[ANNOUNCEMENT] Maple Leaf Council

http://maplestory.nexon.net/community/#%...st11447045

Hi Maplers!

As some of you may be aware, we have been asking for your nominations of "experts" of certain aspects of the MapleStory community over the past week. Today, I am happy to formally announce a new project that I am hoping to get off the ground this month - the Maple Leaf Council.

This "Council" is a group of players, selected from among the major aspects of the MapleStory community, by which we can facilitate feedback and discuss from the player-base to the MapleStory Development Team. Each appointed player will be responsible for gathering feedback and opinions from the division of the community they represent, to be given voice in concern with future updates, game balancing, suggestions and changes, etc.

We will be letting the nomination period continue through the rest of this week, where we will then decide who be chosen to represent the players in the First Maple Leaf Council.

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Mission Statement
It is the sole mission of the Maple Leaf Council and of each Maple Leaf Councillor to represent, to the best of their ability, the aspect of the MapleStory community to which they have been appointed. It is the responsibility of the Councillor to take note of the interests and opinions of those they represent in a fashion that is unbiased and not at all self-serving, while also pushing the aspect to which they have been appointed in a positive direction by serving as a teacher, leader, and voice for their community, and by advocating for the ultimate gameplay success of the aspect to which they have been appointed.

Appointment and Direction

1. Candidates for the Maple Leaf Council may be nominated by any player in good standing with Nexon America. Please note that self-nominations are taken into consideration as well.

2. The MapleStory community team will hold full responsibility for the appointment of the title of “Maple Leaf Councillor” upon one (1) nominated person per community division.

3. Once appointed to this position, a Maple Leaf Councillor will serve a nine(9)-month-term at which point the position will be open to new appointees for the position. Maple Leaf Councillors can submit to the MapleStory Community Team for re-appointment, no more than 30-days before the expiration of their term of office.

4. Selected members are expected to actively participate in the program for the duration of their term. Please take personal time constraints into consideration carefully when applying. Lack of Council activity will end in impeachment from the office of Councillor.

5. Members of the press, beit professional, individual, or fan-site directed, or those acting in any volunteer capacity at a recognized news, press, or fan site outlet are not eligible to participate on the Maple Leaf Council

6. All members will be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Various aspect of work of the council will be shared with the general public, however, in case of certain upcoming content and dates that is being shared with members, we require that all members sign this agreement so we can still have our surprises.

What We Look For in a Councillor

• Clarity of word, both written and spoken.
  
• Knowledge of appointed aspect, including knowledge of the community.
  
• A determined and exceptionally precise attention to detail.
  
• Weekly availability for Council-related activity.
  
• Influence and good standing within Nexon and the MapleStory community.
  
• Availability for possible travel, if requested by Nexon.
  

What a Councillor Can Do

• Create or otherwise draft Council legislation.
  
• Bring topics of interest to the attention of the Council.
  
• Vote on Council legislation.
  

Council legislation can be crafted for numerous reasons, not necessarily limited to:

• To request a formal redress of grievances/issues from the Development team.
  
• To formally propose, recommend, or push for consideration of ideas or suggestions.
  
• To formally denounce the implementation of upcoming content or features.

What a Councillor Cannot Do

• Propose any removal of past updates through Council legislation.
  
• Ban, threaten, or act as an administrator toward players, both in-game and within the forums.
  
• Delete forums posts, threads, etc.
  

OPEN POSITIONS:

-CLASSES
Explorers

• Beginner
  
• Warrior
  
• Magician
  
• Bowman
  
• Thief
  
• Pirate
  
• Dual Blade
  
• Cannoneer
  
• Jett

Cygnus Knights

• Noblesse
  
• Dawn Warrior (Mihile too!)
  
• Blaze Wizard
  
• Wind Archer
  
• Night Walker
  
• Thunder Breaker

Resistance

• Citizen
  
• Battle Mage
  
• Wild Hunter
  
• Mechanic
  
• Xenon
  
• Demon Slayer
  
• Demon Avenger

Heroes

• Aran
  
• Evan
  
• Mercedes
  
• Phantom
  
• Luminous
  
• Shade

Nova

• Kaiser
  
• Angelic Buster

Sengoku

• Hayato
  
• Kanna

Child of Rhinne

• Zero

Chase

• Beast Tamer

-OTHER

• Player Life
  
• Bug Reporting
  
• Story and Lore
  
• Free Market and Economy
  

no body got time for that

Availability for possible travel, if requested by Nexon.

This better not be a significant factor for selection.

basically that means LA only, or wherever it is they are located

i think they don't get any pay or compensation even for their expenses in participating. only fanatics who live next door to nex should apply


EDIT:

Dawn Warrior (Mihile too!)

oh no, are mihiles no longer deserving their own class listing

basically that means LA only, or wherever it is they are located

i think they don't get any pay or compensation even for their expenses in participating. only fanatics who live next door to nex should apply

Artasi implied travel expenses would be paid by Nexon, but didn't actually promise anything because they don't have any actual meet-ups scheduled. He also said he expects travel to be required for internal testing of new content, rather than just talk.
But the time lost from your studies, job, or whatever else you have going on, would be your problem, of course.

