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We are happy to announce the Grepolis Player Council!

Starting July 18th 2017, every player from every corner of our international community will get the chance to apply for the Grepolis Player Council, representing players of their language version, the international community and the player base as a whole.

Eight years after the initial release of Grepolis, we are confident that the game is in a pretty good spot overall and we now want to focus more on improvements to existing mechanics, events and features. With this in mind, we would like to give our players a better chance to provide input and make suggestions, to get into more direct contact with us as the developers of the game, and to become another panel for professional and active feedback in addition to our Community Management teams and partners inside and outside of InnoGames.

We already have dedicated and highly motivated Community teams in place all over the world, who stay in close contact with our players and regularly pass on any wishes and concerns they come across on our official channels (like tickets, forums, Facebook etc). Nevertheless, we believe that no one has a closer relationship with other players than the players themselves. Plus, in addition to our official community channels, a lot of things happen within alliances and on the battlefield that we may not even be aware of. Veterans of the game can oftentimes tell the craziest (and funniest) stories which would in all likelihood be told very differently if they were ever to be shared publicly in our official channels.

This is why we would like to reach out to our players and invite them to become part of our feedback procedure. We also hope to share some insights into the thought processes that go into game design and development, with the goal to provide a better understanding for why certain decisions are made, some of which can then be communicated to all the other players of Grepolis.

Would you be interested to be a part of this project? Read on to learn more about the Grepolis Player Council!

==The Grepolis Player Council==
The player council consists of 3 separate entities, where each has special tasks and privileges associated with them.

[[File:Councillevels.png]]

===The Local Council===
Each member of this council will be elected by local players of his/her language version. Consequently, they first become a member of their local council, e.g. for the French market.

A local council consists of up to 5 players and will discuss matters of their own language version. They will also decide on a spokesperson (and a substitute) who will then represent their language version in the Inner Council.

===The Inner Council===
The Inner Council can be viewed as a kind of international committee, where the representatives of all Local Councils gather. This is the place where the spokespeople of each language version will discuss various topics with each other to exchange ideas and concerns and to prioritize suggestions. Ideally, the members of the Inner Council will come up with a more global opinion on matters and with broadly accepted proposals, which can then be communicated to InnoGames.

===Council Advisory Board===
The Inner Council selects up to 5 members who will be in direct contact with the development team of Grepolis. The members of the Advisory Board will forward the suggestions and ideas the Inner Council has worked out and may be invited to join special feedback sessions with the development team.

===Player Council members are... ===
*Community members who have been elected by fellow players to represent their ideas and opinions about Grepolis
*Volunteers that are in no way, shape or form employed by or affiliated with InnoGames
*Regular players who maintain an active game account without any special powers or perks associated with their Player Council membership
*Part of the Player Council...
**for a period of six months
**eligible to be re-elected for another term
**not re-electable for a third consecutive term without a break of at least six months

==Requirements for Candidacy==
*Reached legal age of majority in their country of residence (18/21)
*Owner of an active game account and been playing for more than 3 months. Sufficient activity to be determined at discretion of InnoGames Community Management
*Willing to accept the [https://media.innogamescdn.com/com_GP_DE/announcements/PlayerCouncil/Privacy%20Policy%20-%20Grepolis%20Player%20Council.pdf Privacy Policy] for Player Council members to become eligible for Inner Council and Council Advisory Board duties
*Good English language skills preferred (required for Inner Council and Council Advisory board duties)
Additionally, we recommend each candidate to outline any previous affiliation with InnoGames (e.g. as a member of the support team) in their introduction to provide for best possible transparency and trust within the player base.

Candidacy may be rejected and/or Council membership terminated in case a serious violation of InnoGames terms & conditions, game rules, privacy policy or other misconduct is found.

==Principles==
We expect each council member to comply with the following principles. In turn, tools will be made available to them which enable them to perform their voluntary efforts for the community.

===The Player Council as a whole shall…===
*Include 2-5 members per language version
*Consist of up to 23 representatives and their substitutes for the Inner Council
*Make sure that each market is represented, even if no local representatives were found for the respective term (ideally through beta)
*Beta representative shall listen to all comments made on beta forums, no matter which language version the respective player might be coming from originally
*Provide constructive feedback and professional input on current features, development priorities and potential plans for the future
===Local Council members shall…===
*Represent their local community, listen to the fellow players of their language version and, if possible, document the best suggestions and major concerns they come across
*Act as role models in the game itself as well as on any community platform (e.g. forums, Social Media channels etc.). A professional and constructive approach towards their assignment is expected at all times, not only in discussions within the Player Council and with employees of InnoGames
*Actively participate in the Player Council's affairs during their term (contribute to discussions, provide feedback in a timely manner etc.)
*Assist the Inner Council and the development team by providing feedback on existing and upcoming or planned game elements
*Play an active role in community discussions and educate players about things that are happening in the Player Council (e.g. by preparing regular reports in cooperation with their Inner Council representative); this is of course subject to the confidentiality obligations as agreed with InnoGames in the Privacy Policy agreement
*Actively play the game during the course of their membership
*Not receive any special powers in the game. Local Council members should not have any privileges compared to other players
*Provide a valid e-mail address in their forum profiles
*Appoint 2 members (one spokesperson, one silent substitute) to represent their market in the Inner Council
*Be provided with…
**a private discussion area on their local forums
**Community Management assistance if required, and/or
**a special forum title to be easily recognizable and addressable by fellow players
===Inner Council members shall…===
*Be able to communicate in English (both in writing and verbally), as topics on this level will be discussed in English
*Nominate 3-5 (potentially rotating) members for the Council Advisory Board
===Council Advisory Board members shall…===
*Participate in select, special events initiated by InnoGames (e.g. Skype calls, an invitation to InnoGames' offices or other (expenses will be borne by InnoGames when the event has been approved)), and
*Be provided with contact information to get in touch with members of the Grepolis development team and, if applicable, other relevant InnoGames employees