Friday, my personal worst ever) we're putting more and more pressure on the Lindens. Kelly will hate me, but since we know llGodLikeRez exists... how about an llGodLikeTeleportAgent? A box which belongs to a Linden, detects touches from a member of the mentor group and will tp the named person to the box. Put one on each HI. The distressed and displaced newbie looks for a mentor they know, who goes and touches the box and calls them back to the relevant HI. It's not appreciably more gameable than asking a Linden for a tp back, it could easily keep a record so people that tp back their mates, griefers etc. can be told off and ultimately kicked from the group if appropriate.

How about it Jeska and Kelly?

Well, it is certainly a bad idea to let them loose without them choosing and them not knowing what to do. If the server crashed or something, you could at least send all people trying to access help island or Orientation Island to wherever they would normally go and make the program give them a notecard telling them what's just happened and explaining what they can do next (go to Ivory Towers, a few welcome places to try, some helping things, sandboxes, etc.)

Basically an in-depth "tutorial" on where to go and what they can do there, also telling them where live help is, etc.

The other solution is that, since a newbie who ends up on the mainland because HI crashed will still have his/her home location set to HI, they just need to teleport home to return there - or so I was told once by a Linden source (don't remember which Linden)

But that may result in being able to access HI forever and out, which isn't what the way the Lindens currently want it. I agree with people not returning to HI willy-nilly, it's full of people as it is and laggy isn't the word for it sometimes.

But really, what does HI offer?

Tutorials -> Ivory Tower has much better tutorials which cover more aspects of the game
Sandbox -> There are MANY sandboxes throughout the game, most bigger than the HI sandbox
Mentors -> There are mentors available everywhere (and I've found generally not available in HI), also a lot of people working in a sandbox will be willing to help you out with things if you get lost, even if it's giving you their LM to Ivory Tower
Treehouse -> I don't see what the obsession is with that treehouse...

So, basically, the real world offers more help than what HI does, as long as you tell the newbies what they can do, where they can go.

I've heard many older residents say that this is a new thing for people like me who have joined recently. If they survived without HI I'm sure the newbies of now can with the services, tutorials and destinations offered on mainland. I would've survived without it, I basically just asked a couple of minute questions then was on my way.

True, but once they teleport off HI again, their home will be set to wherever they land.

Well I personally don't see the point of HI-We should have Orientation Island and Welcome Areas-Mentors in those welcome areas and people being able to go back to them.

I actually didn't know what in the world to do off HI, I was teleported to my "home" which happened to be outside a wooden cabin in the middle of a war... Not Good.

Whilst your experience of HI was brief and not helpful, there are a number of others who find it very useful.

Simply saying "I didn't need it" doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile activity - just as I didn't need the people who taught business studies at my school, I simply didn't take any of the subjects they taught at any point in my academic career. For other people the business studies route was essential on the route to their current jobs, similarly for a number of people Help Island is an essential and valuable resource where they learn enough to go out with more confidence into the big bad world.

In saying that, have you entered Help Island recently? A family member's account and a friend's account are still in HI and Almost Everytime they go to HI, there are NO Mentors Available, and the other times there's only one and they're busy...

Don't need more Mentors? SL Certainly needs some from our timezone because there are barely any. HI is fairly (not completely, but fairly) useless without Mentors...

That's the main problem. I was lucky when I went through HI because it was 2-5am and there were actually Mentors there and available.

So yes, Help Island could help some people and not others, but what's the point of it if it's only half-staffed?

Actually the issue is more one of organisation than of quantity.

We have around 1600+ volunteers, but sometimes no one is available for being on the Help Islands or Welcome Areas (not to mention infohubs and sandboxes).

Having 3000 or 5000 volunteers would not make a huge difference, since there is such a thing as natural attrition: most people start volunteering for a bit, make that their preferred choice for a few months, but then find other things to do as well, and volunteering duty becomes secondary.

I'm the #1 "guilty as charged". From perhaps an average of one hour per day "on duty", I've dropped to perhaps one or two hours per week, and more often only responding to emergencies (ie. an influx of non-native English speakers, for instance, or a big flooding of new users after a TV show on SL is broadcast on a country) or to fill in time between meetings What does this mean? Although I'm listed as "one of the 1600", my effective time spent volunteering is quite low. Should I leave all the volunteer groups then?

The problem with the current model is that only a small group of people 100% dedicated to volunteering remain from the 1600. These are currently the people that are always on duty during all their in-world time. In a sense, they're the "professional volunteers" — the ones that (almost) don't do anything else in SL but volunteering. These are the ones that keep the whole system "alive" because you can rely upon them to be "always available". They're hardly enough of them. But you can't "force" people to be "full-time" volunteers — you can expect that, or hope for that.

Probably the issue is that we need a different model so that you can get the 1600+ to participate more, but in a different way. There have been some ideas floated around recently, but the current model is "traditional" (ie. being around for 3+ years) and it's not easy to make changes...

