It seems that a lot of mentors do not do the job they are volunteering to do and wear the crown as a status symbol. There are many threads on the FFXIV subreddit complaining about mentors and the system which gives those who want to help a bad reputation because of the others.

I propose that the icon is changed to something that isn't as attractive as a crown. Since new players are sprouts, I propose that the mentor icon should be a watering can.

Mentors are supposed to help new players grow so this icon would have a metaphorical meaning behind it too. Discussing with other mentors who actually try to help and not just wear it as a status symbol, we seem to be in agreement. Here is a Reddit comment thread support this claim:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...sucks/dde5a7d/

By changing the icon to a watering can (or something that may be considered "ugly") then only the mentors that actually want to help will wear the icon.