Mia: We are going to give Torley the stage! Please remember not to speak out as I will be doing a transcript of the event for those not here and please send your questions for Torley to me via IM.

Torley Linden: so i’m thrilled to be here with each and all of you today. as you likely know, i’m Torley… my title here at Linden Lab is Resident Enlightenment Manager

Torley Linden: this mainly means that i amplify your awesome through video tutorials, but other things too, including wiki pages… nice thing about media like that is, it can be shared outside of Second Life so you teens can get to it easily too

Torley Linden: and i thank you for your support and enthusiasm, that energy is totally awesome… i want to visit TSL Birthday 1 too, i haven’t yet

Torley Linden: you can always download/watch video tutorials via http://secondlife.com/video

Torley Linden: any questions about that and closely related are kewl

Torley Linden: indulge your curiosities

Mia Linden: how long does it take to make a torley tutorial? what programs do you use? which is your favorite?

Torley Linden: simplest tutorials take a few minutes, longer ones (like that LAND series… oh my gosh) took up to a few hours

Torley Linden: i primarily use Camtasia Studio for recording, Sony Vegas for editing… neither is free but i’ve grown with them and they fit my workflow really well

Torley Linden: i have more details @ http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Torley_Linden/Vidtut_process — that’s a step by step guide to how i make them

Torley Linden: and as for my FAVORITE… that’s a wonderful question

Torley Linden: they’re like my children so i don’t have a single fave, but i do have funny memories associated with some of them

Torley Linden: like, in some, you may’ve noticed i crashed in mid-filming and was like “DARNIT!!!!”, or a sudden bug came up

Torley Linden: i guess for most people that’d be embarrassing but i believe in showing Second Life as it really is, to help share awareness of what to expect, highlighting both the grand stuff and teaching workarounds for those bugs… when they do come up

Torley Linden: i get really happy assembling/compiling footage,

Torley Linden: e.g., for the “Who are Lindens?” one i liked zooming into various Linden profiles and just hanging out at Bridie’s (on MG) office hour… i know some of you have requested that i film more video tutorials on TSL…

Torley Linden: and i am definitely open to that because there are some beautiful locations here and lots of energy

Torley Linden: and i thrive on that energy and your spirit, it’s SO important

Torley Linden: so yeah

Torley Linden: neeeeext

Torley Linden: yeah i hope you saw my pictures of Okarthel from last year @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/2003065656/

Mia Linden: How many tutorials have you made?

Torley Linden: so i’ve done almost 200 video tutorials, it was 190-something published ones… there are “short short” ones i don’t even include on the official page

Torley Linden: sometimes i feel terribly spontaneous and just MAKE something…

Torley Linden: i wish some more content was available to teens, i do know the pain where you see something kewl and it’s not on TSL

Torley Linden: and there are like, a few more dozen in various states of production…

Torley Linden: so you can expect over 200 video tutorials in a few weeks

Torley Linden: give or take

Torley Linden: (total)

Torley Linden: N E X T

Mia Linden: How do you like being the enlightenment Manager?

Torley Linden: (and please do be polite and save questions for Mia so we can get a fab chat transcription)

Torley Linden: I LOVE IT

Torley Linden: it’s funny how i ended up with this title, quite a story…

Torley Linden: basically i was gonna be the “Resident Education Manager”

Torley Linden: but then people were like, “Education, as in Stanford and harvard and all that?” thinking about RL universities in SL…

Torley Linden: so i was like, “ok… i need something more descriptive yet fun…”

Torley Linden: and paged through the dictionary/thesaurus-thing

Torley Linden: Enlightenment has been a fave word of mine for ages… it’s both very frolicky yet serious… e.g., the Age of Reason in the 1800s and all the declared Enlightenments in historical periods spanning humankind…

Torley Linden: and the definition of “enlightenment”, one of them, was perfect:

Torley Linden: something like “increase understanding through the spread of knowledge”

Torley Linden: i had to go with that. insofar as a job, it’s terribly rewarding. get to connect lots of bits together, share the spirit of Second Life… and it basically unifies a lot of odd threads i’ve been working on at some capacity at LL for awhile.

Torley Linden: so long story short, it rocks.

Torley Linden: next-ish!

Mia Linden: Whats the hardest tortial you’ve done Torley?

Torley Linden: the hardest ones by far up to date were the LAND ones…

Torley Linden: and i’m so glad you asked…

Torley Linden: because LAND, as you can imagine, works on both a very big (owning a region) level but there are all sorts of intricacies with it

Torley Linden: (sorry i can’t reply to IMs right now!)

Torley Linden: and i had to verify much info with expert Lindens, do fact-checking…

Mia Linden: Are you considering doing an office hour here on TSL?

Torley Linden: filming some of the subject material took a good amount of time because there are so many options

Torley Linden: e.g., About Land Options had a lot i wanted to *show*

Torley Linden: for reference: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Video_Tutorials#LAND

Torley Linden: =)

Mia Linden: Will you do any major scripting tutorials?

Torley Linden: ahhh so as for TSL office hours, i’ve thought of them. but i’d like to know: what are most convenient times when most teen Resis interested in attending could show up?

Torley Linden: if you guys could decide and do some “hive” thinking on that and let me know a consensus… i can see if it works with my schedule because the problem i ran into long ago is a few teens could make it but not others who wanted to attend… a lot

Torley Linden: i know no one time is good for EVERYONE but… it’d help to have more unity/clarity on that

Mia Linden: Will you do any major scripting tutorials?

