Anyone trying to defend mentors and the Novice Network would do well to make a character on Cerberus and join the Novice Network there.

I got my crown a looooooong time ago, and immediately put it on. I was proud of it, although I was more proud of the fact my FC created a Linkshell called "Players Help Players" whose sole purpose was to help both new and old players alike, back before the Novice Network was even a thing!

Into the channel I go, and in no more than 5 minutes, I withdrew from the NN, removed my crown, and nope'd the hell out.

Why?

Because it was being used as a public linkshell where the same four people circle-jerked each other, mocked players new and old alike regardless of question, and gave objectively bad advice as gospel goodness... and kicked anyone who disagreed or provided evidence to the contrary.

My own attempt to remove them was met with some vitriol, and ended with a mass-kick of random people as "punishment", of which I ended up being one punished.

Some time later, I dipped my toe in again, and remained silent, only watching. Nothing had changed, it was still the same toxic round-table as it had been before. Attempting to offer different opinions saw people quickly kicked.

And last night, one of my own FC members, still a new person, said out of nowhere:

"Well, the novice network is a horrible shower of [expletive meaning poop] and I wish I'd never bothered".

So if you want your nice, rose-tinted world view of Mentors smashing into dust in front of you, join Cerberus's Novice Network.

If you do, and you find nothing wrong, well I have some bad news for you...