Hello!

One of the biggest complaints about the site is that there is not enough support for new members. The site is an intimidating place, both due to the amount of lore, and the quality of writing. We are also a tightly-knit community, which can cause stress on newcomers. The challenge then becomes how we can counter that. How can we provide extra help for new members, to ease them into both the community and the world of Althanas?

There are a few different ideas floating around.

First, a mentor/mentee system. A team of established members will exist as mentors. They will welcome the newcomer, help them navigate the site, answer questions they have (to the best of their ability), and later, write with them. Mentors are not judges, and are not expected to help perfect the newcomer's writing. Instead, it is all about providing guidance, and aiding with the transition. There will be rewards for both the mentors and the mentees. If this idea is approved, we could have mentors who are assigned newcomers as soon as they show up, or a system where mentees seek out specific mentors. The specifics could be determined later!

Second, an Academy. A community I wrote in a few years ago had this, and it worked really well. Established members create "classes," that any member can take. Classes might be centered around character creation, development, setting, dialogue, mature themes, combat, etc. The "professor" will be tasked with creating assignments for and working closely with anyone who wishes to take their class. Members will "graduate" when the professor feels they have made significant progress. This is a cool idea, as anyone can take the classes - it benefits those who are new, and those who are not. More details could be hashed out at a later date, but the nice thing about this proposal is that writers can work on specific elements.

Feel free to vote for one, both, or neither. And please post your thoughts! I'm especially looking to hear from newcomers, or people who can remember how they felt back then, because that is at the heart of this whole discussion.

I would also love to hear from some more veteran members who might be willing to help out with either of these projects!