The Buddy System

I see @theycallmedan has set up another initiative around the understanding and teaching of Hive so new and old users can understand. I think users not understanding the complexities of this place leaves a void and why so many users disappear. I think throwing ideas around will get us to the point where we need to be eventually.

When I fist joined i was clueless as this is not exactly straight forward and simple. Like anything complex it takes time to understand and you are still learning things a year later. I have been here over 2 years now and feel that I know almost everything there is to know but to actually right it down to simplify it is a challenge on it's own.

Having a starter pack or bible for a new user to go back and check with is what this place has needed for some time. Not everyone is savvy in the doings that we have become so used to. Imagine someone coming from Face Book or another type of blogging platform where there are no rewards and just likes.

I wouldn't know where to start and breaking it down over 8 titles is the correct way to do this. If everything was combined it is a mind twister and too complex in one bite. I do believe things have simplified over the last two years with the changes that have been made like the 50/50 split between authors and curators as that is now fairly straight forward.

In the past I have tried to teach others but they need the basics to be able to understand and to dip their feet in the water. Some are too scared to even post in case they make a mistake. Maybe a buddy system could be bought in eventually where users put their names forward and look after a small group of new users. Obviously the same language would be required but having 10 or 20 users that you can help through the initial stages would be a great help on top of the new user manual.

I know there would be a few users who wouldn't mind assisting in this way and most of us use discord so users could just DM us and visa versa keeping up to date with each other. The only dumb question is the question you don't ask when you don't understand something and I think something basic like this could work.

If we had roughly 100 users offering this type of service that would look after 1000 or 2000 new users I believe the majority joining will still be here in 6 months or a years time. Surely our goal is to maintain and grow the user base without users falling through the trap door.

There have been initiatives in the past like a Hive school where you are given certain tasks to do but that quite honestly would only chase me away. Jumping through hoops and being given assignments sounds a bit too formal for my liking and believe it is ok for some, but it will chase the majority away.