Stalemate

W00t!

A Galaxy Quest referrence!


Thanks for the feedback from another perspective, and your interest in participating.

Ditto... except for that Deluxe DVD Edition all the other boxes were purchased. Some twice.

You know - the one with the VIP badge.


I currently have 2 Oriental themed characters. One of them, NecroNinja, has had the same costume since the asian armors came out. This will be great since I hear the Ninja run looks especially cool whitle wielding a blade.

The topknot is definitely going on the other guy.

Great idea.

I was recently introduced to the concept of animal shelters last week when a cat started taking refuge on our back balcony and we started looking at our options, already having 2 cats (one being diabetic). Winter's coming and our makeshift shelter for him isn't going to be sufficient.

I had no idea such things existed before.

But now that I do, I think I'll take you up on that idea of a donation for them this year (I've even found their Facebook page).

As for the traditional food/clothing/gifts drive, the entire family gets involved in our local church's program on the south shore of Montreal. Last year, the total donations distributed (not counting volunteer time) was 500 000$ CAN. The church was turned into a free retail store for that occasion, with athletes (former Canadiens and mascot, Alouettes, etc.) and other noteables lending a hand.

Nothing can better celebrate the season than giving.

Heh. "uppity"

Did we talk about the whys? I don't recall...

BTW, that guy was me, and that topic is endless.

If the project serves only to retain new players on Protector, it will be a success imho.

Now that we've gotten this out of the way, let's get back on track.

Still to be resolved:

1. Defining Mentor Roles: Personal Mentors and Project Mentors would have different roles and allow the vet players to assume whichever they feel comfortable with - or even switch around as they see fit. I think working it like this will satisfy all the proposals made re: mentors so far. Same goes for Neophytes to allow them some options. Yay or nay?
2. Villain Side Advocate: Any candidates available for this? (It sounds much more time consuming than it really will be btw.) Advocates will need to communicate to each other about any unforeseen issues so that there is consensus. This should preferrably be someone opinionated, or at least able to debate.
3. Duration of Personal Mentoring Contracts: 3 months? 6 months? 20 weeks? It needs to be a good balance between brevity and usefulness to the neophytes interested in using this method.

Please preface your comments with the bolded text above according to what you are commenting on - or add your own if I missed any.

You're bringing in a cold from across the border?

Didn't we have enough already?!


In any case, get well soon. If the US colds are anything like their beer (i.e.: weak), you'll be back up to snuff in no time.

Good point.

Let me know what your survey turns up.

...

But more seriously:

I'm really, really hoping that the interest will be small - at least at first. The NPWN has always helped new players in the past, in whatever numbers were available. Quantity was never a goal.

There may not be than many mentors volunteering in the first place, and once we're doing the promotion for it we'll have to limit the number of neophytes who request one. I'm thinking some will be quite satisfied with just using t he channel and pool of mentors.

Others will prefer a more direct approach.

This.

You've answered your own question.

These frequent questions you mention you're getting are not (and probably would not) making it through the already available methods. Some players (I would even say most) will not crack open a printed guide, search forums, seek out alternate support websites.

Forum listings, global channels, etc. don't reach everyone. This is us taking the information they want to them. Just like a welcoming committee would.

In person.

And then we remain accountable for it, not just another nameless face in the crowd - hence the one-to-one idea.

As for the bureaucracy, I'll share a little personal experience: If you're handling a project solo, or with close buddies, you won't need it and that's best. Seriously.

But if you're dealing with strangers you had better cross all T's and dot all I's in advance because it *will* come back to bite you when issues arise.

Definitely, we're trying to keep it as easily manageable as possible. It's far from being a bureaucracy. I've seen bureaucracy in this game - was even responsible for some of it.

But it's also why I've quit or stepped down from leadership every player organization I was involved with: proposing and leading events on Protector is an ordeal. It really is. I dare anyone who was involved in PERC. PVPEC, Praesidium, whatever - to say otherwise.

It works so much better with less red tape. We're herding cats here. The less rules, the better.

But the fact remains that this idea has worked so long *because* there is a direct interest in a new player's enjoyment. If new players aren't enjoying themselves (drafted in abusive SGs, ridiculed for asking questions, whatever) they will either leave the server or the game.

This is not controlling them.

This is not revealing all the spoilers.

This is not telling them what build they should have.

This is just for being there when needed, answering the questions they ask. Helping when we can.

This can be something that rallies players together instead of pitting them against each other. A common goal.

Since mentors get "carte blanche" in what they want to pass on as knowledge to the neophytes, I think this should remain voluntary.

If one wants to roll up a new character, or drop a current one, into a Mentor Project SG / VG to cover that aspect of CoH, then great.

If not, still great! ...especially if mentor's SG/VG is coalitioned with said Mentor Project SG / VG.

But still not a mandatory requirement. Mentors should give what they have to offer, nothing more. We'll fill in the holes in other ways.


Oh - and to answer River's excellent "devil's advocate" comments:

- There already is a Help channel. Most tune it out, both neophytes and experienced players. Also, whether in Broadcast or user-created global channels, help requests or questions are often out of place. Neophytes (and I've had many confirm this) feel out of place already and the majority will not use them to get help. This group is aimed at those players who want a more direct approach to learning their way around.

- If they don't want to join a SG / VG, I don't think they should have to either unless base building / management is information they really want.

Sir, Happy Birthday - SIR!

...or maybe simply Mediator?

This is one of those ideas that you read and then initially react by saying "why didn't I think of this?!"

Anyone else like this, or is it just me and my caffeine deprived brain?

Thanks for the vote of confidence everyone for thinking of me for this role.

I quoted the ladies above only to confirm that yes, I do have more time for this kind of project. Since it's an extension of The-Group-Formerly-Known-As-NPWN, it's not going to be much more involvement on my part - and I was already considering this when willi1 suggested the idea of a dedicated SG. Besides my semi-solo SG, the new player stuff is all I'm involved with. The Protector Vigilance channel doesn't really require anything else to work - it's gathering its own speed now.

I have no ambition to lord over the Mentor Project or call it my own and am already appreciative of everyone's involvement so far - regardless of whether or not you have made plans to volunteer for this. This is exactly the kind of challenge I thought Protector could rise to meet.

On the topic at hand, I think the Tier 1 role should be named Ombudsman, or perhaps Diplomat, and have no other role in the SG than 1) Public Relations with Protector's community of players and 2) mediating situations where unresolvable conflicts arise between mentors and neophytes.

This is similar to what the Phantoms of War did with its tier 1 position a few months ago. All 3 SG leaders at that time wanted to step back, and so became semi-retired while remaining available for advice when sought, but taking no active role in SG management.

That actual day-to-day SG stuff, including bases and how to work them out as an experimental sandbox while still being useful, would fall onto the Tier 2 people - the actual SG leaders (with ability to kick lower ranks).

For the last 4 ranks, I like how Kyo worked it out simply for the sake of having it broken down in easily recognizable groups that don't necessarily refer to skill. Panzerwaffen's idea may fit our end goal better though. We can discuss this, and the naming of these roles (like Mentors, Team Alpha, Team Beta, Team Charlie, etc.).

I'll try to post a recap later of the ideas that struck a chord with us, to have them listed more concisely.


So far, so good.

Or post them on FB where she, and everyone else there from Pro, can enjoy them forever.

Might want to change the MOTD ni PV channel. I set it for 8PM at lunchtime today...

You can copy the text already there, change the time or whatever else, and add /chan_motd "Protector Vigilance" at the start of it before pasting it back in.

Nope.

Being in such different time zones we haven't really even had a chance to talk about that.