I just had this idea after answering to Allaron in the Programming forum.

I personnally could take under my wing 2 or 3 programming newbies and offer to anwer all their question via email or perhaps IRC. Instead of asking around for answers and often getting bad or fool answers, they could just ask their 'stupid' questions to me. I could answer their question or tell them where to find the answer if I feel they need to search...

I would just like to know if anybody else I would be willing to volunteer for that. I could do that but I won't if I'm the only volunteer.

Suggestions or better ideas are welcomed.

In fact, what I suggest are small scale, more individual learning groups.

I accept flames too.

I could do that two. Helping with Java and perhaps the a beginner languages(BASIC, perl, JavaScript etc...)

Tis a good idea apart ffrom one thing:

Where will we get the supply of newbies?

There are newbie coming here every once in a while. Most of them don't come close to the forums though...

This could be advertised on the mailing list with the names of the candidate tutors.

If I get enough volunteers, I will handle the organisation of this project.

YPN also attracts it's share of newbies. I could suggest it there too.

My only problem is that eventually we need to focus on getting TPU bacm up to speed with regaurd to visitors. The more posts, the more likely someone is to use the forums... and the more likely they stick around. I would prefer a mix perhaps. A forum that is owned by a 'tutor' and have those signed up under the tutor be the only ones able to post to that forum. However, those that are not undergoing tutoring can view the board... which may answer their questions or provide entertainment :) And then have email as an alternative.

That's would be truly better. But for now I'm thinking about something that can be organised and maintained using a text editor and any email programs. Anything with an ambitious start is doomed to fail here.

Like I said, I'm willing to take on this project if I get enough interrest. I could harvest for newbies around the web during my sparetime.

Setting up a place for a single tutor and his protoges shouldn't be hard, it shouldn't involve creating a new private category and doing a few minor edits to some templates, in fact if Psion couldn't be arsed, I'm sure me or Neumann could do the editing ourselves. I'll try something out in the lounge when I get a chance. But lets get it startedd simply like neumann said, with email and text-editor.

Oh and whilst I'm thinking of it, I think we should redirect newbies to the mailing list page after they sign up, so that it doesn't keep gathering dust like it presently does.

Qubit: TPU has never been about forums. We want more people involved, but not in posting silly messages.

rdd: We don't need anything fancy for someone to find an e-mail tutor.

I think this is a neat idea... quite true to the spirit of TPU.

I can write down names of people that would like to tutor few newbies...

Anyone interrested?

we could have the list somewhere out of the way with peoples names (and e-mails) along with the area of questions they would be able to answer.

That's my idea...

Write your email and a summary of what kind of question you can answer.

setting up a buddy system?

Erm. I wouldn't write your e-mail in the forums otherwise you will get spammed to hell ^^ PM Neuman.

Wouldn't it be ideal to have all questions and answers available on the site? (Maybe anonymously as far as questions go?)

Didn't someone just point out that newbies tend to avoid the forums anywayz?

If you have a find a buddy option on the menubar or something, then it would be more appealing to n00bs me thinks.

Psion: That would be ideal but that's not always the case. Most of the time, a newbie answering questions in forums will be told to Google for the answer and then the threads gets off topic after 2 or 3 messages.

Newbie also fear that they question may be "stupid" and don't want to ask too many question in fear of annoying people. Having a private tutor who can answer every single questions would help alot.

And BTW, I said email could be the ideal way of communication but in fact, any way could work: MSN, ICQ, private messages, IRC, forums, emails. etc. Tutors should also give there preferred way of communicating.

Perhaps after a question is answered, if it is sensible and useful, then the tutor can add it to the FAQ.

That's not what I meant, Neumann. I meant using a completely different Q&A system, but making the _results_ available here.

Oh!

I thought we were having an argument again! ;)

Then that could be a great way to enhance our FAQ with true questions from newbies.

Hey, I like that idea. =)

I'll try to setup a little web page for that project this weekend.

The FAQ seems a bit LOW POPULARITY maybe boosting its popularity might help.

Hey , the whole worlds a spin ?! hahah

Neumann, it would probably be best to integrate this with the TPU web site. Anyone with access to the members' lounge can try setting up a simple system where people can list themselves with the topics they can mentor. We could also let mentors add the names of their mentees, or it might be better to keep identities private.

For anyone who cares, in about a month I'll have a 3 week break from school in which I can hopefully finish my ML-based replacement for the devlocus system that runs this web site!

Well okay. Let's say I'll setup a _temporary_ web page.

ML-based hmmm thats like basing Yahoo on Fortran ... right ? Its probably better than this TEA thing.

vladamir, no, it's like basing Google on ML.

aghhh is it goign to be awfully slow ... has psion gone mad with ml ??? Its applications have to be limited ... are they ???

aghhh is it goign to be awfully slow ... has psion gone mad with ml ??? Its applications have to be limited ... are they ???

http://shakespearelang.sourceforge.net/

ML isnt as bad as that ...

No, ML's are some of the easiest languages around to compile to fast code. They're quite competitive with C.

ok ... well i stick with fortran all the way ( till i will need MatLab then i leave fortran ) ... I have nothing against any other PL ..

BUT http://shakespearelang.sourceforge.net/ IS MAKING MOCKERY OF PROGRAMMING

No. It's funny. It's a nice attempt at viewing programming more like an art than a science.

