Rezzday Bash Friday August 8th

Its almost time for my 4th rezziversary/rezz day. I have been very fortunate and my dear friends Pituca and Garth Fairchang have lent me the use of Fairchang Expo. I am most humbled by this kind gift. Fairchang Expo is a lovely sim. Thank you so much Pituca and Garth!!!

Please join me on Friday August 8th (time yet to be determined) at http://slurl.com/secondlife/FairChang%20Expo/96/75/24

Bring your friends, your partners and anyone who wants to meet someone who has been on SL for 4 years.

It should be a great time.

I cannot believe it has been 4 years!

I know everyone says that.

For any info about the party IM Rails Bailey or myself.

Thanks for making my SL great.

The Bad Tempered Former Mentor

We all have met someone like this. A former Mentor who has issues with the Vteam. Has issues with the Mentor Program. Has issues with Second Life. Cannot ever be pleased, appeased or learn when to just find something that makes them happy and move on.
In my Mentor career I have met loads of this kind of person. My advise to you is to be kind but be firm! If you are negative with them, they win. They want to turn you off on Mentoring. The "misery loves company"!

The bad tempered former Mentor is also a real hit with the rest of the SL community. Bringing joylessness, discord and divisiveness wherever they go. To other LL employees, office hours, SL5B, Welcome Areas and any place they can go to spout their junk.

They are going to have to Google their own name and read the blogs about the crap they perpetuated. They are going to have to fight with everyone they know just to be right. They are going to have to hang out on the Vteam blog and reconstruct a group and the groups activities they no longer are involved with. They cannot move on. Feel bad for them? I know I do.

Again my advise to you is not to sink to their level. Do not get into it with them. It is a "hi" and "bye" situation.

The bad tempered former Mentor is not going to change. Nothing you can say can get them focused enough to realize that what they are saying sucks and is not being said for you but for them to try and justify why they are no longer a Mentor. I am glad people like this are not Mentors anymore. We don't need them, we don't want them and we can only hope they find something in Second Life they enjoy.

Remember your Tao of Volunteers, wish them well and then hold up standards. Ones they cannot even begin to understand.

Happy Mentoring! (or not)

Re: Updated Mentor Roles Update

From Vteam blog:

Mentor Group Roles
Second Life Mentors group has thousands of members and numerous roles to help Mentors participate in specialized areas of help. The Second Life Apprentice group offers roles for Mentors as well. These roles have their own wiki pages that offer in depth information and a sign up link. Mentors are added to roles about once a week so please allow that length of time to be added.
Please note: Roles are available to you once are accepted into the official Second Life Mentors group. Apprentice Mentors are not eligible yet.
Mentor Coach
This Coach role within the Mentors group is for Mentors to help other Mentors learn skills. Classes vary and are basic to advanced sessions. Please look over the classes offered and attend one if you want! The information about being a Mentor Coach as well as the Classes Offered page can be found on Mentors Teaching Mentors and Volunteer Sponsored Classes wiki pages.
Mentor Buddies
This role is for experienced Mentors to help guide newer Mentors with advice, tips and general issues related to volunteering.If you would like to find a buddy: Look in the Buddy Shop area of SLVEC. Look for an online Mentor Buddy and send them an IM. If they are available to be your Mentor Buddy..you are all set! If you are interested in this role please read here: SL Volunteer Mentor Buddies
Mentor Linguists
As Second Life grows, its resident pool becomes more diverse. To accommodate changes such as the expansion of languages used, Second Life Mentors has a specific role set up called Linguists. Linguists offer language specific assistance on the Help Islands, OI’s, in IM. Some Linguists also translate public wiki pages into their native language. Translation Project . If you are bilingual and are interested in the Linguist role in Second Life Mentors please read here: SL Volunteer Mentor Linguists
Mentor Scribes
Mentor Scribes are well-versed, seasoned volunteers within the group who are willing to be contacted directly by other volunteers for assistance in writing, wiki development, and wiki collaboration. This is entirely an opt-in role and may bear extra responsibility, but for many of you who are already wiki smart, this role will grant you acknowledgment for your contributions.
If you would like to be in the Mentor Scribe role please read more here: SL Volunteer Mentor Scribes
Mentor Greeters
Mentor Greeters are WA, OI and HI specialists. They are the welcomers, nurturers and helpers. Though they specialize in those four places, it’s only because there are more new residents to be found there, but this is also the role for those mentors who welcome people from their back yards. Greeters may also participate in A/B testing conducted by various Lindens when the need arises. Read more about this role here: SL Mentor Greeters
Second Life Mentor Apprentice Group Roles
Experienced Second Life Mentors may want to take on an optional role in the Apprentice group. This group is dedicated to helping eligible residents get ready to be approved Second Life Mentors through classes and Buddy shadowing.
Apprentice Buddies
Apprentice Mentors are required to receive a voucher from an Apprentice Buddy in order to be placed into the Second Life Mentors group. The role of Apprentice Buddy in the Mentor Apprentices group is made up of volunteers from the official Mentor group. These Buddies are able to offer ’shadowing experiences’ to Apprentices to provide a layer of experience prior to entering the official Mentor group. Once the shadowing experience is completed, the Apprentice Buddy sends a voucher to VTeam reflecting the Apprentice’s completion of the shadowing experience. The Apprentice Buddy role is an entirely opt-in role offered to Buddies within the official Mentor group.
Please note: This role is only available to official Mentors who are already in the Buddy role. Read more here: Buddy Shadowing
OCoaches
Apprentice Mentors are required to attend one orientation session in order to be placed into the Second Life Mentors group. The role of OCoach in the Mentor Apprentices group is made up of volunteers from the official Mentor group. These OCoaches are able to offer a one hour session that will give a wealth of information, guidance, and links to volunteer resources. OCoaches may also do these sessions in languages other than English. Please read here: OCoach Information

Outstanding Mentors of the Quarter

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the Outstanding Mentors for the second quarter of 2008.

