Wow, I was shocked over some of the disdain recorded in this forum post, but wanted to chime in.
First off, as to the title, “Why can we not reply in the Community Council?” Bluntly, it is the WoW Community Councilmen’s responsibility to voice the opinion of the playerbase. There have been several General Discussion forum posts linked off our Community Council posts that have provided us insight and further emphasis on player desires. We also receive mail/whispers in-game after a post which helps us articulate further responses. Personally, this was most recently produced with my post about Role Playing Mode wherein I had several passionate players respond to a linked General Discussion post as well as message me in-game. This allowed me to further articulate a more concise and comprehensive response into the thread for Blizzard’s review as they tend to take note of our voices.
If you are passionate about a WoW Community Council post, PLEASE link the post into one of the forum discussions so that we can review further community feedback for a follow up post. We all accepted the Councilmen positions with the best intentions in mind to enhance World of Warcraft.
For those who deem us useless or another marketing gimmick - those claims are completely unfounded. Personally, since I’ve joined the Council, I’ve had almost all my suggestions implemented into the game in one form or another. It has helped enhance the game for the playerbase. Blizzard IS heeding our voices and certainly attempting to enhance the game with our assistance. Everyone on the Council takes the position very seriously and we attempt to provide solutions to Blizzard for issues within the game.
Regarding the accusations of Council members addressing topics in which they have no expertise or understanding of the community that it impacts - I hear you. Unfortunately the Council members do not have any influence over what other council members post. We cannot cease any council member from addressing a topic in which they have no experience. My only suggestion would be to review the “Introduce Yourself Here” and note the council members which are most aligned with the aspects of the game you are most passionate about. You can then search our posts and link/message us any responsive commentary. You can also “heart” (like?) the posts to demonstrate your support of the post to Blizzard.
Please keep in mind the WoW Community Council is a voice for the playerbase. We are attempting to provide Blizzard with concise opinions, commentary, and feedback on issues with the game. Rather than deem us an “other” or “enemy,” please lean into us so that we can assist in enhancing this game.
Thank you.