Kiwibiker Mentors - Opinion

[Katman]

Of course, I may be in the other category?

You better hope not. That would put you in my group.

[boomer]

Mighty succinct of you, Boomer. And quite astute as well.
Are 'we' not doing a fair job of things?

I cant comment; i haven't ridden with "We"

What i can say is tho.. if my son was learning to ride right now.. there's no way in hell he'd be learning from a couple of mentors; those who i have seen ride !!!

And Chris.. this is not you brother; your a crazy mother, as we all can be, but i know you'd wear the right hat(persona) at the time of mentoring and have the common sense to pass on !

[MSTRS:Me]

You better hope not. That would put you in my group.

That is a group of one. No room for any more. Thanks , anyway.

I cant comment; i haven't ridden with "We"

What i can say is tho.. if my son was learning to ride right now.. there's no way in hell he'd be learning from a couple of mentors; those who i have seen ride !!!

And Chris.. this is not you brother; your a crazy mother, as we all can be, but i know you'd wear the right hat(persona) at the time of mentoring and have the common sense to pass on !

This is not aimed at you, Boomer, or anyone in particular...but this is what I meant by 'veiled aspersions'. Naming and shaming is never approved for any reason on KB, but if anyone has major concerns about one of the 'hierarchy', then a PM to Mental Trousers stating the facts (as you see them) would be in order.

[Mental Trousers]

And Chris.. this is not you brother; your a crazy mother, as we all can be, but i know you'd wear the right hat(persona) at the time of mentoring and have the common sense to pass on !

And that right there is always the number 1 concern for those running the Mentor programme, can the person in question step up when they're asked and be a capable Mentor.

There's been quite a few that didn't make it because the people running the Mentor programme weren't convinced that those candidates could measure up.

[Nasty]

This one time...at band camp..!!!

The point being raised is that some people's skills are being questioned...! stop being so defensive and realise its not an attack but a point of view meant to help the helpless.

its easy .. if people are concerned of the skills of particular mentors take it up with the senior mentors ... they can then address them!

[cowboyz]

The other thing worth mentioning is the old "KB is not a democracy" - yet the mentors were picked via a democratic process. Still can't keep everybody happy.

Democratic but not transparrent because fuck knows what might happen if someone got offended because some random on the internet makes some comment about them not being good at mentoring or something.

From my understanding any bitch fighting that Cowboyz has been up to has nothing to do with mentor selection at all (also from what I have seen the bitch fighting was after the first lot of mentors selected were announced though I may have the timing wrong on that one).

Cowboyz was our resident mentor under the old system but with the bitch fighting thats gone on he appears to have been deemed unsuitable.

I have only just caught up with this thread after talking with Bonez on the ride today.
I pulled out of the moderator program on my own accord long before upsetting the mods. 2 completely unrelated incidents.

Why I pulled out of the mentor programme - the officail release from EMU#1

1. After exchanging pms with various people in the setup of the mentor programme I decided it was not going to offer the support or commitment from kiwibiker to warrent my support or commitment.
2. With some thought put into the influence of certain mods to the actual manawatu rides and how the rides have been changed from a group of guys getting out on their bikes and enjoying some roads to a group of guys who are expected to babysit others, the enjoyment of what we started was lacking. (to qualify - I am not suggesting for a minute that I object to newbies on rides, in fact, it was not actually the newbies causing the problems - it was others that felt the newbies needed babysitting)

Poos-- My opinion here. If you have an issue with one or more mentors then please FFS speak up.
Seriously mate -I couldn't agree more with your concern that mentors need to be up to scratch and I'm fairly sure that the people "in charge" of the program would be gratefull for your feedback.

I have no doubt that KB and all its factions are a popularity contest. Just my opinion. There are some you cant disagree with and there are some that simply dont listen to anything apart from their own opinion.
Not to mention there is always someone waiting in the wings to yell waaambulance whenever an issue is raised..... (look below for an example)

[Owl]

(look below for an example)

Either your presence has been felt, or you've been in here swing your light sabre EMU-WAN. Even the tags have fooked off!

[CookMySock]

Seems to be a lot of people bagging the mentor 'system'. I don't see any of the baggers putting their hands up and suggesting something 'better'.

The current mentor system was fully developed before I even knew of its existance. I commented to a few at the top of the food chain that "gee I'd like to be involved with that" an got told that, a.) it was already set in concrete, and b.) that I didn't have the required experience.

Steve

[MSTRS:Me]

All this conspiracy/hidden agenda/secret squirrel/lack of transparency/power tripping/popularity contest stuff is old/stale/bullshit.
The mentor system was implemented in it's current form to address a need, and to ensure that only suitable mentors were appointed. The mentors themselves were nominated and approved by their peers (KB as a whole). They are there to help if asked. If any particular mentor can't help for any reason, they will pass the asker on to another mentor who can help. If a mentor is not asked for help, then they are just another log-in/biker like anyone else. They have no special powers or privileges. And any mentor that goes around offending people by giving help that's not wanted, or is inappropriate, will likely not stay long as a mentor.
Newbies are free to seek help, or not, where-ever they like, but if they ask for help through the resource that is KB, surely they are entitled to know that they will be looked after? That is the only reason there is a mentor system.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

The current mentor system was fully developed before I even knew of its existance. I commented to a few at the top of the food chain that "gee I'd like to be involved with that" an got told that, a.) it was already set in concrete, and b.) that I didn't have the required experience.

Steve

Its a redevelopment of the old Mentor system... which many of the newer members would not have known about...

[boomer]

and to ensure that only suitable mentors were appointed.

fail......!

[boomer]

Everyone had the option of putting feedback on all nominated mentors ... if they didn't bother then that was their choice to not help/assist in making this a success.

And your point..??!

I find you quite offensive... you're going on teh ignore list.

[MSTRS:Me]

fail......!

Who failed?

[boomer]

Criticism or not...it's what you do with it that counts.

Who failed?

Me and all the other noobs..???

[Jantar]

The current mentor system was fully developed before I even knew of its existance. I commented to a few at the top of the food chain that "gee I'd like to be involved with that" an got told that, a.) it was already set in concrete, and b.) that I didn't have the required experience.

Steve

The requirements for becoming a mentor were posted in http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...20&postcount=2

If you believe you meet those requirements then simply get someone to nominate you, and provide two suitable referees. We will check out those references, the senior mentor from your area will review the nomination and make a recommendation and the nomination will be publicly notified. After there has been a suitable period to obtain feed back then the appointment will be confirmed or not.

If by being "......involved with that" meant that you would have liked an input into how it was being set up, then that is no problem as anyone can make comment openly (as in this thread) or privately via pm at any time. We are always looking for ways of making the programme safer and more available.