As a Gilgamesh Mentor myself, the OP is definitely exaggerating. Yes, there is a lot of free chat in the Novice Network, but whenever someone DOES ask for game advice, they get answers, usually immediately, and often by ten or more mentors all at once. The Novice Network is still fulfilling its purpose: assisting novices and returners with questions they have about the game.

Some folks, though, seem to feel that the Network should be dead silent unless helping out novices, and even though I rarely participate in the random discussions myself, I'm not sure that I agree. The unrestricted chatter provides a social environment that many novices (particularly those who have not yet found a Free Company to call home) find very inviting. I've lost track of the number of times that a novice has been on the verge of tears because their time as a novice was coming to an end and they were being forced to leave the Network.

There is, on occasion, discord in the channel, whether it be about politics, optimal DPS rotations or (ironically) whether free chat should be allowed in the Novice Network, but it rarely lasts.

It's sad but true that Gilgamesh's Novice Network has been running thin on novices lately, due to the shutdown of new characters, and that does mean that there's been fewer and fewer occasions to assist newbies. Still, the network on Gilgamesh is not bad, by my reckoning.