Novice Network needs to be opt-in only in light of the recent population surge.

By that, I mean mentors should be required to manually join it whenever they log in or get removed due to inactivity.

The reason is that a lot of people get their mentor certification almost strictly so they can have the crown icon by their name and/or gain access to mentor roulette, not because they're actually interested in...y'know, mentoringand offering advice to new players.

The game, however, shoves all new mentors into there automatically and also initially flags them to auto-join Novice Network whenever they log in or switch zones. This leads to the limited 100 mentor slots being occupied predominantly by people who have no actual interest in helping, meaning at prime time the people who are helpful frequently end up being locked out for several minutes if not hours at a time.

The mentor system as a whole could use an overhaul, but I feel like this is the bare minimum they could do for the time being to help ensure Novice Network is fulfilling its intended purpose; particularly with the bloated numbers of new players around.

Isn't it already opt-in? I was a mentor for years without being in it because I was told it was full of bad language. When I finally joined it, I just saw mentors answering sprout and returner questions and regretted not joining sooner.

Maybe this is something new, as I joined the NN as a mentor just recently, but I did not joined automatically, rather I had to request it

I'm...pretty sure it is opt-in already. Like, you can leave and not be forced to log into it as a mentor. You can also join (or attempt to join) again at any time. That is literally the definition of opting in. It also removes people due to inactivity, so....

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

The game, however, shoves all new mentors into there automatically and also initially flags them to auto-join Novice Network whenever they log in or switch zones.

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..huh? I'm not in NN and the game never bugs me to join. I can do so at anytime clicking the icon at the bottom of my chat log.

You do get removed due to inactivity.

oh wow, you're all misunderstanding the op. it isn't about initially joining the novice network. it's about being automatically signed in to it. for example, if i log in to the game, it tries to put me into novi network chat. if it's full, every time i port somewhere, it tries again. the op wants that turned off, so i'd have to click the little sprout down by the chatbox if i want to join

the idea being that the majority of mentors won't care to click that icon and will stay out of novi network

to put it another way, you guys are giving advice for one person to stay out. they want everybody out by default, and you have to choose each time if you want in

i understand the frustration. i want to be in novi network, but it's hard to get in these days

Once I initially join it, for it to remember to join the novice network the next time is convenient.

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Originally Posted by cheolsu

oh wow, you're all misunderstanding the op. it isn't about initially joining the novice network. it's about being automatically signed in to it. for example, if i log in to the game, it tries to put me into novi network chat. if it's full, every time i port somewhere, it tries again. the op wants that turned off, so i'd have to click the little sprout down by the chatbox if i want to join

the idea being that the majority of mentors won't care to click that icon and will stay out of novi network

to put it another way, you guys are giving advice for one person to stay out. they want everybody out by default, and you have to choose each time if you want in

i understand the frustration. i want to be in novi network, but it's hard to get in these days

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There's nothing to misunderstand. What the OP asked for is the system already in place with the requested options that already exist.

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Originally Posted by cheolsu

oh wow, you're all misunderstanding the op. it isn't about initially joining the novice network. it's about being automatically signed in to it. for example, if i log in to the game, it tries to put me into novi network chat. if it's full, every time i port somewhere, it tries again. the op wants that turned off, so i'd have to click the little sprout down by the chatbox if i want to join

the idea being that the majority of mentors won't care to click that icon and will stay out of novi network

to put it another way, you guys are giving advice for one person to stay out. they want everybody out by default, and you have to choose each time if you want in

i understand the frustration. i want to be in novi network, but it's hard to get in these days

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But that's literally how the system works already.

After obtaining mentor, you have to click the little icon at the bottom left to get access to the network. The game doesn't at any point force you in afterword. Anyone who's going in automatically has already stated, to the game, "I want to join this."

So if OP's issue is people who don't wanna mentor going into the novice network eating up the space, then I must ask, why did they choose to go in in the first place?

Sure, it probably would help (A lot of those slots are eaten by burger sprouts who got crafting mentor, which eats a mentor slot, but they're still being sprouts), but I doubt that's the specific person being focused on here.

I guess they must've changed something at some point, because it placed me in Novice Network by default when I initially I got mentor status back in HW then left it on auto-join afterward.

That said, I still feel like if the auto-join wasn't a thing there'd be a lot less issues with crowding since even at prime time I usually see only maybe a dozen different mentors actually involved in conversation out of the 100, and I have a hard time imagining that there's that many people who join just to watch the discussions but not actually take part in them.