But we are all off topic again because of you vladimir_l!

Yeah we are. No one even looked into the fact that the FAQ system needs improving. Pehaps the removal of the fact that everything is moderated?

Back to topic, Mentors.

Mentors yeah well that seems easy enough small bots of people where people can create a little bot then advertise it saywhen its full and incide it you have a little forum. But who would allow that?

You spent too much time in russia vladimir_l, I can't understand what you just said.

I've set up the mentor thing in the members lounge (still not perfect yet). To see what its like from the mentees side, sign out and create a nuw login name, logout again, sign into your proper name, grant your test name read only lounge access, sign out and in again as testname and go to the mentor group.

I've made one too!

http://www.tpu.org/tea/BMentors./cg-265 is the url, but you need lounge access to look at it.

I think it would be possible to allow mentors to add a list of their mentees, but I'll only do that if people think we don't want to keep that information private.

Psion has suggested that a more detailed blurb would be good idea, but I'm not sure of the usefulness of that.

I think at this stage four different mentor things have been used. Shouldn't we select one, so that people aren't wasting their time on their own, when it'll never be used?

My personal preference is for someone other than I to make it and take responsibility for maintaining it. =)

I'll take that responsibility, (does that make me an admin?)

Personally, I am in favour of buzgub's design, but if you can show my why yours is superior in some way...
I think that what technology we use is unimportant in the long run. It performs a very simple task and really just facilitates something that could be done with email and a static page. Perhaps we should concentrate on signing up mentees and advertising.

Why do some ( most ) males always make everything so small and perfectionised ... there must be a compromise of features and bigger blurbs would seem to be a better idea ( aswell as a better system ). I make no acussations , just comments.

because we like doing that, I don't want to come to this website to do back breaking labour.

I don't care what design is used, obviously since I spent an hour or two on mine, I'd be hopeful that mine would be used, but whatever most people prefer I'm willing to support.

And the stunning conclusion to our 43-part mini-series:

http://www.tpu.org/tea/Mentor./cg-268

"I've made one too!

http://www.tpu.org/tea/BMentors./cg-265 is the url, but you need lounge access to look at it."

May I ask one questions fellas , what is lounge access ?

The lounge is a place where people are able to play around with the capabilities of the software that runs this site without jepordising the stability or security of the rest of the site.

http://www.tpu.org/tea/BMentors./cg-265 so i would need access to see this,thats very intresting considering i can see it and i am no memebr of this "lounge" activity.

I thought Smerdy made it so that you couldn't get in without formal access.

In a month or two once you've been around a while we'll let you into the lounge (or if I have my way, there'll be a right of passage to get in ;))

I dont really intend on getting into the elite. I feel pretty well at the bottom of the ladder,first of all i dont have to worry about my etiquette second of all its just easier.

If i am guessing correctly , my freind , Smerdy is Psion is Adam - right ?

Yes, Smerdy is Psion is Adam.

And conditions for entry to the lounge aren't exactly difficult... it just requires you to participate here for a while on a regular basis.

As I pleasantly found out.

Not being bigheaded, but if it wasn't for me, wouldn't the lounge still be dead?

Perhaps.

/me punctures rdd's ego with the IPOJ.

The lounge is locked to authorized persons only. However, people can create their own categories there, and apparently rdd created his to be open to the public.

I couldn't be bothered ot read this whole thread, but felt a bit left out so this message is my contribution.

PS: Gian, can you teach me some of your pick-up lines for sheep?

What elite?

People here are either elitist, or wish that the elistists would shut up.

Is an elitist biased against elites? like racists are biased to races?

Elitists are biased against people not 'elite'...

|>47 15 |\|07 1337!

Are there any 'bad' elites ? There must be.

elitist refers to someone who prefers a social structure which has an elite, like monarchs want a monarchy.

Right... Dragonwolf, just because you asked for it... We here in New Zealand (I am not actually a New Zealander, mind you) aren't supposed to share our sheep pickup lines, but the main one goes something like this: "Hi, my name's Ben Ellis".

I tried that, I just got kicked in the bollocks... Since then my voice has been a tad higher pitched.

Ellis is a Welsh name btw (hehe) though I can't trace any Welsh heritage in my family.

I've never been to Wales,but i've heard accounts that it is a country renowned for being a s**t hole. (sorry for the language)

Wales (or at least its northern coasts) are quite nice, I think there'd be great Cod fishing there as well. But I can't remember much more about it. Oh yeah, its got a Celtic language, just like us in Ireland.

I can help with neophyte web design...

Celtic languages are kewl, but REALLY hard to learn if you ask me. My tongue gets into knots when I try and say some words ^^

I was looking at the thing running this website , tea is it and i was wondering about its use in a project i am sortof helping with right now.Its a school collaboration system and i was wondring about the use of Tea instead of CGI C in it.Could i have lounge access for like some time to see what it look like?

Dia Duit - (Gia Ghwitch) - Hello

My Grandfather is a native Irish speaker and my father was top at Irish in his final year of school in the entire of Ireland! My Grandmother speaks it, all my freinds in Galway speak it, in fact on my Irish side, myself and my sister are the only ones in the familly who don't speak Irish. Its taught as a first language in Sourthern Ireland.

Ireland is a mighty cool place, I hope to go there before I get gunned down at a church.