More FIC Stuff: Endorsed Helper Groups

> LL puts a heavy hand on helper groups if they want to get its endorsement.

More FIC stuff coming down the pike -- Endorsed Helper Groups. Sigh. Not surprising, given all the other clutchiness of the Lab lately to become involved in resident life -- SLB5, Certifieds, Devs, SL Views, InSL, Mentors, etc. etc. I heard Blue Linden proposing this bad idea a few months ago and feigning to get "feedback," but of course that means "We're going to do it anyway and see how badly you will protest." This is how LL gets more retention to sign-ups for free, but without having to manage all those awful mentors and volunteers (they should dismantle that system).

I had always advocated that Lindens simply create a grid of job activities for the newbie stream, and outsource it on an open multiple-bid system, i.e. hire both for-profit and not-for-profit groups, pay them, or let them monetarize their activity in some fashion through ads or sales or tips, that they approve as a business model, and then let the free market of contracted services bidding for placement, reviewed and rotated now and then, go to work on this problem. That's how you do it in real life.

The existing inside-the-vest-pocket method of doling out portions of the newbie stream to oldbie dev friends or newbie corporate buddies just doesn't work. BTW, I work on an infohub with newbie streaming. And I have to say, that without ads, without tip jars, without sales, you cannot sustain it except as a loss leader. That is, even if you put stores, rentals, content around the infohub, you cannot expect much. Newbies don't have money. They come to the infohub -- then move on. It's a long-term prospect.

What I don't like about this "endorsement" is the controlling nature of the vetting by discretionary means, the lurking danger of police groups despite their claim they won't allow them, the subjectivity involve, and this constant ideological control with the Tao of Volunteer stuff (which is for the birds). I'm told they improved this system somewhat by agreeing not to subject each group to Mentor control (ugh, dodged THAT bullet). But the net effect is: some animals are more equal than others. Four legs good, two legs bad!

Your helper group may not have an awful lot to do these days as a lot of the newbies landing are just bots being corralled by their owners to go vacuum up camping dollars or provide traffic infusion.

Naturally, you have to wonder, but wait...if you have all these THOUSANDS of Mentors, Instructors, Helpers,
Volunteers and Corporate flaks with orientation hubs -- why the need for MORE help? Well, because those phalanxes of people grabbing the streams of newbies into their own stores or sims for their own profit weren't working to retain accounts I guess lol. They were constantly having to be discliplined booted, and were constantly being AR'd. Hence the idea of turning to the grid to see what residents themselves made, without Linden prompting, to see if that would be less tainted -- and more efficient. Now, the smothering embrace of the Lab may kill off those good impulses, we'll have to see.

Here's the card distributed by the Lindens. Go read the wikis:

"Hello!

Thank you for your interest in the Resident Help Group Endorsement program! The meeting to be held on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 2:00PM will go over the initial sign up process in becoming a help group endorsed by Linden Lab. We will walk through some of the basic materials, application page, and a basic FAQ to determine what issues need clarification, what concerns cause snags in signing up, and where else we can improve on this process. We'll IM you to offer a Teleport!

The agenda will be as follows:

1 - Formal introduction of program, round robin introduction of group representatives
2 - The Endorsement Introduction page and requirements (explanation, questions, clarifications):
https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Introduction_to_Endorsed_Resident_Help_Groups
3 - The Group Wiki Page (setup, clarifications-below is our example link):
https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Second_Life_Mentor_%28Endorsed_Group_Entry%29
4 - The Application Link (process/questions/considerations):
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=3gmTp43f4UszauavhUUYjg_3d_3d
5 - General FAQ, and remaining endorsement topics

Thank you in advance for your participation, consideration, and feedback! Looking forward to networking!"

Reading the wiki and application process, I have to say, oh Dear Lord. All backwards. Instead of taking the job of newbie help itself, breaking it down into the 20 tasks or functions it involves, and advertising to people to fulfill these functions on some registrational basis if they fit criteria, taking multiple bids that are posted publicly, they have come up with this other idea of endorsing those they like. Good luck trying to clear the hurdles.

I'm going to go on slowly developing my newbie help, building on what I have in place, and try to keep the Lindens from noticing it or messing it up or going back on anything they've agreed on. I don't wish to be endorsed, because I don't want to go through that awful application process, and that constant ideological control that reminds me of Soviet Party functions I used to see. Awful stuff.

It reminds me so much of Animal Farm, which I've been re-reading. Napoleon and Snowdrop, parading around with a green banner, with the hoof and the horn, singing songs and bolstering morale so as to take shorter rations...

Comments

[Skylark Thibedeau]

Big Linden Is Watching You?

I love helping noobs myself and have a box of ladies skins, shapes, clothes, and stuff I hand out to noobs I meet. I gave serious thought to becoming a mentor but my sister warned me that the groups are filled with Drama and Greif neither of which I want in my Second Life. I will keep helping noobs freelance.

[Prokofy Neva]

I think it's good if you keep doing that freelance, Skylark. I've heard -- and seen -- a lot of drama and grief from mentors, and the groups fill with drama quickly. There is no limit to the good you can do if you don't seek the credit for it -- which in SL, is wearing the ostentatious "Mentor" tag.

The concept of Mentor has been totally devalued in SL, due to lack of quality control.