Is this new round of mentors a good idea?

[Ardy Lay]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Instead of reading all the pages to try and find what I read about it, I ask:

It is no help group for the Official SL Viewer? As it is for Firestorm.

This is puzzling. A 3party viewer is offering more help... no wonder it is popular. So could there not be a SL Help Group where people can join and ask for help? The Mentors who is logged in can reply and help if they are in the mood. Or not.

Mentors who have  not been standing around in welcome areas that week, could use the 2 hours on active group work, obliged to help those hours? Signing in to the group as administrators?

Other people can also reply and help, but mentors can keep an eye on group chat in case someone say something 100% wrong?

I don't know how Firestorm support group works, I am just wondering if a group for SL help could be an idea.

Oh, there was a Resident-run, in-world help channel for users of Second Life Viewer.  It was abandoned because of continuous "raids" and harassment by third-party viewer evangelists.  Been there.  Done that.  BURNED ALL THE BRIDGES.  I am not likely to attempt to help the general public again.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

Instead of reading all the pages to try and find what I read about it, I ask:

It is no help group for the Official SL Viewer? As it is for Firestorm.

This is puzzling. A 3party viewer is offering more help... no wonder it is popular. So could there not be a SL Help Group where people can join and ask for help? The Mentors who is logged in can reply and help if they are in the mood. Or not.

Mentors who have  not been standing around in welcome areas that week, could use the 2 hours on active group work, obliged to help those hours? Signing in to the group as administrators?

Other people can also reply and help, but mentors can keep an eye on group chat in case someone say something 100% wrong?

I don't know how Firestorm support group works, I am just wondering if a group for SL help could be an idea.

Is there not even a Public group for help on the official viewer? That's sad!

2 minutes ago, Ardy Lay said:

Oh, there was a Resident-run, in-world help channel for users of Second Life Viewer.  It was abandoned because of continuous "raids" and harassment by third-party viewer evangelists.  Been there.  Done that.  BURNED ALL THE BRIDGES.  I am not likely to attempt to help the general public again.

Was a "channel" like a Group?

Edited June 13, 2023 by Love Zhaoying

[Ardy Lay]

29 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Is there not even a Public group for help on the official viewer? That's sad!

Was a "channel" like a Group?

I tried several methods.  a Second Life Group;  an IRC channel;  ad-hoc conferences;  private messages;  local chat at a few locations

The only method that was defensible was local chat on my own land.

All this convinced me to not trust anyone and eliminated my desire to assist people with anything.  I am only here in the Second Life Forum because I still attract assholes and here, they are exposed for many to see.

Hey ya'll!  Watch this!  I refuse to use or promote Third Party Viewers and YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!

What usually happens when I declare that I will not use Third Party Viewers is I get harassed and accused of slander and accused of telling others not to use Third Party Viewers.

I don't drink colas either.

If you call a sports team "we" when they are winning and "they" when they are losing, then you are not supporting that team.

I hope this mentoring project works well, but I cannot be involved.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Ardy Lay

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Ardy Lay said:

I am only here in the Second Life Forum because I still attract assholes and here, they are exposed for many to see.

Hey ya'll!  Watch this!  I refuse to use or promote Third Party Viewers and YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!

What usually happens when I declare that I will not use Third Party Viewers is I get harassed and accused of slander and accused of telling others not to use Third Party Viewers.

I feel ya, I've only used TPV's for 2 reasons in memory (the last 10 years or so):

1) To suppress Spam in Group chats.

2) To derender other people's stuff.

At least I can't recall other reasons, but 16 years is a long time.

[Ardy Lay]

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I feel ya, I've only used TPV's for 2 reasons in memory (the last 10 years or so):

1) To suppress Spam in Group chats.

2) To derender other people's stuff.

At least I can't recall other reasons, but 16 years is a long time.

