Being a -Proper Mentor-

When advertising yourself as a Mentor, make sure to thoroughly run through your post once, twice if needed, to check for errors or mistypes.

Mentoring someone is a completely unbiased role. You do not put friends above your students, you do not put students above your friends. Nobody goes before anyone else. Do not come flying in to the rescue of your student if a more aggressive, more skilled, person decides to be a bully for a moment or two. It makes you look like a pompous superman.

When you take on the role of mentoring, you must remember that you are an influence to those around you every waking second of the day. The moment you show bias, irresponsibility or lack of self-control is the moment you fail as a Mentor, whether a student of yours sees it or not. In the role you've chosen to operate as, you've sworn to a certain unspoken rule. Do not screw up the kids you're taking under your wings. Don't give them information that you know is looked down upon. Do not train them to be a mini-you; nor should you train them to be a miniature of someone you admire or feel is iconic. As a Mentor, you do one thing and one thing only; you give your student(s) the tools necessary for them to cultivate their own style, which is what makes the world of role-players ever-changing and fun, the addition of newly formed individuals who bring with them an entirely new set of skills and a new technique.

Mentors, in a sense, should be morally superior to Moderators of the Forums and Chats. The reason being is that a Moderator may be looked up to or considered a talented and well-versed individual; this, in many cases, is not true. Mentors should, in every sense of the word, dwarf the status of any Moderator or Administrator. The reason behind that is simple; a Mentor is someone who acts as a role model, the others perform a duty and a job and attempt to set a standard. The Mentors and the skilled, experienced, and matured role-players are the standard.

Most of the Mentors don't understand the point at which a player should be sent out the door on their backside and forced to learn for themselves. Either they keep the student under their wing for too short a period, or they keep them too long. Mentoring is not making a few solo posts, giving a list of 'guidelines' and saying "Okay, good luck. If you need my help, let me know." When mentoring, you should be fully interactive with your student(s) or with those who seek your assistance/guidance. At no point is a Mentor supposed to withdraw from the role and be like any other idiot who plays into role-play stereotypes.

A Mentor should constantly advance their own skills, seeking help from better players, if necessary. A Mentor should be the leading edge of role-play. You should stay well head of the rest; reformatting, improving and expanding your skill-set every day. You should never simply assume that you know what you're talking about, and then settle in to the routine of 'teaching'. You should always be learning, and if you're not and saying that you are, then you need to remove yourself from the Mentor role. There are people here who take great pride in what they are able to pass on. There are people here who are willing to help, yet still need guidance or improvement themselves. All of that is fine, but when it isn't fine is when Mentors aren't living up to the standard they should be setting.

Should anyone take offense to this thread, I apologize; I don't care, but I apologize. I may not willingly take up the role as a Mentor, but I have my share of experience and knowledge. I possess the ability to pass on what I know to such lengths that I could rightfully mentor someone, and as the end result, make something note-worthy out of the individual. It's not a difficult role, however, it's not something you just declare yourself and start acting like. A Proper Mentor is someone who can set and advance the standards at all times. When you fail to meet the standards you think you live by, you should no longer mentor anybody.

It's not hard to understand, for most, that when acting as a figurehead or a teacher, you live by a set of standards. You should always exist by these standards and a very specific, yet unwritten, code of ethics. From what I've seen so far there are a few people who are filling the role quite well, performing their duty in a way one could applaud. The remainder of you need a stiff-handed lesson in proper behavior.

The standards you, as Mentors, should set are very simple. Here's those standards listed -

Human Decency
Grammar & Punctuation
Role-Play Courtesy
Approachability
Intuitiveness
Consistency

Below, I will offer a brief explanation of each of these.

Human Decency - Make sure your student understands that unnecessarily belittling another player is looked down upon. In turn, you will also remember this yourselves. Even when playful, those people beneath you may do it as well, assuming it's okay.
Grammar & Punctuation - You should immediately, with swift hand, crush the student's use of 'u' in place of 'you' and so on. Make sure that they understand that the quality of and reaction to their posts will be determined by their ability to translate word to text appropriately. You'd be wise to make sure you work on this yourselves; nobody is perfect, but it doesn't hurt to try.
Role-Play Courtesy - Be sure to instill in your student(s) the knowledge and awareness that they should maintain a level of consideration for another individual when regarding either their experience or material. Apply this to yourselves.
Approachability - When people view you as difficult to talk to or difficult to be around, you've lost the ability to be a Mentor.
Intuitiveness - Try to be one step ahead of those around you, and those that you mentor, at all times. This will greatly enhance your ability to influence those you take under your wing, as they will regard your uncanny ability to 'sense all' with utmost disbelief and respect. Sounds cheesy, but it works.
Consistency - This SHOULD be a 'duh' moment for most of you. If it is not, though.. then here. When you're a MENTOR.. you should act the role, rather than turn into one magically when someone needs some help or guidance.

Just remember, the moment you declare yourself a Mentor, you are a role model to those who will seek you out. Set and live up to the standards; if you choose not to, then go away.