The community order discussions feels very much like PR… They know what the community feels, as they have had not only the forums but they have also had an internal dialogue with YouTube creators voicing the opinion of others for many years now. Alpha and Beta testing.
As much as I want to be positive this feels like a total joke. What is new from this community? They have had access to this information forever…
I agree, and who wouldn’t agree? Of course they have to look out for their image. But it’s something, right? I think people take it for granted just how much work it is to maintain and expand a game like this. There’s no way it’s sustainable that the devs can sit down and talk with people frequently. I say the best thing we can do is send some positive vibes their way, because they are definitely working hard and could use some encouragement. I think that is always the best way to motivate positive changes. 
You are probably right my friend. In Sweden we have an expression it goes “lycka till” which means good luck. Best wishes.
All the feedback they could ever want or need is in beta, on the forums, and on social media. They ignore all of it. I don’t see them paying any more attention to feedback from the “council”. It’s clearly just PR.
ah peppermint my one good friend, glad you could join us. Now all we need is that rogue uh what’s her name Rhielle? and we could have a party.
It’s total PR and damage control.
All they had to do is monitor the forums and content creators, they don’t need this BS committee/council where they gatekeep who can participate. The only reason to do that is to make sure you’ve got nothing but fan bois and shills involved.
The truth is - many people, over the years, have spent many hours testing and producing almost professional-quality reports, specifically tailored from not only people who are absolute experts at the class/spec they are testing, but people who are absolutely in love with that class/spec they are playing.
I’ve been through betas - I’ve read heartfelt dialogue from these players who cared so much…and I’ve watched it get ignored.
There are people that fill their shoes, to some extent - but what Blizz had - they gave up on - because they knew better than. It’s been truly sad to watch happen.
Near as I can tell it serves several purposes:
It’s PR material.
It’s an excuse to pay even less attention to the user forums - only the 100 “council members” are allowed to point out issues.
They get a small group of people who will agree with everything the devs say (or risk getting kicked from the council) that they can scapegoat for not bringing up actual problems.
It’s like the green “MVP” posts we see - none of them would dare to cross the company. The last MVP to say anything counter to the corporate narrative was stripped of their MVP status.
And you know, the saddest part is - even things like what I’m typing now (see two posts up)…
Instead of Blizzard looking at this as quality feedback from a player who loves the game – they classify me as a “toxic” “troller” who is looking to bring down the community.
In reality - that couldn’t be further from the truth. I absolutely love the game…and I’ve spent years playing it. When I get a temporary forum suspension, I can’t even appeal it…they just close my follow-up tickets and tell me not to open any more.
They are a PR stunt. They have done it before and it was just that. Manipulative ways of getting people to stay subbed.
It will only be as successful as their follow thru, meaning if the devs actually use it to communicate.
If it’s just another player populated echo chamber it’s probably not worth the time.
At the very least I hope it’s a place the dev team can communicate their intentions about design choices players are struggling with, and a place where, hopefully, they feel like they can communicate with folks without fear of the “GD pile on” that typically happens when a blue steps into GD.
Sure it’s a PR thing, but it’s a good move if they follow thru in it.