On the subject of getting matters taken care of hastily, this is just a suggestion also but I figured I would throw it out there, maybe we could keep a tally or something of how many issues a certain council did, and then the next council had to try to do better, as to make it a competition. That way, the council would feel inclined to get more done so they could say they were better than their predecessors.
I don't believe the problem is personal issues, I believe the problem is the way some users like certain actions. Some people may like what person A does for the community but hates what person B does, but another person may hate what person A does but likes what person B does. It's just everyone's opinion really. For example, person A does a 1million dollar giveaway in items, while person B builds many buildertowns and gives helpful advice. People will always see one more nice than the other, and that is unchangeable.
I think someone's feelings are always going to be hurt in a matter such as this. The goal of this though would to make the majority happy, so long as at least 51% (of course there's no way to measure that) of the player base is happy with the decisions of the council, there (theoretically) shouldn't be too large of a problem.
Just want to clarify something I don't believe the initial suggestion of the council was for the council to make decisions but take the voice of all users and help trim the fat off of what is asking to be heard, not like the council sits back and decides the topic at hand but mainly to help read between the lines of the issues or suggestions from everyone, am i right @silencedterror
Well in the end this is human nature. We are all different, with different backgrounds, from different countries and cultures and that is why there can't be a perfect system that makes 100% of the people happy but if we can make most of the people happy and don't drive away the rest from the server ( I strongly doubt that this will happen) it would be great.
Yes exactly! The idea is to start with a general question for example "What is your opinion about the current status of ECC?" the players will answer different things of course but if most of the people say that economy is the main problem we can norrow down the question make another survey and bring the results to the staff and hope that they will do something about it. If they fix the problem we can move to the 2nd biggest issue that we got from the survey and move down the line. Lets not forget that in the end the staff members must be the people who change things because in the end they have the commands and stuff to do it. If they don't react things will stay the same no matter how many people voice their opinions.
I see the problems, and in my opinion it would be nice to have a council to represent the players. The players could give suggestions or complaints on the forums and the Council could take one issue at a time, or make a council of small groups and each one could tackle parts of ECC.
That link is probably apparent to everyone posting on this thread. There will always be sarcastic humor with a hint of "I'm serious" about such topics. If anyone is interested in helping the community through unified brainstorming or think it would be good to be able to "say hey I have an idea/suggestion" and have someone stay on top of it or possibly try to find a solution that would make it easier for stafc to process versus see endless complaints about something that is wrong. Please post, this is ultimately to find like minds who do not mind volunteering time for the growth of the community.
This is the united states articles of confederation in a nutshell. pointless because no real power. if something like this was to happen (unlikely but possible) they would have to have some actual power to change things, not just the power to suggest (which they already have as normal players)
I think a player council would allow for the general community and staff team to gain an even better understanding and relation between each other. For example, the fantastic new owner has been very hard at work introducing changes and new things, although as she is busy, her time to answer players questions and take suggestions is limited. I think a player council would allow for a general voice of the community to be exposed to the higher ranks more clearly and allow for a better understanding and relations between the team and the players. The team can share their own new ideas and contribute or implement the players suggestions into their own plans as a result. Ecocitycraft with or without a council team will still be a great place, although it will help Ecocitycraft come together more as a whole and understand each other at a greater scale which we believe is the step the community must make to create, a even better place for everyone.
-1 We really don't need this. This is why the forums were made! This is why the suggestion area was made! The amount of people who have put in their input on this issue already is staggering! I can just see a bunch of half-wits being put in this "council" and then not having a single role at all. I don't see this council having any power at all and having no decision either. It just wouldn't work out. These people will just be the messengers, that's it. I mean, you want to start a little group on the forums to talk about events and jazz, sure, I'm all for it. But for the elections and making it a server wide thing, no way. I only see it as; 1. A popularity contest 2. No power at all 3. Many real life problems in play 4. Already have the forums And for those reasons, I disagree.
@Dr_Dragon_Slayer OK we have the forum so what? How many good suggestions are shut down because there are 1000 posts about them and each post has 5 people commenting or improving the suggestions. The idea is to survey the community and compile everything in one post and alert staff about the current problem. As for serving as a messanger why not? As far as I see it the community needs a messanger right now. I bet there are alot of people that are not active on the forums and if we go to them then they will aslo have their opionions heard. Even if everything you say comes true and it ends up being a popularity contest and no one on the council does anything how does this harm anyone? In the end a couple people and I lost a bit of time on making this happen. Whatever happens in the end I think its atlest worth a try, no one said its a sure thing but if it gets done the right way and staff is cooperative improvements will be made.
