Pokefarm Mentors; Discussion 'Ideas'
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Just going to poke at the bottom one because that I can answer in my sleepy mind.
No, we're don't have a list. People will sign up to be a mentor and we will see if they fit what we're looking for. This isn't something we're going to force on people. People will sign up, send their forms. And they will either be denied due to certain factors, tested and accepted, or tested and denied.
Ok that seems good
So you have the mentor bit done and figured out
All that's left is... the rest
:'D
icanseewhyyouareannoyed
I feel everyone has the right to a mentor as a newbie.
I for one did not have a mentor so I made some blunders and felt stupid and asked questions. Of course there are nice users who helped me figure things out but nobody likes feeling stupid cause they did not get taught about the way the site works.
Alright, so this whole Mentor thing is so far up my alley it hurts, and I wanna get this rolling more actively for you guys. I want this to be a thing. It's been this idea that's just been THERE for literally years, and hey, let's be real... It's about time. You want it to happen. We want it to happen. So we need ideas. And feedback. We need talkies. Lots of it. Let's get to it, shall we?
- Back when you were a Newbie, what were the questions you had that you felt you had a hard time getting answers to yourself?
- What pointers do you wish you had been given?
- What resources did you find the hardest to locate?
- What traits do you think a good Mentor should have?
- eg. Patience
- What interests you the most about having an official Mentor program?
- What concerns do you have in regards to there being an official Mentor program?
- Can you think of anything else that would be helpful to consider?
- Let us know!
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i definitely think mentors should encourage and teach newbies how to use the wiki. i constantly see the same questions asked in the help forums and discord that are easily answered on the wiki, but newbies often don't know what to look for. even i have some trouble finding things on the wiki, as some topics are gathered under one main page when they might not initially be expected to.
i think mentors should therefore have a relatively good grasp with wiki use, as its one of the main troubles i see newbies having.
i don't remember much from being a newbie cause it was 2-3 years ago now, but i know a lot of newbies have a hard time finding some things on this site when everything is new for them, and it can be frustrating. mentors should know where almost everything is on the site, and be able to explain the pathway to get to the correct areas.
ALSO. mentors N E E D to teach newbies how to make money on this site, especially GP. it is the most common complaint i see come up, and i can see how it may seem difficult being new to the site. however, i think a mentor teaching newbies about the ways of contests, fab friday and potentially even the referral system would help out a lot with what i think is one of the biggest and most alienating problem newbies find.
i think the traits a mentor should have is definitely being patient, but they should still have a personality. imo, there's no point in having human mentors if they are just gonna teach in a robotic way. it would make little difference from a set tutorial. they should also be confident in the things they say.
the thing that interests me most about having an official mentor program is probably the chance of having a higher newbie retainment! i think the daunting start this site has often turns away new users, so having a mentor to ease them in will hopefully bring some life back into the site!
i don't really have a lot of concerns about this program, i think it'll be a big positive for the site. the only problem i can potentially see is a lack of users on either side, either not having enough mentors or not having enough newbies.
pfp is pixel art, done by me! its my little alien hyena fella so cutest tiepnsy
Even if a Mentor doesn't know where everything is on the site, they should personally be aware of how to locate it, or at the very least know the correct channels for asking assistance. I expect some Mentors to occasionally have questions on the areas they're weaker in, and that's normal and dandy, we just have to impart a method of handling that situation that leads to the Mentor learning it in a way they can then pass on to their assigned Newbies. That way, everybody prospers.
Showing Newbies Contests and Fabu Friday would help alleviate this issue, yes. And the Referral system would both get those Newbies some friends to play with, bring us new users, and bring new people into the Mentor program. It's a cycle where those once-Newbies could possibly even wind up as Mentors themselves eventually. Win-win, I'd say.
You're right about the personality part. We could perhaps take interests into account when we match up Mentors with Newbies, and that'd give them something to talk about that isn't just a massive ongoing Q&A session, and the conversation on those interests would be a rewarding and bonding experience for both parties. I like it!
Back when you were a Newbie, what were the questions you had that you felt you had a hard time getting answers to yourself?
What pointers do you wish you had been given?
What resources did you find the hardest to locate?
I joined the site the day PF1 opened to the public so erm... I can't answer these questions. lol It was so long ago and besides, everyone was a newbie and there was no wiki.
What traits do you think a good Mentor should have?