Torley Linden: but i’m definitely open to it based on how much you guys want me to be here =^_^=

Torley Linden: i’m open to doing more scripting tutorials but there are a few challenges with that

Torley Linden: one is, scripting is mainly textual… and online encoded video is fuzzy

Torley Linden: those two don’t mix well, and many would-be scripters would rather copy-and-paste blocks of text

Torley Linden: now, the special part where i’m aware scripting could use video to shine, is showing inworld actions, like dragging scripts into an object’s contents… or more complicated things

Torley Linden: it’d likely be a mixed-media tutorial, therefore.

Torley Linden: but “the possibilities are open,yo.”

Torley Linden:

George Linden: XD

Torley Linden: neeeext

Torley Linden: gimme your most eclectic questions!

Mia Linden: You said earlier that you thought TSL was lacking things from the MG. If you could bring one thing over, what would it be?

Torley Linden: ONE THING is tough. i’d hope in the future that such walls, perceived or otherwise, don’t exist. but if you’re referring to ONE OBJECT, of course that’d be my Watermelinden Office which was mentioned earlier… ;D haha

Torley Linden: it all reminds me of Star Trek…

Torley Linden: the need for civilizations to make contact

Torley Linden: and then communicate, and then start trading/sharing stuff…

Torley Linden: of course we’re all human (or so we think) here.

Torley Linden:

Torley Linden: although i am clearly a watermelon dazzle bat XD

Torley Linden: no need to cough, these things are healthy, hahaha

Mia Linden: Whats the adverage time you’d spend on ONE tutorial?

Torley Linden: average time has gone down over time… and right now… i’d say it’s 1-2 hrs. for a tip of the week.

Torley Linden: i do this thing called Tuesday Time Trials where i deliberately go through the workflow in deep, scrutinizing detail…

Torley Linden: and figure out, “can i save 5 min. here?” some things will take awhile for time to come, like video rendering/encoding…

Torley Linden: but like fine-tuning a motor vehicle for power around the racetrack, it’s been an ongoing journey of optimization/streamlining

Torley Linden: and it’s made me a lot more effective.

Torley Linden: there are times when some Lindens want a video tutorial done the next day, and i can do that.

Mia Linden: Torley, have you ever been griefed while shooting a video tutorial?

Torley Linden: e.g., the recent one i helped Jesse & the NUE team with changing avatars via the Library, that had to be done quickly

Torley Linden: YES

Torley Linden: i have even recorded a griefing on a video tutorial :O

Torley Linden: the floating text one

Mia Linden: lol

Torley Linden: http://youtube.com/watch?v=I0WxPx-QGKE you can see some dood is trying to gage me

Torley Linden: *cage

Mia Linden: if i make video tutorials of my own, where or how can i show them off

Torley Linden: i actually got caged and went ahead to film it…

Torley Linden: if you make video tutorials, BE SURE to add them to http://secondlife.com/video

Torley Linden: you can add yours in the Resident-created section

Torley Linden: thanx Sylver and take care!

Torley Linden: glad to see ya…

Torley Linden: and of course, BE SURE to let me know directly, torley at lindenlab dot com

Mia Linden: Whould you do more tutorials in the teen grid, with others, kinda like a workshop?

Torley Linden: i always, always read emails about Resident-created video tutorials and would love to have more teen ones

Torley Linden: i might do more in the teen grid… the way i film, it’s actually not situation-specific in most cases unless i need to do something tied to a parcel of land

Torley Linden: i don’t do too much conscious planning on that, because that impedes action

Torley Linden: so it might happen spontaneously… but as for a “workshop”, that sounds like it could be part of if i did TG office hours

Torley Linden: N.E.X.T. =D

Torley Linden: i like all these great emoticons BTW, i collect emoticons, i’m very sensitive to them

Mia Linden: Is it possible that if a teen/resident does a real good video tutorial that it might be featured on the blog like yours? or could that be a contest idea?

Torley Linden: <|

Torley Linden: well, it wouldn’t even have to be a contest… it’s mainly a matter of time right now that i can’t feature everything, alas. but i have twittered and mentioned Resident-created tutorials before. so i’d say that if you do something exceptional and awesome, by all means let me know, and YES it’s possible.

Torley Linden: if you go back through my past blog postings you’ll notice i’ve given plenty of shoutouts (and even within videos themselves) to community contributors…

Torley Linden: i don’t mean that in the abstract sense, but in the “OMG UR AWESOME!” reality.

Torley Linden: nnnnnext please

Mia Linden: i think there be a video on how to make textures and gestures also on how to upload them to sl. torley could make a video showing a video of how to upload textures from gimp and other texture programs.

Torley Linden: ah, my love/hate relationship with GIMP. it’s free to use but… not the easiest, its windowing system throws me off

Torley Linden: i may do a texture creation one someday…

Torley Linden: which tools, i haven’t decided yet… but…

Torley Linden: Zombie, i tried the GIMPshop but, it crashed me out!

Torley Linden: i’ve mainly used a combo of Filter Forge, ArtRage, and a few other things to make seamless textures.

Torley Linden: i also consider availability of tools when i choose to feature something… e.g., web-services that run cross-platform are more appealing than something that just runs on Mac.

Torley Linden: altho if it’s highly unique, then i’d make an exception.

Torley Linden: the key is to keep moving and be agile and i’m surprised more Residents haven’t done content creation tutorials,

Torley Linden: (please send questions to Mia!)

