Linden Lab Bringing Back Second Life Mentors

 

 Longtime residents of Second Life may remember when Linden Lab had an official Mentor group in it's early days. But in November 2009, the Lab announced it was retiring the program, saying, "While the official Mentor Volunteer Program has been an extremely valuable endeavor, its sheer size has made it increasingly difficult to support, and we need to reallocate our resources at the Lab for other Resident-focused programs." The move has long been criticized as another example of the Lab's shortsightedness, at least during this time.

After more than thirteen years, Linden Lab seems to have changed it's mind. Yesterday on June 8, it announced that it was calling for people to sign up to be part of "A New Generation of Second Life Mentors!"

To coincide with our 20th Birthday celebrations, we are excited to announce the introduction of a new generation of Second Life Mentors.

Second Life Mentors will be the first ripple in the pond of “Paying It Forward”. 

Paying it forward is an ancient concept but we are bringing it right up to date and beyond in our amazing Second Life Community and “Our Fantastic Future”!

There will be two teams of volunteer Mentors.
 
-The Second Life Mentors, welcoming and guiding New Residents arriving at the Welcome areas and helping with ongoing assistance. 

-The Bellisseria Mentors, introducing people to the many themes and choices of Linden Homes and assisting people to settle into their Community across the Bellisseria Continent.

We will welcome Mentors with all levels of knowledge and experience. The most important qualities will be patience, warmth, positivity, fun, and a focus on inclusion. Mentors will learn and develop new skills and information within our teams with ongoing skill-sharing, training, and Community development ideas to take forward and share with our wonderful fellow Residents. 

 

In the blog post were links to two separate applications, in Google docs. One was for the new regular Mentors group (here). The other was for a special Mentors group for the BelliHub in Bellissaria (link).  It stated there would be training sessions to attend, and that this was a volunteer position so there would be no pay. They would also need to list days of the week and times they could regularly be available. And, a detail that some residents will find annoying, Mentors must use the official, or Linden Lab, Second Life Viewer. 

In a thread in the official forums, reaction from commentators was skeptical. For some, having to use the official viewer was a dealbreaker. Others felt there were reasons the Lab discontinued the old Mentor program, such as drama and people abusing authority. There were also people recommending that the Lab not use volunteers, but make the Mentors paid workers, "You get what you pay for."

So Linden Lab has brought back a group whose removal people complained about for years. But with its return, different people are complaining.

Bixyl Shuftan

The BelliHub

 

 

 There's a new place in Second Life aimed at helping both newcomers and those interested in living in the Bellisseria area: Bellihub. Patch Linden would announce it in the Linden Homes forums last week.

For months, we have been working behind the scenes to provide all of Bellisseria (and Second Life in general) a place where they can go to find information regarding Bellisseria, meet up with residents living in Bellisseria and have all of their questions answered. 

Today, we are pleased to release the BelliHub!

Dropping it, at first it looks like a newcomer orientation center, with explanations what Second Life is and how to go about. Going further, there's explanations on what Bellisseria is and how to get a Premium account and Linden Home. There's also an events center, where people can post notices about goings on. On the northern half of the island, Bellidemo, one can look at examples of Linden Homes, as well as click to see different styles of them

 

 

 There's also a hangout area. On opening day, the Lindens and moles had a party there, and I was invited over by a resident. But was busy and sent my alt Rezzdarnnit over. Someone used the "Rezzdammit!" gesture, so I sent Rezzdammit over as well. People, including Patch Linden himself, had a good laugh at seeing the "Rezz brothers." It was one of the examples of fun at the party.

  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/BelliHub/125/125/22

 

Bixyl Shuftan