Council of Intergalactic Representatives

[Sven_The_Slayer]

Very interesting, I kind of like the suggested idea of having different "seats" based on certain skill sets.

 

[MrFURB]

I think it's important to realize that Schine isn't selecting councilors based on their own opinions but on their capacity to represent the opinions of others. Having people elected based on their skills would allow Schine more vision into what THEY want, but might create another layer of distance between the team and the players that don't agree with the councilor. The councilors shouldn't act as a barrier, but as a messenger.

 

[lazarus78]

I feel like its just going to turn out to be high school politics all over again.

What reason would someone have to vote for someone who isn't well known or has popular ideas? I mean, honestly I disagree with at least half of the most popular ideas going around right now, and I am not particularly happy with the overall direction the game has gone. So who would vote for me?

My vision of what I hope the game becomes is probably not a very popular one. For example. I despise the new planets. I don't like the extreme reliance on "Link systems to victory!". And I am still waiting for basic ship orientation controls, which I may never see based on some of the replies I got from "popular" people.

I duno. Perhaps this game just isn't for me anymore. Maybe things will be different once the game gets closer to a 1.0 release. Only time will tell.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

I think it's important to realize that Schine isn't selecting councilors based on their own opinions but on their capacity to represent the opinions of others. Having people elected based on their skills would allow Schine more vision into what THEY want, but might create another layer of distance between the team and the players that don't agree with the councilor. The councilors shouldn't act as a barrier, but as a messenger.

I'm only worried about this being more of a popularity contest and less about what's best for the game. The person with the most "friends" will likely get more votes even if they are poorly qualified for the job.

 

[Criss]

Well damn. This was unexpected. Very cool. I think something like 10 members would be good. EVE's council of stellar management has like 15 and they deal with many thousands more players than us here in Starmade.

I definitely think players could make threads for campaigning. Make a separate section on the forums or in the council tab for these threads. When an election is over they can get locked up and tagged so that people know they are old.

 

[Comr4de]

I feel that even if it /does/ boil down to a popularity contest, I'm pretty sure that it'll only be that way for the first few cycles. People will eventually realize that the people they have elected because they are "cool guys" or their friends are not qualified to represent the community, or are only representing their own viewpoints. This isn't as much a council as it is a senate. The word "council" carries an executive connotation, whereas this is more of a legislative/representative role.

I'm definitely interested. There are a lot of issues with the game I'd like to see addressed and I know there are a lot of different perspectives on it. I'm looking forward to see how this turns out.

 

[linwe talion]

I believe, it should be rather a question of professionalism, than a question of popularity. We all know, how to measure popularity. But how to measure skill and understanding?
I would advice to have 2 chambers in that Council, one made of elected players, just like it is described in the topic-post. And the second made of owners of top servers, e.g. red shift, elwyn, etc, or their representatives, selected by owners in case they do not wish to bear these duties themselves.
This would make it possible for the community to be represented by both players and server-admins, mirroring two different game experiences - the gaming one and the server-maintaining one, which are totally different.
Also, this would actually help simple players to compete in voting vs our beloved admins, as the second ones have far more options in gaining election power.

Also, to the questions you have asked:
Complete number of councillors - about 20.
Requirements: no age, sex or location restrictions. The applicant should be either a well-known member of the community, either a community-builder, keeping a well-known server.
That is quite enough itself, though restricts many people by location, as I believe, no chinese or north korean player will be elected in any way, especially if he(she) doesn't speak English.
Field of authority of the council, duties and functions - we all are aware of how and WHY minecraft has died. In brief - the devs were too far from the community. So, that's the main purpose of any community manager (and the Council is just a fine name for a bunch of ones). Keeping the game alive by giving adequate feedback for the devs, making it possible for the game to develop properly. I must admit, it will be up to the devs to listen, as no advice can reach a deaf person.
What should the application questions be? Though I stated above that no significant restrictions should be made for applicants, I still believe their application CVs should be as complete, as possible, such info as ASL, known foreign languages, gaming experience, overall life experience, education, sci-fi reading experience and likes-dislikes, any notable achievements he(she) would like to mention, also downloadable models of ships\bases the applicant has built in SM, a short essay of the applicants' own view on the future of SM, including his own list of features\suggestions, that he(she) is eager to see in game in the future. I also would strongly advise including a short video self-presentation (not less than a minute) and making it obligatory for application.


Finally I would like to express my deepest condolences to that person from the Shine staff, who will be in charge of these elections, as they gonna be an enormous pain in the ass, full of dirt, intrigues, forum rage wars etc etc etc. Prepare to have much more white hair on your had, pal, especially if you won't be able to take it easy.

 

[Comr4de]

I believe, it should be rather a question of professionalism, than a question of popularity. We all know, how to measure popularity. But how to measure skill and understanding?

It's easier to count friends than it is to quantify experience. I sympathize with you but inevitably some are going to be elected because of popularity.

 

[SgtFlexxx]

I very well like this. Warframe has the same thing, as it's founders are all Design Council members, except it sort of died off apparently. I see this being a lot more helpful in relaying info though.

 

[CyberTao]

top servers, e.g. red shift, elwyn, etc, or their representatives, selected by owners in case they do not wish to bear these duties themselves.

The thing is, major server owners/admins (namely theRimmer96 of EE and Tomato-sauce of MF) Already have directly contact with Schema, there is no need to further push for server related things, because that is already handle. Plus, anyone could start a dedicated server from the launcher and qualify as a "server owner", and selecting "the best" is very subjective.

especially if he(she) doesn't speak English.