Torley Linden: but then again i understand a human need to “hoard secrets”, even when they really aren’t secrets

Torley Linden: that’s why i did the “Sculpted prims made simple” tutorial showing

Torley Linden: the UI is somewhat strange but it’s cross-platform and works easily

Torley Linden: AND it was made by a Resident (on the MG), so… +1 there too

Torley Linden: next please!

Mia Linden: Can you ask him for me, how hhe gets his camera to move so smothly during vid tuts?

Torley Linden: take care Barry!

Torley Linden: =)

Torley Linden: so, the camera motion is a combo of two things…

Torley Linden: in Edit menu > Preferences > Input & Camera in the Camera Options…

Torley Linden: in the 1.20 Release Candidate…

Torley Linden: you can make Camera Smoothing higher… and i use that when i alt-zoom on stuff

Torley Linden: so that makes it noticeably smooooooooother

Torley Linden: and in Sony Vegas, there’s different ways to set pan/crop controls, and i use Smooth keyframes to interpolate verrrrrry nicely

Torley Linden: so it’s a combo of both within Second Life and in my video editor, really.

Torley Linden: mmmm food

Torley Linden: grrrreat questions, keep ‘em coming!!!

Mia Linden: Did you do any videos with Philip in them? I bet many would like to see one

Torley Linden: i am ready for the next one Mia =)

Torley Linden: hahahaahah there’s some where i had a Philip-tribute avatar…

Torley Linden: but none where i caught him live…

Torley Linden: aside from the recent SL5B video

Torley Linden: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mNJKR4BQzEY

Torley Linden: with both M and Philip

Mia Linden: Will you do one with the new CEO? Seems like videos are a good way to make a historical record for SL

Torley Linden: sometimes i film Lindens if they cross my path randomly (i love that)

Torley Linden: M likes my video tutorials (whee) and i have the honor and privilege of recording his TEEN SECOND LIFE KEYNOTE COMING SOON!!!!

Torley Linden: so watch out for that

Mia Linden: Are you going to do videos in other languages too?

Torley Linden: the info should appear on http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/SL5B if it hasn’t yet… i haven’t checked closely but M is gonna do a special speech on TSL, i believe that’s gonna be on Jul. 3 but lemme check

Torley Linden: i’m into memorable moments

Torley Linden: i wish i was a polyglot, alas i am not.

Mia Linden: \Maybe you can make a bloopers video??!!

Torley Linden: but Residents can feel free to remix the contents of my video tutorials in different languages or make their own.

Torley Linden: so no, unfortunately i’m not personally doing vidtuts in other languages.

Torley Linden: oh yeah if i get around to it, i may do a blooper reel…

Torley Linden: in the meantime, there’s this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xVRUT_kXkfg

Mia Linden: that would be awesome!

George Linden: (sent questions to Mia, she will read them off to Torley )

Lexie Linden: haha nice!

Mia Linden: lol

Mia Linden: Has there been any tests that show people learn from videos better than text?

Torley Linden: (and looks like M Linden will do his speech on TSL on Jul. 3, watch the blog for details)

Torley Linden: yes, but there’s different styles of learning… but,

Torley Linden: since Second Life is so visual, people who are really into it are also attuned to learning SHOWING SL ITSELF

Torley Linden: so really, doing videos is severely obvious and one of the most simple and elegant approaches

Torley Linden: some of you may’ve noticed how many websites out there with tours… well, they have video tours and video tutorials.

Torley Linden: not a coincidence… and while video isn’t suited to EVERYTHING (e.g., a phone book video would SUCK)

Torley Linden: i have definitely come across and been received graciously by 1000s and

Torley Linden: so i keep doing it, thanks to their encouragement

Torley Linden: NN EE XX TT

Mia Linden: What program do you use to take videos?

Torley Linden: oh i covered that earlier but i record using Camtasia Studio

Torley Linden: da detailz are @ http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Torley_Linden/Vidtut_process

Mia Linden: is that freeware Torley?

Torley Linden: it has a 30-day trial and isn’t free but it’s well worth it

Torley Linden: there are some freeware apps listed here…

Mia Linden: Why did you choose watermellons to be your theme for your avatar, your builds and most of your other Second Life related things?

Torley Linden: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Help:Recording_Movies

Torley Linden: watermelons have been with me since i was a kid,

Torley Linden: my Dad told me stories of world creation myths involving watermelons…

Torley Linden: they appeal to my senses, and are easy to remember.

Torley Linden: i don’t like to make it harder than necessary for people to remember who i am, that just gives them a headache.

Torley Linden: so watermelons are a nice conversation bridge that way too.

Torley Linden: i definitely love the colors, and i was a teen, i was exposed to a lot of neon

Torley Linden: so kinda like the Incredible Hulk grows and gets all green when gamma radiation gets to him,

Torley Linden: i have a similar effect when exposed to neon and watermelons

Torley Linden: but i don’t get angry like that

Torley Linden: and TORLEY DON’T SMASH

Torley Linden: lol

Torley Linden: Zombie, deductive reasoning. oh wait, that sounds too logical.

Mia Linden: Is doing Video Tutorials the only thing you do for Linden Labs?

Torley Linden: how about i have a transcendent ability to induce excitement in others!

Torley Linden: =)

Torley Linden: Video Tutorials are 70-80% of what i do

Torley Linden: and the rest is an odd mix of Resident Enlightenment efforts…

Torley Linden: like i compile useful resources together and encourage others to contribute…

Torley Linden: for example:

Torley Linden: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Limits

Torley Linden: because a lot of people often ask, “how many prims can i link?” or “how far does chat go?”