- A good knowledge of the site and, ideally, the community. You can't teach if you don't have the ability to.
- A good attitude; should not get frustrated with the newbie or "give up" on them. Should be open to frequent and possibly "silly" questions. Should be open and approachable and not cold or make the newbie feel like they're bothering their mentor.
- Should be a good role model; this would include having a fairly clear report history, showing the traits mentioned above in the forums or chat, and have good communication with others in a business model relationship.
image is official pokemon art; icon is official from witch's heart
As a newbie, I wished that:
1. I could talk on the forums more easily. This was my first *big* forum game; before I had been on websites like Discord, Quotev, Facebook, Instagram, etc. The new forum rules were different and it was REALLY intimidating compared to the ones on sites before. I went to post in a shop when my account was a few weeks old, and saw that it was so complex and hard to navigate, I ended up posting in the thread what I wanted from the seller.
Apparently, they had a form hidden in the big complex template and someone different messaged me saying something rather rude, about “you should read the shop rules before you post” and whatnot. It honestly scared me from posting in any forum for a while. That was just the first incident. XP A few more happened involving trading rules, double posting, posting images... Each time something popped up, I would search for the rules again (the site was hard to navigate back when I was a wee lass), and thoroughly read them.
Now, I know pretty much everything on the site, how to find everything, the works. I know my way around, the rules for each forum, and I try to help people that need it. Over the past year or two, I’ve been getting messages from new users asking me questions, or I’d notice a relatively new user do something against the rules in a forum (usually unknowingly), and I’d always try to message them and be as kind as I can be, to answer questions or politely tell someone a site rule. Thankfully, I’ve seen the users of the site get a little nicer towards newbies, and that makes me happier. ^-^
2. I wish I would have known my way around better. A couple times back in the day I tried posting in the help forum, or stumbling my way through the site. The answers in the help forums, while some were straightforward and “Farm, Other Links, Summon Items,” were oftentimes “check the wiki,” but then I didn’t know how to navigate the wiki and it became more stressful.
Having a mentor would have helped me GREATLY. If a user needs to know where to find something, they can just pm their mentor, rather than post in the Help forum.
3. As was already mentioned before, I wish I could have known how to make currency easier. I was making VERY little starting out, until I eventually fumbled my way through and figured out the best ways to make bank.
Important traits mentors n e e d to have: •Patience. I’m aware this is already a big factor that has already been mentioned, but that needs to be stressed. •Kindness. Nothing is more welcoming to a site than kindness. If we aren’t patient or kind to the newbies, that could scare them away from the site. •Decent knowledge of the site. Maybe not full knowledge of literally everything there is to do, but they should at least know how to find an answer if they can’t answer the question off the top of their head. Things mentors need to teach: •A basic set of rules for the site. If I were a mentor, I would personally send myadopted user smol newbie a list of basic site rules and forum posting rules (double posting, spam, image rules, etc.).
•How to earn money. As stated before, introduce them to things like contests, fabulous Friday, tournaments... etc.
•Answer site navigation questions.
•This one is pretty optional, but some basic knowledge of BBCode would also help users.
Optional, but also a thing:
•If the mentor and newbie had things in common, things they both like, etc., that might help communication.
Smol bonus:
•and this is just a little bonus thing, it would be cool if mentors sent their newbie a gift. Like, a shiny, or a few gems, or something like that. :3 It’s kind of a nice surprise and adds for a more pleasant welcome. It probably shouldn’t be made mandatory, but encouraged perhaps?
Important traits mentors n e e d to have: •Patience. I’m aware this is already a big factor that has already been mentioned, but that needs to be stressed. •Kindness. Nothing is more welcoming to a site than kindness. If we aren’t patient or kind to the newbies, that could scare them away from the site. •Decent knowledge of the site. Maybe not full knowledge of literally everything there is to do, but they should at least know how to find an answer if they can’t answer the question off the top of their head. Things mentors need to teach: •A basic set of rules for the site. If I were a mentor, I would personally send my
- Back when you were a Newbie, what were the questions you had that you felt you had a hard time getting answers to yourself?
- What pointers do you wish you had been given?
- What resources did you find the hardest to locate?
- What traits do you think a good Mentor should have?
- eg. Patience
- What interests you the most about having an official Mentor program?
- What concerns do you have in regards to there being an official Mentor program?
- Can you think of anything else that would be helpful to consider?
- Let us know!
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