SL Armageddon & a Savior

**All names have been changed to protect the innocent... er... guilty... er... well, everyone. Yes this is another venting and is in no way to take away from the great program that is SL Mentoring. Despite this outburst, these are wonderful people who do a GREAT job. You couldn't have a better SL calling. On with the vent.***

SL Mentors IM Chat:

Amy: Is something going on with SL that we don't know about? This is my third relog in about ten minutes...
Steve, Fawn & George: no probs here...I'm fine too.... All fine here, video, music, IM, TP all nominal
Phil: Maybe SL Armageddon is coming, read your SL bible

I couldn't help but to laugh hysterically. In one line, "Phil" reminded us to use our resources rather than open up a window and disrupt hundreds of mentors. Cheers Phil!

Sara, being helpful mentioned that "you can check the grid by yourself". So, standing firm to my principles about chat, I asked Sara if she would "remind us how to check the grid please," for which a link was provided. This helps all new (and rusty) mentors remember how to be proactive.

Of course I was immediately reminded that because I posted that, because I helped people, because I did my job, I'll likely be moved back to apprentice status by Linden Labs for having broken the chat rule. Tell me again how this is worth my time? I'm a professional, educated person who spends her day in crisis intervention. And you want to demote me back to learning level because I was helping people?

Yes, this rule gets under my skin. Why? *grumbling* *grumbling more* *throwing a shoe* I believe in self sufficiency. I believe in respecting others and their time. And I humbly appreciate what it means to have chat windows pop up all the time and be frustrated by that. But I also feel that by signing on as a mentor, you have to have a certain amount of respect for the learning process and, frankly, a responsibility to help other mentors too. Rules that punish people for doing just that realllllly get under my skin, so much so that I have a kink in my shoulder from the experience.

Of course, making this even more frustrating was that as this was going on, I was in the process of three mentor jobs at once, one of them quite serious with RL implications.

So I whined to a crusty old mentor who has heard it before. And get this - he talked ME down. ME! The one who talks everyone else off a cliff. Not only that, he gave me some tools to feel empowered again, provided a network of people who do the more advanced work, helped me learn, and encouraged me. So thank you Sir-to-be-Named-Later-if-he-Lets-me!!! You made my Second Life a whole lot better. And as such, saved yet another mentor from an early retirement!