So basically, they have to cohere by the Terms of Service that they agreed to upon registering?

I wouldn't worry too much about popularity issues, so long as multiple seats don't get taken by some guy and his buddies. Someone who was just elected because they got a lot of friends might find themselves outclassed when it comes to discussions about pros/cons. If any luck, it will be a bit more than just filtering suggestions, and more about proper and educated debates/discussions/etc.


My suggestion for applications includes;
> Timezone and amount of time spent online on the forums on average.
> How long they have been playing (Older players might have more experience and understand some mechanics better).
> Style of playing ingame (matters because builders and Hardcore-rs would both be needed for a better opinion pooling).
> Good Grammar. Enough said. You need to be able to clearly explain what you are talking about as well.
> [MOD check] a good history, including warning points and banning (someone highly controversial might not be a good candidate)

What might make slimming down the applicants easier, is to add a small endorsement system, where applicants would need 2-3 people in the community (who would also qualify to run) to back them. People could back multiple candidates, and it keeps the final selection a little tidier.

Once elected, candidates could tour various servers and gather input to be used in discussions over configs and balance concerns, as well as maybe additional options to add to the configs.

 

[FlyingDebris]

I...already like this.

 

[kupu]

CyberTao I like the majority of this post.

My suggestion for applications includes;
...
> [MOD check] a good history, including warning points and banning (someone highly controversial might not be a good candidate)

Can't agree with this more.
If i were voting for a councillor to represent me i would want full disclosure on previous moderator actions against them.

 

[Mered4]

CyberTao I like the majority of this post.



Can't agree with this more.
If i were voting for a councillor to represent me i would want full disclosure on previous moderator actions against them.

I too agree. We can't have that troll, B*F* (name omitted because those who know, know) suddenly get elected because he got all Frank Underwood and made people like him. Crazy idea, yes, but stranger things have happened.

That said - I do hope this doesn't become a popularity contest with such a small sample size. I'm afraid it will anyway due to the size and scope of many of the servers and their propaganda (the server I play on does this too lol). I can see some of the loons in MFleet just suddenly deciding to cooperate and voting in their own guy for laughs.

Regardless of the possible issues, I really hope this goes forward in a positive and constructive way.

 

[Bench]

The aforementioned Schine approval before the application goes live will be specifically a mod check and looking at history with regards to the council.

To make the currently devised process a little bit more clear it works as follows:
- Applications will open for people to apply to get their name on the ballot
- Citizens applying will fill out an application form, comprised of a lot of the questions you all have been suggested here, but boiled down so it's not a massive essay to write
- Those applications then need to be approved by a member of the schine team (this may include the admin team as well), most likely Duke or myself, where we look at the applicant's history on the forums and on the council. If they're littered with bans and always trolling then well, sorry but you're not going to be suited for the council. Otherwise it gets approved and their application is posted in the Council Applications forum (found here).
- When applications close we will collate the list of applicants into a ballot, that will then be placed in a poll in the council forum.
- Citizens will then have a finite time to vote (most likely one week) where you will be able to cast several votes (probably 3) for who you are voting to see on the council.
- At the end of the voting time, those with the highest votes become council members for one six-month term. The number that get in matter on the number we plan to have on the council, and how many apply.
- Council Members will have to follow a code of conduct. If a council member keeps being unruly, breaking the code and acting in a way that's either abusing their position or that we feel no longer represents the community accurately, they will be removed.
- After six-months, the current application threads will be archived, and the applications will open again. The current council will then be retired and if they wish to join the council again they have to reapply and the process starts again.

Badges/Medals will reflect the number of times a citizen has been elected to the council.

 

[CyberTao]

Badges/Medals will reflect the number of times a citizen has been elected to the council.

Will there be an ex-council medal, or some way to see who was a member in the past?

 

[Megacrafter127]

Will there be an ex-council medal, or some way to see who was a member in the past?

Definetly needed!

 

[Bench]

Will there be an ex-council medal, or some way to see who was a member in the past?

Yes there will be

 

[koksvik]

Hmmm i think we all know who will be and deserve to be in the council !

Vanhelzing <--- council president just saying
Skylord Luke AKA tenk11kamikaza
keptick
Raiben
Saber
Dalmont
Drakkart
StarSide
Mushroom fleet


seriously these guys are the heart and soul of starmade community, it would be a disgrace if they were not elected ! i swear if they don't get elected especially vanhelzing, im blow up the moon !

 

[CyberTao]

Hmmm i think we all know who will be and deserve to be in the council !

Vanhelzing <--- council president just saying
Skylord Luke AKA tenk11kamikaza
keptick
Raiben
Saber
Dalmont
Drakkart
StarSide
Mushroom fleet


seriously these guys are the heart and soul of starmade community, it would be a disgrace if they were not elected ! i swear if they don't get elected especially vanhelzing, im blow up the moon !

To you, maybe. To chat goers and forum regulars, the lack of Comr4de and MrFurb is disgraceful! It is also too much MF (Starside IS Saber, Dal and Raiben btw). This is also not that place for that.

 

[Criss]

Well that's thoughtful. I gotta say though, there probably won't be a president. It's a council. Elected players will play equal roles in it.

I'm sure Raiben won't care to run. He gave up moderator. I can't speak for him though.

Not sure tomino will feel the need to run either.

Actually the only people on that list that I think would be willing to run is Drakkart, and maybe Saber. Keptick said he was going to I believe. I will too.

Plz don't blow up the moon.