Torley Linden: so part of ENLIGHTENMENT is weaving together all those pieces and making the info accessible and easy to use

Torley Linden: and i often help fellow Lindens with their own projects… like usability studies and surveys

Torley Linden: and of course i leaped at V Team asking me to be here with you!

Torley Linden: make the best of it! this is your Second Life!

Torley Linden: NEXTARAMA

Torley Linden: oh i am a severe fan of Futurama, Kif and Zoidberg are prolly my fave characters :p (i couldn’t resist sharing that)

Torley Linden: one of my dreams outside of LL is to do voice acting for cartoons like

Torley Linden: alrighty what question is up next!

Torley Linden: *excited*

Mia Linden: Whats the other 20-30% you do for Secondlife?

Torley Linden: oh the other 20-30% i mentioned above… the odd mix of stuff

Torley Linden: but pretty much 100… maybe 110% is about helping Residents learn Second Life better, and become aware of stuff they didn’t know previously, and apply it

Torley Linden: making all those connections, working together with different teams on stuff, e.g., when the Documentation Team wants/needs a video tutorial for an article, and i help proofread articles too

Torley Linden: awwwwwwwe

Torley Linden: i like moving very agile tho, it’s often a question of “doing stuff vs. sharing about stuff you’re doing”

Torley Linden: especially you guys, with all the years and opportunities ahead of you… every day, if you contribute knowledge,

Mia Linden: Thats it for the Video Tutorial related questions Torley

Torley Linden: you really make the world a better, rockingest place… i ain’t kidding

Torley Linden: thanks Mia!

Mia Linden: Thank you Torley!

George Linden: Woot! great info Torley, thanks for answering all those questions!!

Lexie Linden: Great Q&A!!!!

Mia Linden: Anything you would like to close with Torley that the teens may not know about?

Torley Linden: you’re sooo welcome =)

Torley Linden: so, if i may philosophize a bit…

Torley Linden: it pays so much (not just in money) to plan ahead long term… think about your life goals, and act on how Second Life can help you realize them.

Torley Linden: for example, you may not know but i can be a very shy conversationalist “in person”…

Torley Linden: when i came into Second Life, i had a goal to strike up as many chats as possible

Torley Linden: and that was in Sept. 2004… and it was really great practice for being a better speaker

Torley Linden: first in text, and then… i started doing videos

Torley Linden: at first it was weird to do videos because most people in Second Life knew me as a female avatar before (that’s a great thing about SL… diversity of self-expression) and i wasn’t sure how people would react

Torley Linden: then again, i didn’t need to be sure… i just needed to GET STUFF DONE

Torley Linden: and so, i rolled out the first video tutorials and video bug reports i made…

Torley Linden: and then, increasingly began switching between avatars… because i got some awesome avatars to try on, in watermelon!

Torley Linden: and Second Life is really avatar-centric, so much…

Torley Linden: i have over 100+ avatars, maybe ~50 that i cycle through

Torley Linden: gestures are another funny thing, i came into SL and my gestures were nuked due to a bug

Torley Linden: so i made a bunch of REALLY SILLY gestures

Torley Linden: and i’ll consider doing TG office hours… please, if some of you (i know you’re friends) decide on a great time that’s best for you, or maybe we can setup a wiki page and decide… that’d be cool

Torley Linden: i’d like to have more knowledge about that first! clarity!

Torley Linden: and see how it goes with my current schedule; i hate to sound like Mr. busy monopoly man or whatever but, i am really crushed for time often, so time-juggling has become an art/science in itself… and i agree about international-friendly hours…

Torley Linden: i used to be a nite owl, but then i became an early rise

Torley Linden: *riser

Torley Linden: i start work at 4 AM PDT most days

Torley Linden: but my first days in SL i was roaming the grid and going “HOLY MOLY!” at 3 AM after like, a full day of exploring. so much i’ve learned here.

Torley Linden: Zombie, inworld and on other tools… like email and webpages

Torley Linden: different peeps at LL have different schedules since we are an international company, and that’s awesome.

Torley Linden: and there are some folks who don’t work on some weekdays but work on weekends because they take care of the grid when there are weekend emergencies

George Linden: Yes… I am sleeping when Torley’s startin’ work!

Torley Linden: i think one fab thing about LL (among others) is how employees… us Lindens here… can share our personalities through avatars

Torley Linden: so you can easily identify us, and identify WITH us…

Torley Linden: Jon: i may! there’s got to be enough interest, i can’t do office hours if no one comes out

Torley Linden: oh incidentally my next meeting after this is Bridie’s bug triage for Release Candidate on MG… sorry you can’t make it

Torley Linden: thx for friendship offers too i’m sorry i can’t accept them on this account

Mia Linden: Torley ty so very much for joining us today

Mia Linden: and for the great information and links.

George Linden: Yes, thank you so much Torley!!

Torley Linden: thank you SO much for having meMia, Amber, Lexie, George… and all of ya teens!

Lexie Linden: Thank s everyone for coming!!

Mia Linden: i thank you all for the great questions!

Amber Linden: thanks so much for coming Torley!

George Linden: Spread the word about Torley’s awesome tutorials!! X) X)

Torley Linden shouts: and bye for now… thus… *DUN DUN DUN*… TO BE CONTINUED… ;D

]]> http://tslvolunteer.com/2008/06/25/qa-video-tutorials-with-torley-linden-june-25-2008-2pm-pdt-transcript/feed/ Mia Linden http://tslvolunteer.com/2008/04/21/the-oasis-mall/ http://tslvolunteer.com/2008/04/21/the-oasis-mall/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:30:45 +0000 Mia Linden http://vteamtslblog.wordpress.com/?p=15

Hello Teen Second Life!