EDIT:

oh no, are mihiles no longer deserving their own class listing

They were listed together right from the start. No idea why, they are not similar at all.

warriors not being subdivided and asking for travel time leave me out, my working schedule is retarded

warriors not being subdivided and asking for travel time leave me out, my working schedule is retarded

They are only lumped together to save room, as said previously, people can still apply for individual jobs.

Travel is a problem, though.

Also

those acting in any volunteer capacity at a recognized news, press, or fan site outlet are not eligible to participate on the Maple Leaf Council

That certainly saves me deliberation.

As much as I hate to say it, I honestly have no hopes whatsoever for this actually doing anything of merit. They already tried having full blown mini-GM players and look where that went. Maybe if they actually used some of those massive funds they've acquired to maintain their games they wouldn't have to keep trying these "volunteer" programs and shutting them down because of 15 year olds completely abusing it. Sorry for being a debby downer.

As much as I hate to say it, I honestly have no hopes whatsoever for this actually doing anything of merit. They already tried having full blown mini-GM players and look where that went. Maybe if they actually used some of those massive funds they've acquired to maintain their games they wouldn't have to keep trying these "volunteer" programs and shutting them down because of 15 year olds completely abusing it. Sorry for being a debby downer.

These "Councillors" will have no power, in-game or even on Nexon's forums. So I don't really see any "abuse" as such happening. Worst that could happen is that someone pushes for their own pet peeve or pet project to be handled, rather than something a large part of their "constituency" is concerned with.

That said, I don't hold out too much hope for this thing. To me, they kind of resemble a student council at a school. Just how much they can do, depends on how much the school administration (in this case, Nexon) is willing to listen to them. I'm sure Artasi means well, and it's good to see someone at Nexon admitting they don't know everything about the game, and reaching out to expert players and community representatives. However, Mama Korea calls all the shots, NexonNA is understaffed, and it's unclear how high this Council's recommendations will sit on the GMS development team's priority list.

Of course, on the subject of "abuse", there's the concern of people breaking their NDA, which might cause Nexon to scrap the whole idea.

We'll see.

I think I'll continue staying/lurking here then, since extractions and mechanics attract me far more. Not as if Nexon is going to pay to fly me from Oxford to LA... what? Time? Can I eat that?

Hadriel

Travel is a problem, though.

Also


That certainly saves me deliberation.

guess i-ll go and apply then, nothing to lose really.

For some clarity here:

Travel will not be required, but it will be offered to certain Sessions of the Council down the road, and not necessarily to every person involved (bringing 40~ people here would be a bit much). If it is offered, it would be offered to a select few high-achievers in the group and they would be expected, but, of course they can decline the invitation. But travel will most revolve around play tests, meet and greets, and just closer discussion of things, since we can have these conversations within the group itself without needing people to be here in person.

The only expectation in terms of "time" is that you make enough time in your week-to-week or day-to-day to participate in the Council itself, as if you miss a period of discussion, debate, or voting on particular items, then the voices of those you represent are left out. If that happens repeatedly, we would probably end up removing that person and appoint someone new.

That's not really something we expect to happen though.

[URL="http://maplestory.nexon.net/community/#%2Fshowthread.php%3F1376120-ANNOUNCEMENT-Maple-Leaf-Council%2Fpage2%26nxid%3D6"]"To be fair to all fansites, we must disqualify staff from all of them that are officially recognized."
[/URL]
....

I guess this disqualifies me because redditmod.

WELP...and with that, I've got to say that Justin's post hit the nail on the head.

1. Candidates for the Maple Leaf Council may be nominated by any player in good standing with Nexon America. Please note that self-nominations are taken into consideration as well.

Looks like I'm immediately taken out of consideration. Got a false perma over the weekend

Looks like I'm immediately taken out of consideration. Got a false perma over the weekend

If it's a false ban and it's been resolved and noted as such, you should be fine.

Looks an awful lot like the EVE Online CSM . Where players once a year vote on players representing parts of the game. Twice a year they are flown to Iceland to discuss the state of the game and upcoming content.


Curious if this turns out to be the same, with the same merits and problems.

If it's a false ban and it's been resolved and noted as such, you should be fine.

Is this some special case?
Ever since I was released from my false ban I've never been able to touch any contest etc. not to mention they give you the same spiel as if you were guilty from the start regardless of any proven innocence.

Is this some special case?
Ever since I was released from my false ban I've never been able to touch any contest etc. not to mention they give you the same spiel as if you were guilty from the start regardless of any proven innocence.

Precisely this. That was actually my final straw in abandoning Aesilyn, when it randomly gave me a 30 day ban for afking 10 minutes in the one of the empty hallways between rooms in Temple of Time.
Being treated like a criminal because the game itself horks when dozens of well known players actively, visibly, openly hack the crap out of it while bragging with absolute impunity is just off-putting.

It says anything I put into my account/characters is a waste, because I will always be a 2nd class citizen with zero avenue for legitimate appeal.

Is this some special case?
Ever since I was released from my false ban I've never been able to touch any contest etc. not to mention they give you the same spiel as if you were guilty from the start regardless of any proven innocence.

This is exactly what I thought as well, considering accounts that had been punished in any way, deserved or not, were unable to participate in other events (server transfers, various forum events such as this one, etc.)

It's not a special case, or it shouldn't be. I'm not sure who you've been in contact with in our CS department, but if you were falsely banned for whatever it may be, and you were proven innocent and unbanned, this should be noted on your account and you should be eligible for participation following that being cleared.