I don't doubt there are features in Third Party Viewers that are useful.  I just choose to stay on Second Life Viewer.  I have too much to lose if something weird happens.  I don't expect something weird to happen, but I have learned the hard way that expectations are not preventative.  Sometimes I will use a different account and computer to log in to Second Life on Cool VL Viewer just to use the "legacy" search function.  My cautious nature doesn't indicate that I distrust Henry.  It indicates that I distrust everybody.  This is learned behavior.

I hope the mentoring goes well and that any and all interference, if any, is not merely suppressed but destroyed.   Again, my attitude is caused by my experiences.  GOOD LUCK!  Sincerely.

 

[Quartz Mole]

If people want to debate the merits of one viewer over another, they are welcome so to do somewhere else.

However, Viewer Wars are very much off-topic for this thread.   

Edited June 13, 2023 by Quartz Mole

[Phil Deakins]

I didn't see a viewers war in this thread. I saw people discussing a possible 'viewer' problem when mentoring which, presumably, has an impact as to whether or not the new mentoring system is a good idea. I.e. on-topic.

[Love Zhaoying]

29 minutes ago, Quartz Mole said:

If people want to debate the merits of one viewer over another, they are welcome so to do somewhere else.

However, Viewer Wars are very much off-topic for this thread.   

Thanks, Quartz!  The originating context of that side discussion is:  If Mentors are expected to learn and help support new users' initial experiences with the Official Viewer.  If I understand correctly, that part is probably on-topic.

 

[Rowan Amore]

The Viewer requirement is an issue because it's the reason why I won't be signing up.   I do understand their position, though.  

As others have mentioned, we can still help out in whatever capacity we choose without it being 'official'.  It's worked fine for me for years.

[Blaise Glendevon]

So, I grazed over the thread after the merits of one viewer over another started, but I'm going to apply. I agree this should be a paid position, for sure. But it never hurts to nurture community, especially if you want to keep your 20 year old virtual world populated. 

I'm curious as to what the on-boarding and training might be like, and I can always use a new reason to log in aside from shopping. I wonder which one of my alts I should kit out. 

[Blaise Glendevon]

I do have to say, that OUR LIFE is suspiciously like

 

 

Tag yourself. I'm Ethan's stage makeup facial hair.

[Quartz Mole]

1 hour ago, Phil Deakins said:

I didn't see a viewers war in this thread. I saw people discussing a possible 'viewer' problem when mentoring which, presumably, has an impact as to whether or not the new mentoring system is a good idea. I.e. on-topic.

You probably didn't see a post that I removed.

[Luna Bliss]

I hope it works out better this time -- I'm optimistic.

I doubt I'll apply, but I will continue to help customers who are excited about nature whenever I can.

[PheebyKatz]

On 6/9/2023 at 1:08 PM, Love Zhaoying said:

It was an HP specialized computer, my Dad had me input programs into it when I was in maybe 4th grade at his job at McDonnell-Douglas. 

It had a tape drive to save programs, 1-button BASIC keywords, an LED display, and a plotter.  I remember two programs that he and my older brother wrote for it:  A Tic-Tac-Toe program (for the Plotter), and Multiplication "teacher".  I think that I learned some of my higher multiplication tables using that program!

The next computer (at the same office) that Data had me try with him as a "DataPoint". It had a CRT and keyboard!  I remember trying to write a "Hangman" program.

These weren't Dad's computers at the office - just computers he had access to.  Way more advanced than any kids my age could have had, unless their parents were rich, or had ALTAIRs or something.  Or possibly PETs. *Correction* These were both much more advanced than ALTAIRSs, not sure about PETs.

I used to volunteer to punch all the little holes in the punch cards for the ladies at the library. I could also find all the books 'cos I knew how to use the card catalog. They loved me.

As for mentors being a thing, I don't know how that would turn out one way or the other, because as it is, there are hordes of Dunning-Kruger types at helper spots, already. The most unfortunate aspect of mentoring is that new users wouldn't know the difference between an actual knowledgeable user and a bag of hot air in the first place, and some of the "official" helpers at various sims are, in fact, very limited in their general knowledge, and at the same time very protective of their divine right of "you can't help here, I'm supposed to be the helper" over others who might try to help anyone.