Hi Jayson as far as under staffing at the 3 HIs you have to remeber that we all volunteer for the job and i can only speak for myself, but there are some weeks i can dedicated X number of hours to mentoring and helping out and other weeks mayb i have more time or even less, RL can be a pain especially this work u have to do in RL

Im sorry to hear there have been times when they have been on thier own but a call to live help will result in a call going out on the mentor group IM and if people are free they do respond

Also when i joined SL HI didnt exist so it was straight to welcome areas and sink, swim or xplore, i realsie thats not best for all but sometimes here u just have to have a go and hope for the best and ive not broken nething yet

Peace

I think its up to us to do the best we can as volunteers, using our common sense to best help the person at hand as every situation will be different.

Its unfortunate that these things happen, but I believe our job is not to complain or criticize but to continually assess the current set of policies and procedures and adjust what we do, say and how we help accordingly.

I dont know why would a newbie can't figured it out places in SL. When I came in SL in 2004, there was no help island, just the arrival place, you walked a bit and you learned how to moved. I remembered reading, thru signs. There was no mentors or greeters. I did it alone. Went to Mainland, met the friend that brought me to the game.

Was a great experience.

There are plenty of places now for newbies. SL is not as complicated in my opinion. On the bottom of the screen says "search", "Map" and other easy things to figure it out.

Well, I am not that smart to figure out games online, but for sure I can figure it out where a map is and the search bottom. This is not a fighting game like world of war craft or something like that. This is a community game, you talk to others, ect.. ask ask ask..

Althought newbies always find "guns" quick and learn how to shoot people. That they know how to figure it out quick....

Like someone else said, this is just volunteer work.

Just a humble opinion.

These days, there's such a huge influx of new players, I think the point of catching them on Help Island is an attempt to control the amount/type of Live Help questions...how many times have I been asked "how do I get money?", "what's the point of this game?", "where do I go now?" These basic questions might be addressed in informational kiosks somewhere but since this is an interactive game, being able to interact immediately with another person on Help Island helps integrate new players faster.

Just have them create a disposable freebie alt. Then the new alt will go to the help island.

Back then in 2004, funny thing, I never asked anyone, "How do I make money in this game"

I just saw the game was fun, went to great events that give 50L raffles and free stuff. I went to competitions. In those days we all went dancing for real fun, (not camping chairs) and get lucky with fun money gifts and then I realized that this game I could build and be creative and sell what I create.

Gosh, I dont understand, why is so difficult to figure it out.

"What do I do in this game" question OMG.. sorry, but that is a dumb question. I just tell the newbie to look around, check events, learn to build, sell, make money, meet friends, have fun. and Take care, good luck lol

IMing if you need me. Well, not that much like that, I spend a good time with them. But I just tell them the basic. I dont see the point of spending 6 hours answering questions that are very basic to see. I have helped avies, worked on their appearance to look awsome, even helped them to find great homes, give them tons of stuff from my inventory and they never remember you ever later in time.

My time is valuable. I love to mentor people but sometimes people want you to guide them forever in SL.

Many of us offer great services to the community. They were not abundant in 2004 and here we are still with great businesses, ect.

Well, I guess I have to understand that for many people is not that easy to understand the idea

I spend some time on HI most weeks. Particularly since I'm in Europe and speak passable French and we've had a load of French newbies coming through recently, but I spend time most weeks (in the hours range, rarely as many as 24 over a week, rarely fewer than 10). I also spend a fair amount of time mentoring scripting for my sins.

The mix of questions is amazing - yes, there are loads of "how do I make money" etc. questions, that get dull. There are also interesting and good questions and good mentoring experiences too.

Again it's about thinking of it from their point of view. If you want my newby experience, I spent a while on OI, mostly playing with appearance, went the WA since that was the only choice. It was empty, so I wandered off and explored. But... that doesn't matter. Most mentors have good stories as well as bad ones. I'd be surprised if there are any of us that have stuck at it that don't have several good stories about friendships, about people we've helped that are still here, about people we've helped who were so impressed that they're now volunteering as a mentor and so on. For the people that need and use it being mentored seems to make a huge difference.

For the ones that don't need it - good luck to them it's a choice not compulsory (if it were compulsory LL can start paying me at my teaching rates AND give me the power to exclude troublemakers just like I have IRL), but just because you didn't need it, and found it negative, not everyone does. Do you really want to take the option away from them? Do you want them suddenly disgruntled and bitching all over the grid?

Is Help Island necessary? No. Most of us got along without it. Is it helpful? For alot of people, it is. However, if someone is on Help Island, new, expecting to continue the conversation with the people he was talking with, and suddenly finds himself in Korea where there is absolutely no one around, what is he to do? No one told him "find the Ivory Tower" or "this is how you get to Live Help". No one told him "wait 4 minutes before trying to come back".

I recommend a temporary fix of not allowing them to log in if their home was HI or OI, preferably with an explanation. There will be less confusion int he long run.

By the way, what is the protocol if the OI crashes? Do they end up on the mainland, too?

That's what usually happens, yes.