Help Island started as a completely empty sim with a sandbox in the corner. Tateru Nino rebuilt the sim in November/December. Date: 3 December 2005
Help Island finally recieved Linden attention in January 2006, clearing the existing sim and a partial build put in place. Tateru Nino rebuilt the sim around the new Linden build. Date: 20 January 2006
At the end of Orientation Island, the new resident is presented with two choices: either a trip to one of the mainland welcome areas, or a trip to Help Island. Help Island's access is restricted to mentors, greeters, Live Helpers and some Lindens.
Tateru Nino, Lethe Naumova and Blueman Steele have rebuilt the island on a number of occasions, experimenting with new tools and learning aids.
Until May 2006, no autoreturn was implemented on the island outside the sandbox in the northeast corner of the sim. Torley Linden and Tateru Nino were finally able to get the work completed. Until that time, Liaisons had to perform janitorial work on the island several times per day.
New residents cannot return to Help Island once they have left (though the first half of 2006 saw numerous bugs that allowed new residents to return at will, or prevented new residents from arriving at all).
Help Island seriously underperforms compared to similar simulators, and overloads with much less script/prim/texture assets than comparable simulators.
Tateru Nino implemented a communications network on the island, and the volunteers had a tiny HQ/Staffroom on the island until the new Volunteer HQ in Tenera was completed in May 2006.
As of December 2009 SL Mentors can no longer access Help Islands around Second Life. Linden Lab shut down the SL Mentor program and groups. There are 2 Help Island Public regions and one Orientation Island Public region open for access.