I will be taking over inquiries about vacated stalls at the Oasis Mall.

Should you find a vacated stall set back to Governor Linden please email ONLY if you are interested in purchasing the parcel at 1L$ per square meter. In cases where more than one resident emails me on the same parcel the first email received will be the one selected.

The correct email address to inquire on stalls is: TSLOasisMall.Requests@gmail.com

Mia Linden: two minutes to start!

George Linden: Woot woot, lots of familiar faces, lots of new ones; very cool

Amber Linden: Good to see everyone!

Mia Linden: Thanks to you all for joining us today! I will make this meeting brief so you can get on with enjoying your weekend!

Mia Linden: first up on the agenda:

Mia Linden: New Mentors Accepted - woot!!!*

Lexie Linden: Yay!!!

Mia Linden: We have reviewed all current applications for TSL 2.0 Mentors and have accepted 51 new TSL mentors!!!

*cheers from the TSL Mentors*

Amber Linden: woo hoo!

Mia Linden: and that means….

Mia Linden: Upcoming Mentor Orientation Classes*

Mia Linden:  With the new mentors coming in we will be hosting two Mentor Orientation Classes next week. Current Mentors are welcome to attend to refresh themselves AND to welcome the new mentors.

Mia Linden: Classes are scheduled for:

Mia Linden: Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 3:30pm with Mia & Lexie Linden

Mia Linden: Thursday March 13, 2008 at 4pm with George & Lexie Linden

Mia Linden:: and that brings me to the next topic:

George Linden: (wewt.. no tests.. promise!)

Lexie Linden: : ))

Mia Linden: *Mentor Buddies*

Mia Linden: Mentor Buddies are experienced volunteers in the group who are okay with being contacted directly by other volunteers with questions or advice.

Mia Linden: This is entirely an optional role and may come with extra responsibility, but for many of you who already want to help new volunteers get their feet wet, this is the directory you have been looking to join for a while now. Buddies should be cool, calm, and patient! If that’s you, it might be something to consider.

Mia Linden: Touch base with Daniel Voyager or Yacobheimer125 Voom who are both TSL Mentor Buddies!

Mia Linden: Read all about Mentor Buddies here: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/TSL_2.0_Mentor_Buddies

Mia Linden: Topics at this link include:

Mia Linden: Purposes for new volunteers to contact Mentor Buddies

Mia Linden: How New Volunteers May Find a Mentor Buddy

Mia Linden: Finer Points on a Mentor Buddy’s Responsibility

Mia Linden: Requirements for Maintaining Mentor Buddy Status

Mia Linden: VTeam is also working on a Buddy Paging System which we hope to have working in the very near future. This will make it easier to see which Buddies are online.

Mia Linden: *VTeam’s TSL Blog* http://tslvolunteer.com/

Mia Linden: This is where to look for announcements, meeting transcripts and more.

Mia Linden: *TSL Volunteer Island* TSL Volunteer Island is for you - Our TSL 2.0 Mentors ONLY! Come here to build in quiet surroundings or hangout and swap Mentoring stories, ideas, tips and more!

Mia Linden: I would like to thank Calade Lamington who is redoing all the walkways and flooring here on TSL Volunteer Island. *coughs* Cause Mia cannot build *coughs* TY Calade for volunteering to do this!

George Linden: (Thank you!)

Mia Linden: Thanks as always from all of us on the VTeam! TSL MENTORS ROCK!!!!

Lexie Linden: thank you!

Lexie Linden: woot!!!

Mia Linden: And thats it for the meeting! Have a great weekend!

MIA LINDEN: two minutes to start!

GEORGE LINDEN: Woot woot, lots of familiar faces, lots of new ones; very cool

AMBER LINDEN: Good to see everyone!

MIA LINDEN: Thanks to you all for joining us today! I will make this meeting brief so you can get on with enjoying your weekend!

TSL MENTOR: We have no lives.

MIA LINDEN: first up on the agenda:   *New Mentors Accepted - woot!!!*

LEXIE LINDEN: Yay!!!

TSL MENTOR:: Yay!

MIA LINDEN: We have reviewed all current applications for TSL 2.0 Mentors and have accepted 51 new TSL mentors!!!

TSL MENTOR: yay!

TSL MENTOR:: Hoary!

TSL MENTOR:  weut!

AMBER LINDEN: woo hoo!

TSL MENTOR: Hoaray*

TSL MENTOR: Oh please, there aren’t that many people on TG..

TSL MENTOR: Horay*

TSL MENTOR: ^^

TSL MENTOR: xD

TSL MENTOR: Point taken. xD

TSL MENTOR: lol

MIA LINDEN: and that means….  *Upcoming Mentor Orientation Classes*

With the new mentors coming in we will be hosting two Mentor Orientation Classes next week. Current Mentors are welcome to attend to refresh themselves AND to welcome the new mentors.

MIA LINDEN: Classes are scheduled for:

Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 3:30pm with Mia & Lexie Linden

Thursday March 13, 2008 at 4pm with George & Lexie Linden

MIA LINDEN: and that brings me to the next topic:

GEORGE LINDEN:  (wewt.. no tests.. promise!)

