Mentors
The Mentors is a volunteer-based program run by the Mentor Lead Team and overseen by Neos Moderation. Those who are a part of it are volunteers from the Neos community who help out, educate, or assist other users in their free time. They aim to provide help, assistance, and support to the entire community, especially to new players who need guidance. Mentors act as a bit of a social barrier for those who are new to the community.
What is a Mentor?
A Mentor is a member of the community that has volunteered their time to help users of all experience levels. They serve as an essential part of the new user experience by reinforcing the friendly, welcoming community atmosphere that Neos provides.
How do I Find a Mentor
Mentors can be identified in-game by their unique green name color and badge (as shown above), and they can be found through a couple of methods.
- Reach out on the NeosVR Discord through the #questions-help channel, where you can ping the @Neos Mentor role to receive help from online mentors.
- Include a request for mentors or help in the name of your session. When opening a new world, you will be prompted to give it a name, with the default being “<User name>'s World”. Clicking on this will spawn a keyboard, allowing you to edit the world name.
What are the Mentor Leads?
The role of the Mentor Leads is to oversee the Mentor Program and provide structure, feedback, management, and resources to the program. Every Mentor Lead should be able to autonomously handle things like tweaking the guidelines, correcting grammatical mistakes, implementing quality-of-life changes, and onboarding new applicants.
Current Mentor Leads can be found on the Mentor Roster (Listed Below), or in the following list;
- MattyK
- Cataena
- Ikani
- Lazhannya
- BigRedWolfy
- irick
- Holy
- Holy_Water
- orange
- Veer (Chief Moderation Officer, Oversees the Mentor Program as a whole)
(Current as of 25th of May, 2022)
What is the Criteria for being a Mentor?
The willingness to teach and learn, and a baseline of experience with the tools of Neos.
What comes with the Mentor role?
- Recognition and thanks for their time and assistance as a volunteer.
- Recognition of their Mentor role via a badge and nameplate colour, enabling users in need of help to more easily seek them out.
- Access to the Neos Volunteer Team Discord to receive Mentor-related announcements and updates, and to communicate and coordinate with other mentors and members of the other volunteer teams.
- Access to the Neos Mentor Team Group containing useful teaching materials.
How do I become a Mentor?
Listed in the Mentor Resources below is an Application Form; the process of becoming a Mentor has been largely streamlined and made less opaque by the inclusion of the new Mentor Trainer System, which you can read through in the resources below as well.
Mentor Resources
Below is a list of Front-Facing Documentation & Resources that the Mentor Team uses. All information displayed is fit for public consumption and intended to give one a broad overview of the Mentor Program and what it entails.
Mentor Program Application The Front-Facing Application for the Mentor Program. The Mentor Program is open to new applicants.
Mentor Guidelines The Mentor Guidelines, listed below in its own translated section.
Mentor Roster The Mentor Program's Roster, displaying current Mentors, Mentor Trainees, their time zones, and their languages.
Mentor Trainer System The Mentor Trainer System, a compulsory system that all new Mentors are put through to establish a baseline of skills and expectations. It functions as an acculturation process, a probationary period, and an onboarding period for the new Mentor.
Neos Mentor Guidelines
Version 1.2
Mentors are Community Members who volunteer their time to help other Users, both new and experienced.
They are important to all Users, especially New Users, and thus should attain a baseline of skills that they are able to demonstrate.
The Role does not come with a quota to fulfill, but rather with an expectation to represent Neos and the friendly, open community that it houses.
- Follow the Neos Usage Guidelines
- Respect fellow Users
- Consider personal space, comfort, ear, and eye safety.
- Make sure to consider what the User you’re helping is actually interested in.
- While acting as a Mentor, Avoid Biases and Conflict
- De-escalate if a situation drifts too far into a discussion/argument.
- Personal likes/dislikes and opinions should not be forced upon other Users.
- Do not abuse the Mentor Role
- Do not lie about your rights, impersonate Moderators, or generally put yourself above other Users based on your Role.
- Avoid manipulating a User to follow personal beliefs/opinions on the basis of your Mentor Role.
- Being a mentor does not grant exclusivity in teaching users. Anyone can teach, and one should not override that teaching unless it violates Neos Usage Guidelines.
- Avoid disruptive Tools/Gadgets
- New Users shouldn't be overwhelmed by displacement gadgets (push tools/guns, gravity tips, hand/proxy grabbers) or loud/bright effects (such as realistic guns, flashbangs or the visual filters found on vapes/bongs).
- Similarly, a complex Multi-tool can eschew the new user experience and expectation, keep to simple or default tooltips when possible with new users.
- Act polite and dignified
- Have patience with Users, especially when it comes to technical issues or them needing more time to understand. Do not become pushy.
- Remember that the badge comes with recognition and represents the Neos platform to a degree.
- Stay open to constructive criticism, listen to feedback
- Not every possible problem can be covered in the guidelines. If another User, fellow Mentor, or Lead approaches you with an issue, please be considerate and listen.
Not following the Mentor Guidelines as an established Mentor may result in consequences, which can range from a warning to removal from the Program.
Removal Decisions will always be made by the Mentor Leads as a whole.