Wait.. people would actually want to join Novice Network? :confused:

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Originally Posted by SturmChurro

Wait.. people would actually want to join Novice Network? :confused:

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Contrary to popular belief, it's not terrible on every server and it's usually just specific people who make it that way.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

Contrary to popular belief, it's not terrible on every server and it's usually just specific people who make it that way.

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Players who are making the NN an unwelcome place aren't mentors are they? If so, I think something needs to be done about the system of mentorship, and perhaps even the closure of NN if there are mentors of all things who are making NNs unwelcome to new players, and nothing currently can or is being done about it.

This threads request seems to be on the right track, but I think more needs to be done.

It doesn't seem terribly reasonable to close the whole NN simply because of a couple bad apples.

I think the bigger problem is that they can just keep coming back after they get kicked by other mentors and continue to be a nuisance while skirting the lines of the ToS.

Perhaps making the Novice Network kicks more punishing, but requiring the input of multiple players to go through might help...?

Any proof on that we just get it for the (ugly) crown icon or is this again one of those reddit fallacies.

Never ever in 7+ years I've heard anyone becoming a mentor for the icon. I don't use it personally.

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Originally Posted by SturmChurro

Wait.. people would actually want to join Novice Network? :confused:

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Very nice on Light / Odin and Chaos / Omega.
Different Internet culture

From this I gathered that getting out of mentor chat is too hard for mentors, which basically just reaffirms the reputation of the burger king crown

A few people answer at a time because the rest of them are busy with content, AFK, or a good enough answer was provided already.

5 crafting/gathering
5 AFK
26 in a dungeon, 2 in queue, 6 in a party, 1 in a cut scene
2 RP
20 online

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Originally Posted by eenlx

Once you click the "Leave" button at the bottom left corner of the NN menu, the game does not put you back in it, even if you teleport to a new area or log out and back in.

Novice Network is already opt-in. There are just a ton of players who qualify for mentor status.

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I'm aware that it's "opt out" already, but the issue is that a lot of people don't even realize they're taking up space in Novice Network after initially gaining mentor status unless someone personally tells them about it.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

I'm aware that it's "opt out" already, but the issue is that a lot of people don't even realize they're taking up space in Novice Network after initially gaining mentor status unless someone personally tells them about it.

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Of course they know they are taking up space in it, because they see the chatter. It's opt-in because you have to click the button to join it at first and you seem to be the only one who has experienced it being opt-out. Perhaps you accepted Returner status at some point and it put you in?

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Originally Posted by SturmChurro

Players who are making the NN an unwelcome place aren't mentors are they? If so, I think something needs to be done about the system of mentorship, and perhaps even the closure of NN if there are mentors of all things who are making NNs unwelcome to new players, and nothing currently can or is being done about it.

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My experience it is the mentors the few times I joined briefly I was met with hostile and unwelcome vibes. Even to a point I quit because I felt the game was unwelcome and felt like isolated from everyone. When I joined recently again I met the same elitist attitude in the Novice Network from mentors. When asking questions you get replies as figure it out yourself, get better, etc, just play the game.

I found it very toxic experience to say the least and you cant even report people for verbal abuse the only option I get is for RMT or some acronym. That warns you not to abuse it if its false and since I dont know what it stands for I just dipped out and left Novice Network.

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Originally Posted by Juun

My experience it is the mentors the few times I joined briefly I was met with hostile and unwelcome vibes. Even to a point I quit because I felt the game was unwelcome and felt like isolated from everyone. When I joined recently again I met the same elitist attitude in the Novice Network from mentors. When asking questions you get replies as figure it out yourself, get better, etc, just play the game.

I found it very toxic experience to say the least and you cant even report people for verbal abuse the only option I get is for RMT or some acronym. That warns you not to abuse it if its false and since I dont know what it stands for I just dipped out and left Novice Network.

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It seems like it's not good on your server, but poor attitudes happen among sprouts and returners sometimes, it's just their stay in the Novice Network is limited while for mentors it is forever unless they don't login.

Those answers do seem to really miss the point of the novice network and I think it would help for other mentors to join it on your server and answer properly.

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

Of course they know they are taking up space in it, because they see the chatter. It's opt-in because you have to click the button to join it at first and you seem to be the only one who has experienced it being opt-out. Perhaps you accepted Returner status at some point and it put you in?

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I haven't unsubbed from the game at any point, so I don't think that's the case. It's been so many years since I gained mentor status that I have no recollection of how the game actually introduces the Novice Network to players.

I don't think that people would necessarily see the NN chatter depending on how their tabs are set up, though.