LEXIE LINDEN: : ))

MIA LINDEN: *Mentor Buddies*

Mentor Buddies are experienced volunteers in the group who are okay with being contacted directly by other volunteers with questions or advice.

This is entirely an optional role and may come with extra responsibility, but for many of you who already want to help new volunteers get their feet wet, this is the directory you have been looking to join for a while now. Buddies should be cool, calm, and patient! If that’s you, it might be something to consider.

TSL MENTOR: yay!

Read all about Mentor Buddies here: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/TSL_2.0_Mentor_Buddies

Topics at this link include:

Purposes for new volunteers to contact Mentor Buddies

How New Volunteers May Find a Mentor Buddy

Finer Points on a Mentor Buddy’s Responsibility

Requirements for Maintaining Mentor Buddy Status

VTeam is also working on a Buddy Paging System which we hope to have working in the very near future. This will make it easier to see which Buddies are online.

TSL MENTOR: Proves Lindens aren’t robots

MIA LINDEN: *VTeam’s TSL Blog* http://tslvolunteer.com/

This is where to look for announcements, meeting transcripts and more.

*TSL Volunteer Island*

TSL Volunteer Island is for you - Our TSL 2.0 Mentors ONLY! Come here to build in quiet surroundings or hangout and swap Mentoring stories, ideas, tips and more!

TSL MENTOR

TSL MENTOR:: Thank you.

MIA LINDEN: I would like to thank the TSL MENTOR who is redoing all the walkways and flooring here on TSL Volunteer Island.

*coughs* Cause Mia cannot build *coughs*

TY for volunteering to do this!

GEORGE LINDEN: (Thank you!)

MIA LINDEN: Thanks as always from all of us on the VTeam!

TSL MENTORS ROCK!!!!

LEXIE LINDEN: thank you!  woot!!!

MIA LINDEN: And thats it for the meeting! Have a great weekend!

TSL MENTOR: Awsome!

Please join the VTeam this Friday, March 7th at 3PM for our next Mentor Meeting.

Meetings are listed on the TSL Volunteer Wiki:   https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Calendar_of_Scheduled_Teen_Second_Life_Meetings

Topics:    New Mentors Accepted - woot!!!

Upcoming Mentor Orientation Classes - Will  be announced at meeting and also posted here!

Mentor Buddies   https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/TSL_2.0_Mentor_Buddies

Friendly reminder to all TSL 2.0 Mentors we welcome your use of your Mentors Only TSL Volunteer Island!
See you all Friday!

TSL Mentors 2.0 Meeting Transcript, Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4PM PST on TSL Volunteer Island

