The Novice Network, is it working as intended? Should it be Moderated?

Ok, this is something I want to get honest opinions on for how the Novice Network is working on your server, and do you or do you not believe it should be Moderated?

Mostly I suppose this question is geared at people who have decided to become Mentors to "lead" and "help" new and returning players.

As a returning player I have been put into the Novice Network myself and have been appalled by the junior high school boys locker room trash talk that goes on in the channel on a regular basis.

And lets be sure to point out that the "Mentors" are in fact great contributors to this level of conversation that permeates the channel on Diablos.

Also I would like to get some sincere input on how you, as a current "Mentor" believe you should be conducting yourself in the Novice Network and in the general public eye.

In my opinion a "Mentor" is a teacher, you are teaching new and returning players not just the mechanics of things in the game; but also your demeanor and decorum will be received by most as another clear lesson you are presenting to your perspective pupils, there-by setting the tone for the Novice Network Channel. Thoughts?

Sorry had to add that last bit by itself due to character limitations.

I mean, sure? The whole mentor system was a bust in my opinion. They added a shiny mount and "oh look a CROWN symbol" to it. Most mentors I see in game are among the worst players I meet so not surprised that the Novice Network isn't great either. Had intended to actually be a mentor and, ya know, help people. But the ones who actually want to help are vastly outnumbered. Haven't used my mentor symbol in months for this exact reason.

FYI, you can edit your posts to bypass character limits

That is exactly the kind of input I am looking for! Thank you!

Can we get some more opinions and perhaps some examples of what kind of things you see in your Novice Network Channels? If We put the problem in front of them, we can at least say we made an effort to make the situation better right?

When I actually get into Balmung's novice network, I usually see things that could be useful for newcomers. People asking questions and actually getting helpful answers and it also had the mentors confirming those answers if someone was unsure. I admittedly even saw the mentors learning stuff sometimes but that wasn't common. At the very least Balmung's was good when I last checked. I'll try to get in today to confirm whether or not that is still accurate as the last time I got in was before Stormblood.

Excellent response! If the Novice Network IS working well on your server, that is equally important!

So I definitely want to hear about those as well.

It's not. Most newbies who actually need the help don't even know how to get into the novice network, and never get into it. Let alone the idea they'd actually get help there, which is laughable.

The problem with the Novice Network is that it's really no different than any other linkshell. The 'enforcement' of this chat is up to the discretion of fellow players. The whole system relies on player honor, something profoundly lacking on EU and NA servers as, apparently, the system works fine on JP. Apparent because I have no character on JP servers nor have the ability to read characters easily.

The term itself, novice, simply means someone inexperienced in something. While many take this channel to be only for new players (Newbie Network), that's simply not the case. It's an advice hall. The only problem with that, as well, as it's entirely too easy to give bad or straight-up incorrect information about the game.

In Cactuar's NN, complaints about hunts are rampant about "early pullers." You can't explain to anyone that their perception of "early pulling" is completely subjective and the moral/'courtesous' obligations they force other players to adhere to, or will harass them (moving for people to remove individuals from all hunt linkshells, false reporting, proceeding to witch-hunt those people), when their own personal views are the complete opposite of SE's stance. There was a time when people were saying things like shirk is bad and any person using this skill is a bad player and proceed to stick their fingers in their ears and drown out anyone else that says otherwise while continuously giving this 'advice' out. People have an incredibly hard time separating personal bias, viability, and actual application.

I absolutely wish SE would implement a quiz and/or upkeep exam for mentors simply to stop the spread of misinformation, or at least slow it. While I think the idea of the NN was an example of good intentions to help players start, making Hall of the Novice a requirement, and expanding on that, would be far better executed in the long run. Where even if you jump potion, you will still need to do it to show that you have a grasp of the very fundamentals of the game.

I agree that the Novice Network is riddled with problems from its conception, but in my opinion, if we can not navigate a solution to the problem that exists on some servers with the inappropriate behavior being exhibited by the "Mentors" then our only recourse is to keep putting the problem in front of the eyes that have the ability to put the problem in front of the eyes that can make a difference in the way the Novice Network functions.

If that means that no resolution can be found and the Novice Network is removed as a feature then what have we lost if we are only losing a broken system? I believe that the Novice Network is a wonderful idea, and it would be fantastic if it worked as intended; However, if no real guidelines/rules are put in place to insure appropriate behavior is all all times upheld by the "Mentors" in the Channel, then how can this ever function as intended?

Personally I would rather see the Channel and the program go away rather than let it continue in its current form; at least on my particular server/world.

If the team that is in charge of this particular aspect of the game is unaware of a problem, then how can they address it? By posting about it and continuing a conversation about the problem we stand a better chance of getting some kind of resolution, than if we just be quiet about the problem, leave the Channel, or just recommend that people do not use the Channel, or even if we just ignore it.

We are the community, we need to stand up and speak our minds on the issue and at least try to find a resolution that benefits everyone concerned. I know you can not please all the people all the time , but you can appease some of the people , some of the time, and frankly that is better than what we have currently. We need to continue to speak out about this so that the issue is put in front of the right people to get some kind of action taken.

I personally will continue to do so until some kind of resolution is achieved. I hope many more of you will continue to also speak out about any issues you are having, or about how well the system works on your server, and perhaps some tips on what makes the system work better for your server.

