I've always thought there were three jobs I wanted to see done (though this doesn't need to be done by Mentors per se):
1. Help new players understand the game OOC.
2. Help new players learn how IC interactions work.
3. Help new characters to the realm understand how the realm works.
Mentors currently are supposed to do 1 and 2, and I think several of the changes proposed here (updating the wikis, thank god, as well as making it selectable by any character) will help a lot with them.
I think the "ruler/realm appointed mentors" bit should probably be limited to point 3, though. Hell, you could make Chief Mentor a council position charged with maintaining and promoting realm culture, which by necessity includes inducting new characters into the realm's customs and practices. And response from that would help a great deal with the rankings of realms suggested in a variety of places. Chief Mentor doesn't contact you or respond to your questions about the realm? That's a bad, bad thing.