I haven't read other posts on the thread. So this is in direct response to the first post - the suggestion itself. A) Psychology. Being on a team of this importance / status boosts egos and gives people a sense of authority. That is bad. If you simply do not understand this concept, please go take a psychology course. It happens with any rank, title, position, etc. Especially as you go higher. This "council" is higher up - in fact, it directly communicates and works for the Staff. You may think there is no prize or reward in being on this "council"... but there is. B) People should never be allowed to get back on the team immediately after their term. They have to have a waiting period. If the term is 4 months, they have to wait either 2 months or 8 months (half or twice the time). Higher makes more sense because there is only one group that works this way. Why wait? Popularity, bias, bribe, and blackmail voting. They all ruin the purpose of this "council." You need FRESH faces every time. C) Do not divide by ranks - it is somewhat pointless. There are a TON of Residents and below who have been around since 2011, 2012, and 2013. Many know a LOT more than active users, and many know very LITTLE about anything that is happening. Rank division will not work because ECC is very old. Also, look at some of the Staff - I think at least one was a Builder/fresh Resident when they got Moderator. Why are people who can achieve Staff (if they care to apply) be excluded? Forum registration date also does not mean someone is active. They could be active the first week, go away for four months, come back for three days, go away two months, come back... D) Any users, at any time, can interview or administer surveys and questionnaires. There is no need to have a group for it that is under Staff command and direct contact. You may believe that Staff will not listen to "some random person," but they will if that person actually shows effort. Go to Google Drive and make some Forms. Put together a great post and survey or interview. Let people take it. Even if the Form is a couple of Paragraph boxes with a blank question, just so that you can gather people's thoughts. And if you make an actual interview or survey, Google has diagrams showing results that can be screenshotted and shared (or the page itself), spreadsheet viewing, etc. By showing effort and time - and actually caring - Staff will take a look. You should not be afraid to PM the higher-up Staff either with any concerns or ideas as well... I'm -1. It would become complicated and popularity contest skewed by bias/favoritism and other issues. Some terms will have people who may all agree on everything, next term everyone disagrees on last term's methods and things change... rinse and repeat... Or too many clashing heads, someone leaves, even number voting because people leave day/period of voting... It would only work with multiple other systems in place to keep it "fair" or "unbiased" or "similar, ethical methods." :S EDIT: Note that I am not bashing you/the people who came up with the idea, or the concept. It would work in a much different environment and structured server, but not here. :/
Pretty much sums up my thought on this too. There is barely a time where someone gets nothing from a position of power. -1
Very smart idea but I agree with all reasons above, both it being to open users up to this idea and have them start doing it on their free time and the overall idea of a council is smart so either way, if it gets accepted, great. Denied then it still has value as it is teaching people how to improve the server.
Theres some nice discussion going on. The plant needs to be watered or it will eventually die, overwatering it drowns it. I think that at this point in time, we have a even amount of changes being made. Although once these changes start to slow, I then do encourage for a council to be put in place. If we leave ECC changeless, more people will go from the tedium, If we change to much, people lose all their original security and leave. There needs to be a balance. There is no way people will go with one side. If we find a place to meet in the middle, we could possibly see a result with this discussion. Keep the ball rolling
@MoofinK On point A) this council is not really working for to the mods, its not a possition of power and to be honest in the end its just a survey group that brings the results about a certain problem to staff's attention. I also don't see it as a position of power because there is no real chain of command in the server. There are just players and staff that just controls the enviroment and don't really have power to issue orders to other players if they don't break the rules. On point B) I agree. I just missed adding that people are not going to be re-elected for the next 1-councils. On C) you have a point there but I was thinking about the majority of residents who are new players and have maybe a different idea of which players should be on the council. But yes you are right deviding by ranks is not maybe the best thing to do considering ranking up is optional and there are maybe builders who are here for like 2 years. On D) I also agree but I don't think someone can do it alone (never seen it done before, I might be wrong) besides with a team is much easier to do. And why the elections in the first place? I just thought the community would be happy to participate and help out in a way. I could also gather a team myself and not do elections at all but I don't know who to ask to do this with me? Who really cares about helping out and who is in for the "fame"? My though process was that if the top 7 people with most votes must be straight up people because otherwise people wouldnt vote for them. If someone has alot of friends here and they voted for him/her that means he/she is a good and friendly player and maybe he/she is serious about helping out the community. But maybe you are right and I do have too much faith in the community to be responsible about something like that. Maybe this is good on paper but in practice it will fail because of peoples stride to be a part of something a bit different no matter how small and short lasting it is. I just tought that there will be more people who will go "OK lets try and help out for 2 months then carry on as usual." and not "Alright, I am a part of a different group for a while! I will be popular!"