MIA LINDEN: and here we go! TSL MENTORS 2.O in 2008 - the first quarter!
Welcome TSL Mentors! As you look around TSL Volunteer Island you can see VTeam has started building up the island.
The Main Area is empty at present but you will notice the kiosks there.
We hope that the kiosks will be used for learning overall. Promoting mentors ongoing education and sharing/teamwork by pooling resources and helping new mentors find those resources in world.
Should you have anything that you would like to share please first submit your contribution to one of the VTeam and we will then review it and if permissable will assign you a kiosk.
Since its a small area we hope you will work in teams to come up with ideas / creations to share with your fellow mentors.
Some ideas are textures, helpful notecards, landmarks to great TSL Locations, etc.
Promote the Knowledge Base with a how to notecard on reaching it which is for everyone to use and contains how tos, videos and much more.
We have sectioned off a mini sandbox for you all to use.
Please keep in mind that you must clean up and not leave anything behind.
TSL MENTOR: I have a question.
MIA LINDEN: Please hold your questions till we are done
TSL MENTOR: Yes ma’am
AMBER LINDEN: Questions at the end please Phil
MIA LINDEN: The sandbox isn’t for stress testing or experimenting with scripts or physics that can cause trouble since the region may be used for other purposes too.
We are here in the Class/Meeting Area which is a good spot for you all to hold inpromptu Mentor Meetings to brainstorm ideas for the kiosks and more!
Coming in the next two weeks will be the Buddy Center!
LEXIE LINDEN: woot!
MIA LINDEN: Here to talk about that is our one and only Lexie Linden! *claps*
LEXIE LINDEN: Hi Everyone!
TSL 2.0 Mentors has a new role in the group!
Mentor Buddy : )
Im going to tell you a bit about the role and you can read the details on the wiki.
I will give you a link for that shortly : )
The Mentor Buddy role is for experienced volunteers within the group who are willing to be contacted directly by other volunteers.
This is an optional role and may come with extra responsibility, but for many of you who already want to help new volunteers get their feet wet, this is the role you have been looking for!
The Buddy role can involve helping in a few different ways.
As a Buddy you may be giving advice on how, where, and when to volunteer, or advice on where to direct a resident concern.
Also, advice on how to respond to unexpected circumstances, such as abuse related concerns.
You can even give a tour of volunteering hot spots, show how volunteering may be done in a particular region or setting.
One way for New Volunteers to find a Mentor Buddy is to go to: Edit>Groups>TSL Mentors 2.0>Info>Members & Roles>Members/Roles
(Once we have some signed up!)
: ))
AMBER LINDEN: (won’t be long I’ll bet!)
LEXIE LINDEN: Buddies may also have a pager. Mia will be talking about that shortly.
A couple of things to remember about Mentor Buddies:
If you are contacting a Mentor Buddy and the one you reach is busy, please respect the privacy of the Mentor Buddy. While he or she did opt into this Mentor role, all volunteers are free to enjoy a Second Life experience outside of volunteering.
Ask a different Buddy for assistance and please remember to thank them for their help too!
As a Mentor Buddy ability to answer questions and requests is at the discretion of the Mentor Buddy.
If you are busy or just unavailable to help when contacted…that is ok!
Please do tell the person asking for assistance that they can ask a different Buddy : )
Always remember to be polite also : )
The primary purpose of the Mentor Buddy system is to help new volunteers get acquainted with the volunteer program by showing them the ropes.
VTeam may ask a Buddy to speak briefly about their experiences and tell a few helpful tips at an orientation session or even at a general Mentor meeting.
Initial sign up for this position will not require that you speak in front of the orientation attendees or at a meeting. However, we ask that to keep this position over time that you do attend one to represent yourself as a Mentor Buddy.
No “cut off” date or deadline is set presently for speaking at these orientation sessions or meetings, and should one be created, plenty of notice will be given to those who wish to maintain their status as Mentor Buddy.
The participation part of the Buddy role is still “a work in progress” so you may hear of more options on this in the future! VTeam would also be glad to hear any suggestions you might have on this topic.
Feel free to drop a notecard in the suggestion box here on this island. ( Look for the big green particle beacon)
If you would like to become a Mentor Buddy:
https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/TSL_2.0_Mentor_Buddies
Please read this page after the meeting.
There is a survey link there which will let you submit your name.
GEORGE LINDEN: Wewt.. the buddy pages work really well on SL, where we first gave them a shot X)
LEXIE LINDEN: We will be adding to the role over the next week : )
ok! Mia has more information for you now on Buddy Pagers : ) Back to you Mia!!
MIALINDEN: Thanks for that great lead in Lexie! lol
LEXIE LINDEN: lol
MIA LINDEN: Buddy Pagers!
Sure its kewl!
Its fun!
Its gonna make our Buddy Mentors SuperStars!
LEXIE LINDEN: yesss
MIA LINDEN: What are Buddy Pagers u will ask?
Well its connected to your profile so put your best avatar pic or even your specialty in your Profile Pic on your Profile.
The Buddy Pagers are black when u are offline and turn on showing whatever your current profile pic is when u are online.
A new or existing mentor can click an online Buddy Mentor’s pager.
They are then prompted to type a very brief one sentence question.
This will then be delivered via IM to the Buddy who was paged.
You can then respond with an answer or meet that person at the Buddy Center!
Please do not use Buddy Pagers for anything but Mentoring.
As Lexie gave you earlier, we have created the Teen Second Life Volunteers Wiki which can be found at: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Teen_Second_Life_Volunteers
LEXIE LINDEN: woot!
MIA LINDEN: The wiki will contain all information on current Volunteer Programs, classes, the Tao of Volunteers, helpful links and more.
GEORGE LINDEN: (if the wiki’s down right now, it may be under maintenance.. would check back again in an hour or so )
MIA LINDEN: And we didn’t stop there,
LEXIE LINDEN: : ))
MIA LINDEN: Heck noooooo we then created the Teen Second Life Volunteer Blog located at: http://TSLVolunteer.com
MIA LINDEN: The Blog will be your one stop for announcements and more from the VTeam!
On another topic, starting in February, we will begin accepting new mentors to TSL Mentors 2.0! That means new Orientation Sessions will also begin.
Another role within TSL Mentors 2.0 is Greeters.
Here to talk about this role is TSL MENTOR! Take it away TSL MENTOR!
*claps*
LEXIE LINDEN: woot!!!!
GEORGE LINDEN: woot
MIA LINDEN: woot woot
AMBER LINDEN: Yay!
TSL MENTOR: wooot, okay
