Tips on being a mentor but not sounding bossy

[Altena]

If I sound aggressive, it's because I see terrible "mentors" all the time, and just roll my eyes.

The mentor system is more about answering simple questions such as "where do I get a mount?" or "I can't find my next MSQ" etc...

Everyone should be in "mentor mode" when running stuff, I will agree there.. However the mentor system works for those basic questions that I mentioned.
You don't have to be an all-star vet to answer questions like that - just knowledgeable enough to know where to find the answer and most importantly willing enough to help.

There are always going to be "bad" mentors that give the crown a bad name, just as there are plenty of non-crown players that give the rest of the community a bad name.
The only reason people keep seeing "bad mentors" is because there is something to make them stand out.
I can almost assure you the percentage of unhelpful/toxic mentors compared to helpful/positive ones, is likely a similar number to unhelpful/toxic non-mentors compared to helpful/positive non-mentors.

The issue is not with the system, but with the selection. Becoming a mentor has nothing to do with a player's willingness to help out. It's about having jobs/classes leveled. The system itself is perfectly fine (having a newbie chat channel and something to identify someone in a duty that is willing to help).