Thread: No more green dits. Say hello to our mentors

If I may, I would like to add a few words to this discussion, not much, but maybe it'll help sort things out:

First: I think that everybody knows, usually from personal experience, that everybody can make mistakes, and does: site founder (and I am sure even Lynn would agree that he makes mistakes), super mods, mods, mentors, teachers, honers, restorers, blacksmiths, barbers, ... maybe not Chuck Norris but that's ok, he is not posting here. So a label will never mean that somebody is faultless.

Second: I am sorry but all members on SRP are not equal. I cannot edit your posts, ban somebody... and it's ok, and happily for the site, some other can; some have administratively higher grounds (because they are better at moderation - site maintenance - then me and willing to do the job); and some have a far better knowledge than me - which is not very difficult - concerning shaving, restoring, honing (and are willing to help...) and I don't see why those could not have some kind of mark to see: "you have a question, you want to pm me, go on!"

Third: maybe the sign "mentor" is a little too much for those with too much respect for authority. I think it has been mentioned somewhere (sorry, don't want to read the whole thread again) that "helper" is a good idea. I agree; could be better.

And fourth: a helper doesn't need to have the universal shaving knowledge, but must be somebody humble, with the will to help, and the knowledge to answer when they know, and direct somebody with a question they cannot answer to somebody who knows. That means the helper should be somebody not with huge knowledge, but somebody friendly with a good knowledge of his/her field and an excellent knowledge of who is doing what on this forum.

I think the mentor-helper system is a good one, not flawless (is there anything like that on earth), but it could help shy people, or people who prefer a more personal environment, to ask questions.