I’m going to quickly talk about the TSL Greeter role in our TSL Mentors 2.0 group
In TSL Mentors 2.0 group at the moment there is a TSL Greeter role for TSL Mentors who would like to help greet new residents at the Welcoming Areas, Infohubs, OI’s, HI’s, Popular Places around Teen the grid, making TSL a friendlier place!
MIA LINDEN: :o)
TSL MENTOR: TSL Greeter role also means you can help by donating new residents infomation about where to go for support and help, The TSL community standards, How to file a Abuse Report or Sending a support ticket, places to visit, how to get freebies, how to build and script, how to use the SL interface
I.E search menu, the map, how to take snapshots etc because i’m sure that new residents will be thankful for it.
To apply for a TSL Greeter Role please contact one of the VTeam crew Blue, Amber, Mia, George, Lexie for a invite to join the role
If you get the TSL Greeter Role It would be nice to see TSL Greeters greet more often at new resident areas hotspots in TSL because at the moment there are not enough helping there so it will be good to have more Mentors to greet at them areas.
There has been new residents coming into TSL but do not return again with many have noticed over time, lets make a difference today and keep new residents playing
BLUE LINDEN: yay!
TSL MENTOR: Finally
please take snapshots while volunteering there is a new TSL Volunteer Flickr group which has been set up to send photos to our TSL Mentors 2.0 Flickr group, if you have not got a flickr account yet please do so by signing up for FREE from the Flickr Website.
It would be nice to have a TSL Volunteer selection of photos updated weekly or so of our experiences when mentoring, you can Join by going to the following site:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/tslmentorsvolunteers/
wooot
Thanks for listening
LEXIE LINDEN: : ))
MIA LINDEN: Woooooohooooooo! Awesome presentation of the Greeters role! You rock!
TSL MENTOR: :))
LEXIE LINDEN: woohoo!!
BLUE LINDEN claps
GEORGE LINDEN: thanks!
MIA LINDEN: Last but certainly not least, we have reviewed the suggestions submitted to the VTeam for builds here on TSL Volunteer Island.
AMBER LINDEN: nicely said!
TSL MENTOR:
MIA LINDEN: We would like to invite the TSL MENTOR who suggested a cafe for Mentors to hangout at, to form a team of mentors to build a cafe here as a first Mentor Team project on your island! woot woot!
LEXIE LINDEN: wooooot!
AMBER LINDEN: wooo!
MIA LINDEN: Now that the meeting is drawing to its end I would like to say that for Valentine’s Day we will be holding the first evah
Hug a Linden Hug a Volunteer!
This will be a way to have residents say thank you for all the help you have given them as they started out in Teen Second Life.
I may even ask for volunteers to do some building to set it up so if u are interested please let me know!
So before I call this a wrap, Do we have any questions?
TSL MENTOR: raises his hand.
MIA LINDEN: Yes
TSL MENTOR: Alright, I have 2 statements and 1 question.
First statement, I’m sorry for interrupting earlier.
MIA LINDEN: awww no need to apologize
TSL MENTOR: Second statement, the wiki works fine.
MIA LINDEN: woot!
LEXIE LINDEN: : ))
AMBER LINDEN: :))
TSL MENTOR: Question: Is the sandbox limited to just Mentors or everyone?
MIA LINDEN: Just Mentors!
GEORGE LINDEN: Mentors!
TSL MENTOR: Awesome
MIA LINDEN: this is your island!
MIA LINDEN: only accessible by Mentors and Lindens
AMBER LINDEN: The entire island is limited to Mentors
TSL MENTOR: oh, neat
TSL MENTOR: I have 2 questions to ask
MIA LINDEN: go for it Daniel! and ty Phil!
TSL MENTOR: No, thank you.
MIA LINDEN: :o)
TSL MENTOR: were is the sandbox
TSL MENOR: Question 1: When will Mentors be able to go to the Help Islands and Orientation Island? Question 2: Will there be a A - Z list of TSL mentors wiki links on the TSL Volunteer Page or Blog?
LEXIE LINDEN: SW corner Kevin
MIA LINDEN: I don’t honestly have an answer for the First of your questions.
MIA LINDEN: as for Wiki Links Lexie that is most doable yes?
TSL MENTOR: That would help more people progress into teen grid.
LEXIE LINDEN: Yes, I will make up a page to help everyone get use of the template. That way we can create a nice Category of all the Mentors : )
BLUE LINDEN: I can talk a bit about the OI thing if you want VTeam
LEXIE LINDEN: It wil be on the portal page and I will send out a notice when its ready!
TSL MENTOR: Okay, Thanks Mia and Lexie :))
MIA LINDEN: yeah for Blue! woot
AMBER LINDEN: Please blue
MIA LINDEN: your welcome Daniel!
BLUE LINDEN: well…as far as voluteers on OI, you’d think that having helpful people there to say HI WELCOME! would be huge
and we used to…but we did some tests and found that it doesn’t seem to make a difference
and if it DOES, that difference is negative >_<
nobody really expected that result
TSL MENTOR: well it just seems the amount of people joining teen grid is nothing.
BLUE LINDEN: we do let main grid mentors go to OIs though….so I’m certainly not opposed to it here….
TSL MENTOR: If I may - I found that SL was very… overwhelming when I logged in my first time. Could it be possible that that’s the problem?
TSL MENTOR: We barly see much new happing as of people joining.
BLUE LINDEN: but we are likely to be making significant changes to the orientation process, so we have to think about how much we want to invest in the process….
if it’s a lot of work for VTeam, we likely won’t want to do it….
not if OIs go away in 6 months
but that’s a whole ‘nother story
GEORGE LINDEN: (*gasp*)
BLUE LINDEN: lol
GEORGE LINDEN: X)
TSL MENTOR: you mean people will just log into the main grid?
MIA LINDEN: thanks Blue
BLUE LINDEN: we’ll see….in the meantime, VTeam can talk about what it will take to let you guys onto OIs
we will test a portable tutorial system….yeah, so no need to do islands
could just go right to Nix, or where ever
TSL MENTOR: Personally, I enjoyed the orientation island. Not sure how it’s changed in three years whough. though*
BLUE LINDEN: so that’s OI news for now
TSL MENTOR: I almost thought i was in ruin scape
when i joined
MIA LINDEN: ok any other questions ?
TSL MENTOR: Thanks Blue :))
TSL MENTOR: It did have a RuneScape feel
AMBER LINDEN: Thanks Blue!
BLUE LINDEN: de nada
MIA LINDEN: I love when Blue talks!
he leaves u all speechless
ok
last call for questions.
going once
going twice
Its a wrap!
LEXIE LINDEN: Remember to use the Suggestion box here on the island! We like to know what ideas you have!!
Thanks for coming!
GEORGE LINDEN: Yes thanks for coming!
MIA LINDEN: and always remember that TSL Mentors 2.0 Rock Teen Second Life!
ok thanks you all for coming and be sure to visit us at our office hours
BLUE LINDEN: yeah, make sure you take all things in moderation

Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 4PM SL time there will be a Mentor Meeting at TSL Volunteer Island!

VTeam will be present to talk about what’s coming for TSL.

See you there!

Vteam would like to welcome you to the VTeam TSL blog! Notices, articles, surveys and much more will be posted here. We look forward to reading your comments.  Check back often for updates and all things TSL!!