If anyone wanted people to keep personal hubris out of it, they'd have to be very selective about who was made anything official, and they'd want to keep tabs on how said persons were holding it together over time, and whether being a teacher made them think they were a big shot or not.

Really I think it just comes down to what people's motives are for wanting to teach others.

Edited June 13, 2023 by PheebyKatz

[Chic Aeon]

4 minutes ago, PheebyKatz said:

The most unfortunate aspect of mentoring is that new users wouldn't know the difference between an actual knowledgeable user and a bag of hot air in the first place, and some of the "official" helpers at various sims are,

Official mentors will have tags and will wear them during there shift and ONLY during their shift. They will also have classes and have to "pass" like in school. This is all on the signup sheet.  

[PheebyKatz]

1 minute ago, Chic Aeon said:

Official mentors will have tags and will wear them during there shift and ONLY during their shift. They will also have classes and have to "pass" like in school. This is all on the signup sheet.  

Then I am all for it.

[Love Zhaoying]

13 minutes ago, PheebyKatz said:

new users wouldn't know the difference between an actual knowledgeable user and a bag of hot air in the first place

I am reminded of "Ugly, giant bags of mostly water"!

Bonus: "Life Force, do you understand us?"

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Love Zhaoying

[Nika Talaj]

.  

Edited June 14, 2023 by Nika Talaj

[AlphaStud]

I applied. 

As someone else teased, I need a distraction from shopping, but in all seriousness I think it's a great idea to allow others a chance in their spare time to contribute to our virtual world and help others feel more comfortable in learning what it's about, how to get started, etc. The possibilities are endless here on Second Life--there's so much you can do and it's extremely overwhelming. I did a lot of research on my own to get accustom to the controls and customizing my avatar (but I also have a technical background), but there were times I got really frustrated with scenarios that were very unique and if it weren't for a few key people I met that gave advice at the time, I might not still be around.

I'm curious, though, how many volunteers they're looking to select, and what the criteria for the screening process is. Also, when might those inquiring receive a response? If there are classes, I'm assuming most people have a valid chance of getting to try it out as long as they attend, do a good job, and follow the guidelines, but I don't know.

I do agree that a community "Group Chat" with mentors would be a nice addition. In my opinion, that would be perfect and easy to maintain, plus it would allow more freedom for everyone to assist whenever they want/can as they're doing other things in-world.

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

"Hello, I'm AlphaStud and i will be your mentor today"

 

[Love Zhaoying]

2 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said:

"Hello, I'm AlphaStud and i will be your mentor today"

 

I was wondering, will new human avatar users be comfortable with Furry mentors? Will Furry mentors be comfortable with Gorean users? Will Gorean users be comfortable with Dinky mentors? Will Dinky mentors be comfortable with Vampire users?

[Rowan Amore]

10 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said:

"Hello, I'm AlphaStud and i will be your mentor today"

 

Signing up as a " new" user right now!  😁

[Phil Deakins]

4 hours ago, Quartz Mole said:

You probably didn't see a post that I removed.

If it sang the merits of one viewer over others, or trashed a particular viewer, I didn't see it, so fair enough.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Phil Deakins

[Blaise Glendevon]

51 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I was wondering, will new human avatar users be comfortable with Furry mentors? Will Furry mentors be comfortable with Gorean users? Will Gorean users be comfortable with Dinky mentors? Will Dinky mentors be comfortable with Vampire users?

This is actually a good question. If someone's looking to put together a good Furry avatar, probably they'd be best served by having someone from that community at least available to answer questions. Or a few roleplayers to attend to the questions of people who googled for [Niche Fandom Here] RP and got a site for a Second Life group.

Heck. I should have put that in my application.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Blaise Glendevon

[Jaylinbridges]

44 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Signing up as a " new" user right now!  😁

To prevent "older" residents from signing up as new users, I feel that all SL Mentors should wear the same standard SL default avatar, and one that does not always stir the hormones: