First Mates ... greeters & mentors

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

Malibu mentioned during the infamous Trial that y'all had an active Greeter & Mentor Program ... shall we give that a boost? I'm not sure what's happened in the past with this - can someone pls fill us in with a brief history (so we don't have to reinvent the wheel)?

Calling for volunteers to greet & mentor the newer folk within our community ... maybe post whether you can be a Greeter (hang out at the LMs into Anty - the dock and in town) or Mentor [um, like a Corporal (military) or First Mate (navy & pirate)]

... whats the best time(s) that you're available? Is it possible to use the ning for a roster (if we want to be that organised)?

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

k ... this has gone over like a lead zeppelin ...
wondering if we can automate it ... have help stations (life guard boxes?) around the place that people seeking help can call in a First Mate to answer their questions
wish I knew what has happened in the past ...

[Malibu DuPont]

Not at all Gaia!

Was just giving it some thought...

We used to have Paid Greeters in Anty, who would watch for visitors to Township,(dots on the mini map, I guess?).
The Greeter would then TP to the visitor, and welcome them to Anty, assisting them with any enquiries.
We also had a Mentoring Programme set up... I think Rory & Arnya initiated this a while back?

I would be more than happy to mentor new residents.

[Eddy Cannonball]

There are actually two paid greeters in antiquity. One Is stary Dreamscape. Im not sure who the other is. I know at one time we had a pretty substancial team of greaters. Not sure what happened there other than the people either left or became more involved with other facets of Antiquity.

[Marlee Laval]

We HAD a mentoring program in place- one that was designed by Arnya Hastings, Rory DeBruyere, and Angel Magellan - and it was very well thought out. Visitors to our region were to be greeted by any resident - then information was to be sent to them and to the mentor team to get them placed with someone who would guide them based on what role they sought in our community. There was a packet of information with ROE, contacts, free outfits, and events scheduled to encourage the person to become involved easily..

We started with a list of people who volunteered from the different roles and time zones who were capable and willing to effectively mentor new folks. They were teamed up with new residents and served as a touchstone for getting the new folks situated.

Unfortunately, we had players who decided that they would rather handle new people THEIR way - bring them on to their "crews", teams, factions, whatever and circumventing the mentor program. New people were poached, and distressingly, provided with misinformation about Antiquity, her leadership, and how we "play".

May I suggest, Gaia, out of respect that you contact Duchess Arnya Hastings and Grand Duchess Angel Magellan about how they would like this program reinstituted in order to get it restarted. It may help from reinventing the wheel, or crossing what management may already be in the process of implementing...

and btw -- it may be helpful, especially on the weekends, to give folks a day or two to read up on the posts and respond...

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

Thanks Malibu & Marlee, yes I've spoken to the Grand Duchess and briefly with Cathryn.

As its turned out, this ning is worth a visit by newfolk to get up to speed on who's who, what's what, how's how and why's why

[Pamus Bing]

This Mentoring does need to be taken seriously. I was with Angel during the RP that Quintus has planned (yes I should have taken part, but weekends tiredness catches up with me). My concern is that they were people taking part in RP who did not know who Angel was, respect needs to be restored to Anty.
Do we really want to reflect RL?

[Bridget Jennings]

I think that is true Pamus. I we are serious about RP and Victorian times, we need to give visitors meaningful (and brief) information on expectations.

[Marlee Laval]

Merryann:
Excuse me?? Where do you get a hand slap out of that? She asked for the history of what happened and who was involved --

To quote Gaia:
"I'm not sure what's happened in the past with this - can someone pls fill us in with a brief history (so we don't have to reinvent the wheel)?"

My post served as a response to her request...I do not think it is out of line to send Gaia to the people who currently run the mentoring program to get started in her endeavors... as I stated -- there are people who are on the management team (don't get much more management than Angel Magellan..)who are already involved in this - and before anyone starts recreating/undoing their hard work they should be included in this discussion...No one said Gaia wasn't welcome to work on this program - and kudos for her enthusiasm in wanting to assist in getting it to the forefront...it's great to have new residents want to be actively involved in making things in Antiquity better.

Please check you chip at the door, dear... and btw, didn't you leave Antiquity??

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

Hi & thanks for everyone's comments. Shoulda mentioned in the original posting that I had spoken to the Grand Duchess about this and she asked if I was keen to move it forward. I've briefly spoken to Baroness Cathryn and will chat with Duchess Arnya & Rory DeBruyere post haste (please accept my request to add as a friend! LOL).

Congrats to Comm. Bridget & Scattered, they seem to be well organised in recruiting, with posters at the docks & info centre, notecards and free navy hats! Likewise, General Drake is very good with the troops. Congrats too to Marlee for having her name on the mailbox and being available for the pirate's group.

Congratulations to all the captains too who take out the newfolk as gunners on their ships during battles. It's a win-win situation (well, depends if they win) as the newfolk are our future.

Bridget is right (as always) is saying the info provided should be brief (one day I must read the instructions to the Adjong) - and targeted to navy or pirate or even townsfolk and merchant

The next step would be to coordinate all the info and contact points and people so we can steer an enquiry to the right person and place

Peace, love & light
Gaia

(BTW - Peace, Love & Light was Spike Milligan's sign off)

[Drake Moyer]

I think all things considered over time mentoring is best dwelt with on a faction basis. The keystone to this should be enhancement of the visitor centre to show what Antiquity is and provide a full list of options to the new comer. This allows simplified greeting without seeming presure to join this side or that. Afterward the mentoring should be dwelt with by the factions themselves all adhering to the laws of the land.

I know we all strive for one community but here on a forum is the only place we can come together. In world time zones can always give the impression that someone is left out. Therefore it is important that as much cover as possible is provided for new comers and the best way would be by responsble members of chosen faction at the times they are online.

In a military RP perspective it's not too hard as we already have Nco's and officers in place chosen for their manner and attentivness, at else we try that way;) (re recent Dutch members). So with such a system in place our new members who have chosen the army way of life are mentored.

[Bridget Jennings]

We also need to be proactive in alerting the Grand Duchess when updates are needed to the note cards in the welcome center (and providing this very busy lady with the updated note cards).

[Angel Magellan]

First I would like to say that Gaia did speak to me about reviving the mentoring/greeter program before she posted. She was given permission to find out more about what was going on, who might be interested in helping with this. When I originally set up both programs, I had some very strong support and a lot of interest from people and hence we were able to get underway quite easily.

However, since that first induction of greeters and mentors, Antiquity has grown substantially. For example, from a Greeters perspective, the original concept had been that they would stay in the township and watch the map for any people that appeared throughout the regions. That is no longer a practical approach as any area in Antiquity typically has people on it most of the time now - which is great for Antiquity but makes the greeters job extremely difficult.

The mentorship hit a snag when one person in Antiquity undermined it badly and a number of people resigned from that role. I understood that they were hurt and let the position die for a time. However it seems that there is need for some sort of mentor/help role within Antiquity to help equate new people to the values and expectations of what Antiquity is.

I have read all the posts on here up to Drakes (his being the last post before I posted) and I would like to clarify some points.

1) GaiaGirl did ask for permission to follow this up. I have asked both Cathryn Beaumont and Gaia to work together to work out how/what/why/when questions on this. Some may ask why Cathryn, purely because she has been in Antiquity a LONG time and knows a lot of Antiquity history.

2) I appreciated Marlee's input into what used to happen, it showed a concise understanding of the roles as they were. I would mention that Marlee used to be a mentor and a darn good one at that.

3) While I understand that people can get heated over topics, please keep all discussions polite and respectful. Throwing things at others is not genteel behavior :)

4) I think what Drake mentioned about various factions needing their own mentor system is correct, in that obviously the understanding of those factions is important for that group to function. However that mentoring should also include an understanding of what Antiquity represents (or aspires to anyway). I don't see this as a major issue though as most faction mentors could be given the mentoring package that was developed and is being updated. They could then make sure that new recruits are provided with this information. Maybe the faction mentors need to attend mentor training? Just a thought.

Can I reiterate, remember that everyone here is working to help Antiquity. Mud slinging, nasty comments do not help, they hurt and hinder.