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

[KageTokage]

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.

[Jeeqbit]

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.

[Chekopacheko]

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

[Vahlnir]

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....

[Infindox]

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.

..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.

[Novae]

You do get removed due to inactivity.

[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

[Jeeqbit]

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

[Vahlnir]

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

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

[Jijifli]

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

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.