When Glitch quits beta and re-launches, we will surely see a large influx of new players. The tutorial in place is pleasant and effective for the most part, but it could be better once new players enter Ur proper. The greeting system is an excellent idea, but it has some inherent problems due to placing all the responsibility on one greeter at a time. As an alternative to all-purpose greeters, perhaps an information relay using field-specific guides would remedy some of the existing difficulties.
That is, have a few guides, henceforth known as Civil Glitchen, hang out on different roads on and near to the opening street while tutorials are taking place. While Civil Glitchen on the opening street would greet the newcomers and provide essential information, they should not cover all information topics. That would be quite overwhelming for the new guys, and pretty taxing on the guides too. An alternative would be a sort of relay for the newcomers: Civil Glitchen could divvy up the info by topic into more manageable chunks, and send the newcomers to other Civil Glitchen on neighbouring or nearby streets after essential information has been covered ("Okay, now go find Lupicek in Torpan Cleft using what I've told you about the map. He'll tell you about finding resources.").
After the newcomers meet guides in other streets, the new Civil Glitchen will offer more specialised information essential for having a good time in Glitch. I'm thinking maybe 2-3 extra "stops" on the relay at most: the newcomers will want to play on their own asap. In any case, each stop will feature a few pointers from Civil Glitchen focusing on key topics - one "stop" each for Collection, Production, and Housing, for example. Each Civil Glitch answers questions and offers in-depth tips on more specific topics, after which the newcomers move to the next stop on the relay.
This relay provides several advantages to a single-Greeter system. One, it will give newcomers a bit of practice in moving around and using the map, which ought to be covered in essentials. Two, the change of screens gives the newcomers a few moments to digest new information during loading - and a few moments would be all they'd need for organised blocks of information. It will take considerably longer to process hints if everything gets thrown at them at once, and things will invariably get mixed up in the process. Three, the specialised Civil Glitchen may be able to offer more detailed information about the topic than general Greeters could offer - I'm mostly a chef, for example, so I would be better suited to talking about foraging for and combining basic resources from all over. Miners and Crafters may be more suited to discussion for Production. Four, the combination of specialised discussion, in-depth hints, and cooperation evident among Civil Glitchen can only demonstrate how much fun it is to actually be civil themselves, and will hopefully keep newcomers from becoming bitter jerks along the line (e.g. "I had people take advantage of me as a noob, so I can take advantage of you too - it's just how it goes").
A disadvantage would be that we can't actually control where newcomers go, and we can't complete the tutorial if they wander off through error or by design. This can be controlled somewhat by maintaining connections with the newcomers - have each Civil Glitch along the way add the newcomers as friends - but it will probably happen regardless. Second, Civil Glitchen would have to coordinate who would be where, and when. However, rotating groups of Civil Glitchen will ensure that nobody will have to stay in the same spot for a long time. This effect could also be minimised with sheer numbers, providing an incentive for more experienced Glitchen to meet the newest generation.
A final tweak to the system would be to have Civil Glitchen distribute Welcome Bags for new players. Bags would contain a few essential tools and resources – especially effective for distribution by the Production team – that could generally guide the discussion. By making the Welcome Bags openable only to young players (lvl 1-5? 1-8?) and non-sellable, Welcome Bags would not be collector's items and would serve their purpose without the threat of hoarding by older players for the sake of auctions (even temporarily). Since we carry our around our houses in our heads now, inventory space is no longer a problem and Civil Glitchen can grab some at a moment's notice if necessary.
The game has numerous goals and it keeps growing. There is just no way that a single Greeter can cover every part of the game. Likewise, there is no way that newcomers will know enough from one Greeter to even ask effective questions. Consider a common question from Greeters: “Do you have any questions about the game?” Though straightforward, could such a question really be effective for somebody who's spent less than an hour in-game? Consider instead: “Do you have any questions about producing items?” or “Do you have any questions about housing?” By sharing the responsibility and providing direction, an information relay could offer a tutorial experience that better reflects the community, the diversity, and the sheer Glitchiness of Ur.
This is a topic that was brought up in the discussion board for my group, Civility. Though we talked about it and mulled it over, I know that you have some further additions that can further refine the idea. We would welcome any comments you have, since the ultimate goal is really just to make players' first experience in Glitch a really good one.