Hiring newbies and then disappearing!

[Purposely Anonymous]

I'm purposely posting this msg anonymously.

Its a short and sweet request.

If anyone hires (or gets someone else to hire) a new player to Arm, into their own clan, so that they can help the new player pick up the game, please please please make sure you are around to help that person!

Just dont recruit them and then disappear, and then expect the other players to take care of the new player from scratch.

I'm all for new players learning the game, and I'm well-aware of how hard it is to pick up the nuances of Arm, but on the other hand, its not fair, to ICLY bring in someone into a clan, just coz he's your buddy or friend or whatever. We were all newbies at some point and we've made it, I'm sure the new players will too, in their own way.

[Many Faces]

Hey there,

I've done this many many times, hiring new folks.  I love it, I dig it so much that I am actually guilty at times of looking for them.  I admit it, I'm a newbaholic.  I'm not the only one.  Mansa, for instance, surrounds himself with newbs (some say to make himself look better, but I know it's really just his messianic complex kicking in) and leads them to greatness.  Or mudsex parties.  It's a hit and miss thing.  Just close your eyes.

There is a very good solution to it that might just work... and I'm not sure it will, but it just might.  If you are a newbie, and this happens to you... and I mean newbie like in the first couple characters, then it may serve you well to write your immortals about the situation.  Tell them you've been hired by blah, and that you'd like to continue associating with blah but they never seem to be around.  Ask them if they could perhaps, if the player is unable to log in, inform you of someone else you may be able to work with in the clan.  If the person who hires you has an aide, ask the aide, and spend some time getting to know the aide.

And if all else fails, start grumbling and pissing IC about the fact that your boss is never around.  Start looking for other things to do.  Break some clan rules, get some RP in with other people.  Shake things up... if you can't have a boss, you can still have an interesting IC life.

[Hymwen]

I had a somewhat similar problem on a previous character. Getting sponsored for the a clan by someone, meant to become his aide, only to have him log on once or twice a month, was very discouraging and I had trouble staying interested. It's a bit different because the clan member wasn't meant to train me himself, but this was my first character, and I did feel a little abandoned. It's generally a bad idea to hire someone if you don't intend to play enough to support the person, especially if it's something semi-important.

-edited for IC specific references.

[proxie]

If given the choice, I'd hire a newbie over an experienced player.

Okay, not entirely true.

But keeping a newbie in the clan means you never lose that air of freshness to the game that us old players forget. We get to see the game through their eyes, enjoy their excitement and fear at things that we have forgotten about. And they remind us of lessons long lost due to being replaced.

Newbies also work cheaper. *evil grin*

Things do happen, but yes, I think if you hire any PC, but especially an obvious newbie, you should make sure you can be around or turn them over to someone else to take care of.  For a newbie, having a RP partner, another PC in the clan to show you the ropes, keep you logging in, make you feel like you're part of a group, that can make all the difference.

Proxie
(who thinks newbies are great with ketchup)

[Aldiel]

If given the choice, I'd hire a newbie over an experienced player.

While I hire noobs without a second thought, I love it when I recruit a vet.  They aren't that easy to come by actually.  Most of the vets are the ones doing the hiring, lol.

[Aldiel]

As for that bit about hiring then leaving.  Leaders should be on enough to deal with a vast number of new players.  It's not so much a matter of hiring and leaving.  It's more a matter of making a commitment to be a leader.

[LauraMars]

I'm not much of a leader.  I'm not a follower, either.  Clans are very hard for me.  But I will say, newbies are the greatest.

Because I haven't said that for a while.

Friends don't let friends desert newbies.

[Yokunama]

If given the choice, I'd hire a newbie over an experienced player.

I'd have to agree with you on that one.

[Cale_Knight]

Proxie is a newbaholic. I personally saw her turn more than one clueless newbie into productive members of the game.

Hell, I was one of them.  

[bloodfromstone]

Me, too. Sorta. I had a number of people helping my bumbling newb ass along, but she was one of them.

[jhunter]

I like newbies.

They taste good.

[Maybe42or54]

There is this one time, I recruited someone into my Clan, then got killed by a templar a whole 10-20 minutes later.

I'm sorry.

[Cenghiz]

I can say vets also do not like being recruited and then staying the only one in the clan. So please, let's try not to hire 'anyone' playing at different times than we do.

[Tuannon]

Reading some of these shows me a lot, as a player in one of the other timezones I tend to see the writing on the wall.

[Purposely Anonymous]

I think my point might have been misinterpreted.

By no means did I imply that hiring new players is bad.

I just meant that doing something like: Going up to my clan leader and requesting him to hire someone who will be placed in my unit, and then promptly disappearing, leaving my clan leader to deal with that PC.

Make sense?

[Bestatte]

I totally get what you're saying, and I agree it's frustrating as hell. It isn't just newbies that it happens to though.

You show up with a new character, looking for work. Senior Merchant Clanner hires you the next day, you're all exceited, he says you show promise and wants you to earn your way up to Junior Merchant.

The next day, Senior Merchant Clanner isn't around. No big deal, players have real lives, so you find things to do while waiting for access to the official clan docs and the clan GDB.

The next day, Senior Merchant Clanner still isn't around.

A month later, Senior Merchant Clanner -still- isn't around, and no one has been picked to take his place, and the only other ranking member PC that you -would- answer to, works out of the opposite city-state and has no idea who the hell you are.

A month later, after graciously being given a few tasks by the clan IMMs, Senior Merchant Clanner shows up and expects everything to be running smoothly. He has no idea what you've been up to, has no idea why you're staring a hole in his head, no idea why you barely even remember his name, let alone recognize his sdesc. You get together for a couple of days, catch him up to things, he gives you a couple of tasks, and disappears again for another 2 RL months.

You promptly bang your head against the wall and wonder why this guy hired you, if he wasn't gonna be around for you to report to him. Why he hired you, if the guy he wanted you to kill is more likely to die -anyway- by the time he showed up again. If the noble he wanted you to invite to tea was gonna retire the character before he shows up again.

It's frustrating, definitely.

[Vanth]

I would also suggest that the burden of helping new players acclimate to the game is not carried only by their clan.

Zalanthans are not so much different from us.  They have lives outside of work.  So just because you know that newbie's in X clan doesn't mean that you can feel safe ignoring them at the bar.

I'm not saying you have to hold their hand and snuggle up to them, but include them in the world, even if it is to freak them out or insult them.