We must persist if we ever expect any change to happen.

Leave it as is, or drop it and give a proper global chat.

It's the only thing that actually makes the game feel alive, TBH.

At the current state they could search and replace 'mentor' with 'mount farmer' and press save for all I care. Sure there are some good folks out there I even know some good mentors personally -BUT- these people already helped out new players before this 'mentor system' and did a great job at that. Most newcomers are just that 'mount farmers'.

Yes it would need moderation, but the problem is you cannot let the customers do this; too easy to abuse by the same happy bunch. It's a problem, people are like this online. Unfortunately I'd have say the game could have done without this all together.

If I see the mount I won't be like; what an amazing mentor guy/girl! Nope.jpg

Heck they should put it on mog.

I can't say that I am a fan of the current "rewards" incentives for Mentors, I think the "reward" for being a Mentor should be the satisfaction of helping other players; but that's just my opinion.

Giving a person a "Title" that promotes them being a Mentor, or what we have, "the small crown by the name" to me, seems sufficient. Perhaps, instead of "Rewards" for being a Mentor, the company could say, have points during a year, that they could highlight Mentors and what they do to help the community. More of a community event to recognize and promote the Mentors and the Mentor Program.

Rewards are nice, but helping is supposed to be its own reward. After all it is a Volunteer position, and I see no problems with some sort of Volunteer appreciation event; but in-game mounts and such seem a bit much in my opinion.

I joined the program because I honestly wanted to try and be of help to others, not because there was the promise of this or that thing that I can only get if I am a Mentor. My reward is my service.

I gleefully help out players with content. SE already implements plenty of rewards in place for those of us who help newbies (from more tomes to wondrous tails rerolls), so it's moot in that sense.

I refuse to become a mentor as the chat is a disaster on every server I've been on.

To give an example, I was a "returner" about 2 months ago, intending to get back into a groove pre-SB, so I naturally was in the chat. I was often the one answering genuine newbies, because most actual mentors could care less. I often saw the chat degrade into long-winded and heated meta arguments when a sprout asked about gear and rotations (my fav was the one that lost his mind when myself and two others pointed a fledgling tank to Vit gear.) Othertimes it was just uncomfortable, players being gross and offensive, but not enough so to garner a report.

But then there were moments where players would gladly sit down and teach very useful tricks to others.

Essentially, it isn't all bad, just MOSTLY bad... I got so fed up after a couple weeks I left the Network and basically play mentor to my FC.

I think the Novice Network works great on Ragnarok. Most of the time if people spam or be an ass they get warned, if they continue they get booted.

Well Gilgamesh's NN has stagnated a bit since there are no true newcomers allowed on the server, but unless someone asks a truly obscure question, people get their answers fairly quickly. I've seen Mentors interrupt their bantz to answer questions too. I myself run Mentor Roulette and explain everything I can if people ask (even "simple" things like what Party Finder is). Yes I want that fab pony but if I'm wearing the crown I'm there to help more than grind.

I wish other Mentors would be so aware of their position. I'm aware it's impossible to preemptively vet player attitude before granting the Mentor status, but I think Mentors should be held to higher standards and be at greater risk for losing that crown. It'd help a lot on the NA servers where people see my crown and instantly assume I'm a jerkwad. :c

If Sqaure Enix will remove mentor system, Please spare Japanese Data Center.

I have to admit, I had to disable notifications for the NN way back when it came out. Most of the chat was just riddled with unnecessary information, and most of the time just straight up misleading information. I don't know the state it is now since I've never bothered to take a gander at it.

So far the information I have been able to gather indicates that mostly the NA servers are where there seems to be the most disparity. I have heard quite a bit about how the Japanese servers are much more polite. Sometimes it makes me consider moving to one of those servers, but I would hate to leave all my friends behind to do it.

At any rate; this is only a discussion. I sincerely doubt the Channel would be done away with, I just personally believe it would be better than leaving some of them as they are on some servers. Just my opinion.

Naturally I would much rather see some attention paid to them on all servers to quell the inappropriate behavior we see so often on many servers.

Back on Ragnarok it was fairly good. Of course some things sparked debates between Mentors, like healer dpsing or Tank accesories and all that stuff that people debate over... But it never got out of hand, And never stopped new players from getting their questions answered.
Now on omega, I glance over the nn every now and then and mostly notice chit-chat and gil bots... (Wo still doesn't ask back before inviting? They are annoying as hell) I did see some actual questions getting answered, but i never got around helping out myself due to how irrelevant is mostly is, causing me to just glance at it every now and then.

As for mentors, they should really really change how you get that mount and change the crown for a watering can. I leveled up an alt recently so I got around doing guildhests again and oh god. The mentors. Just sprinting in, ready to get their mount and not caring for any new players. I even had the new player symbol on, and he just didn't care. Do you know how frustrated I would be if I had gotten into that when starting the game? I know there's not many bad mentors but you spot them instantly. I had to kick a guy from my fc for his rude behavior once, saw him with mentor symbol a while later... Sometimes you just know who's in for the crown.

In conclusion, the mentor system in and on intself is not a bad thing, but the mentor rewards attract awful mentors, while people willing to teach are glad about the tools they get from the system, and while rewarding them is a nice idea, it does much more harm than good.

I like the watering can idea lol.