Arian Writer
Jezzie McCellan
Scotts Winkler
Simon Kline
Till Pierce
Valorster Beaumont

and me

You can help recognize your fellow Mentors. Every quarter you have the ability to nominate an Outstanding Mentor. Keep an eye on notices and the Vteam blog for when nominating begins.

Thanks for all your hard work!

Mental Mentors

As we go into Summer 2008 Mental Mentors is at over 850 members strong. I look forward to having by Winter time over 1,000 Mental Mentors. We are a resource and a place to go to kick back and be a Mentor with other Mentors. If you need advise, help, some people to hear you out, we are there for that.

With 100 new Mentors being added per week, we should be well on our way to recruit in some more interesting people into our group.

If you know of a new Mentor who you feel likes spam, chat and the company of other Mentors, holler out to them to ask for an invitation. Any MM officer can invite or Rails and I are always available for invite requests or questions.

Update New Coach and Buddy Role Requirements

After meeting with George Linden this week we were informed that there will be new requirements for all Mentor Coaches and Buddies in order to retain the role.

For Coach role please read this updated Wiki entry http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Second_Life_Mentor_Coaches

For Buddy role the following was discussed; Mentor Buddies may have to do a Buddy Speech to retain title and Apprentice Buddies will have to do a Shadowing experience to retain role.

This will most likely be a topic at next week's Monthly Mentor meeting
Friday, July 25- 10AM SL Time, SLVI Center Stage
5PM SL Time, SLVI Center Stage

If this topic is important to you might be worth dropping in and giving Vteam some feedback.

Review-Abuse Reporting/Calling for a Linden

Recently the Mentor channel has been full of Abuse Report chat and calling for a Linden.
Since we have new folks again joining our ranks, I decided to go back over these subjects.

Abuse reporting is a ticketed system. There are more elements then the actual violation that has occurred. The area the violation is reported from is an element. Filing an AR as soon as you decided TOS/CS has been broken is the quickest way to have the issue(s) addressed. The Gteam Lindens work the ticketed system from "filed" tickets. If you see a violation of the Terms of Service or Community Standards, REPORT IT!

When you go to Orientation we tell you not to "call for a Linden" in the group channel/chat.

The reason we tell you this is because Lindens do not monitor the chat and cannot use it to respond as (read the above paragraph) they work off a ticketed response/support system for matters of Abuse and Support.

This allows Linden employees to keep track of what they are responding to. Which allows tracking of report issues of abuse and support.

Report ARs if you see them. Do not call for a Linden in the group channel.

If you have any questions please find a Mentor Buddy (including myself) and we would be glad to further clarify the quickest ways to get the assistance you need.

Happy Mentoring.

Mentor Past or How I Started Mentoring in a Virtual World

My first virtual world was not Second Life. It was There. I arrived all newbied and ready to go.I wandered around There looking at the sites and meeting up with people. I went to parties and danced like a robot. One day I had questions and I met Alliez. That was over 4 years ago.

One day in Second Life I saw someone in group chat answer a question. This person was also named Alliez. Coincidence? I IMed her and sure enough it was Alliez from There. Alliez Mysterio was my Mentor from There. She ran a group called Newbie Haven. I became a Newbie Haven helper and Alliez recruited me. I spent the majority of my time wandering around the newbie areas helping people out in There. Alliez left There and moved on to SL and shortly there after so did I and some of my friends. The rest is SL history.

Whenever I see Alliez it takes me back to my Mentor past. At closing speeches for SL5B I saw her standing near the podium. I IMed and said hi. It was great to chat with her and catch up on her Second Life.

Thanks for being my Mentor Alliez!

Go out and be inspirational!!

Mentor Future Mentor Past

Ever summer my rezzday approaches. Every year when it draws near I take some time and evaluate where I have been in Second Life and where I am going.

Each year I am a Mentor the Volunteer roles take on new meaning and added dimensions. Often people ask me, "Doc is the Mentor program still worth your time?" I always say "YES!" If you walked a mile in my avatar's shoes you would have seen something evolve that continues to bring me back again and again.

Our roles in the Mentor program have never been more exciting and collaborated.
In the future we can expect for the Mentor program to be expanded to include new roles and new goals.

When I talk to our Vteam about the possibilities for our involvement in the future of Second Life, we often wax nostalgic. Remember when... The goals of the past set the stage for the goals of the future. Our collective experiences in Second Life inspire us to want to go out in the community and spread our good will and knowledge to those who will benefit from it.

So as my rezzday approaches I am glad to be here with all of you. Let's show our enthusiasm out there in the community. We are truly examples of the great experience that can be had in the Second Life Community. We should be proud of our work and our Second Lives.

Happy 4th!

Big Bear Alert!

Mia Linden has made a HUGE SL5B Bear. If there were not a reason to go to SL5B already there is now. You can buy this huge bear for 0L at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Second%20Life%20Birthday/9/65/23
We protested the huge bear and got a little crazy on Sunday.
When you get your bear IM Mia and tell her what a great job she did.
Tell her she is beary good!