Starting Today,  March 21^st, 2014, we invite players to apply for the LOTRO Player’s Council. Don’t want to join yourself? Recommend a fellow player you feel will be a positive addition to the council. We may also select players based on their in-game and community behavior and extend an invitation even if they have not otherwise applied or been nominated. Council members will be announced on April 24^th.

Requirements for Applicants and Nominees

 

• Be 18 years of age or older at the time of their application, nomination, or selection for the council.
• Must be an active player of The Lord of the Rings Online™ for at least the previous six months.
• Must maintain an active play style during the council’s term of service. (“Active” to be determined by Turbine at its sole discretion).
• Account must be in good standing with no significant violations of Turbine’s Terms of Service, End User License Agreement or Community Guidelines. Accounts must remain free of said violations during the period of service.
• Applicants may be from any geographic region officially supported by The Lord of the Rings Online™.
• Because the development team communicates in English, and the process of translation will slow down what needs to be rapid exchanges, council business will be conducted in English. Therefore applicants must have the ability to communicate with the team and each other via written and spoken English. We ask the application also be submitted in English to help us with processing them.
• The ability to interact with other members of the Council and Turbine employees in a mature, constructive, and mutually respectful manner.

 

Acceptance and Participation

 

• Council members must agree to the terms of our NDA and agree that any information will not be shared out of the program at any point during or after their service. Violation of the NDA will result in immediate removal from the council and exclusion from all future NDA programs including beta tests. A current list of all council members will be posted to the official forums. Council Members will be identified only by their forum/community name. Real names will not be disclosed to the public without member consent.
• Selected players are expected to actively participate in the program for the duration of their tenure. Please consider your personal time constraints carefully when applying.
• Council members serve for one full year. New councils will be selected during the LOTRO Anniversary period which takes place in April of each year.
• Members of the professional, indie, or fan site press or those acting in a journalistic/editorial/volunteer capacity at recognized news/press/fan site outlets are not eligible to participate on the council.
• Members of the council may be invited to attend face to face meetings both online, and in person at the Turbine Studios during the course of their tenure.

 

As part of their duties, council members will be expected to...

 

• Provide feedback to the LOTRO Team as requested.
• Comment, from time to time, on aspects or elements of upcoming changes before they have reached an Alpha state and prior to their testing on the Palantir private preview server.
• Participate, from time to time, in the Palantir Private Preview Program (and be subject to the rules of that program as well).
• Make suggestions and recommendations in accordance with goals set for the council by the LOTRO Team.
• Participate in and help design focused feedback discussions for the council and the general community.
• From time to time the council may be released from portions of their NDA to discuss specific changes and additions to the game they contributed to.
• Be guaranteed access to all Beta tests during their term.
• Be provided a private discussion area for interacting with the LOTRO Team.
• Courtesy invitations to player parties or other similar events that take place during their term. (travel and other expenses associated with these events are the responsibility of the individual).
• Some council members may be selected to participate in a face to face meetings with the LOTRO Team and Turbine staff if asked. Location to be decided by Turbine. (Travel expenses to be provided by Turbine if those meetings are to be in person)
• Provide feedback to Turbine and the LOTRO Team on the performance of the Player Council.
• Suggest changes, improvements, or revisions to the Player Council.
• Meet via Skype or other online voice and or video conferencing tools from time to time.

 

LOTRO Player Council Application
If you would like to apply or nominate someone to participate in the LOTRO Player Council, please submit an email to LOTROCOUNCIL@TURBINE.COM with the following information:

 

• Real Name
• Email address
• Country (if in the United States or Canada please include your City/State/Province)
• Are you over the age of 18?
• Primary Character Name
• Primary Class
• Primary Kinship or Tribe
• Forum Name (Name displayed when using the official forums)
• Do you use any of the following? If so, which?
  • Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, Google+

 

• Are you willing to create a Skype account for the purpose of official council discussions?
• What is your primary play style/focus?
• What aspects of the game are you most interested in discussing?

LOTRO Player Council FAQ

What is the LOTRO Player Council?
The LOTRO Player Council is a group of players selected to provide targeted feedback and valuable suggestions to the LOTRO Team. This will involve participating in surveys, focused discussions, as well as highly structured and targeted developer chats. Often the topics covered will be elements of game design at their earliest stages, well before they are committed to development or appear in our test programs like Palantir.

How many members will be part of the council?
The LOTRO Player Council will consist of between 30 and 50 players.

Does Turbine determine the makeup of the LOTRO Player Council?
All members of the council will be selected by Turbine in accordance with the eligibility requirements listed in the application. Any player who meets the requirements may apply for a place on the council. Any player may nominate another player for a position by submitting an application on their behalf during the application period.

The forums are only a small portion of the player base, how will the larger community be heard?
We will extend invitations to some players based on internal research, participation in other feedback groups, and other means we feel appropriate to determining their ability to be a voice of the general playerbase on the council.

What if I don’t live in North America?
You may still apply to be on the Council. The goal is to create a diverse group that accurately represents the player base in terms of geography, play style, and interests. We do ask that all applicants be capable of participating in the council in written and spoken English as this is the primary and often only language used by the dev team.

Will my participation be kept private?
The LOTRO Player Council will be covered by a Non-disclosure agreement that all participants must agree to before being added to the council. However, we will publish a list of all players participating in the council. This list will not reveal your real name or any personal information, only your forum name.

I haven’t played LOTRO in a long time, but I really want to be part of this!
We’re very sorry, but the Player Council is for active players who have been playing LOTRO regularly for at least the previous six months. Once you meet those criteria, we’d be happy to have you apply! In addition, players who become inactive during their council term may be removed and/or replaced.

How do we know Turbine will listen to us?
All feedback and suggestions provided by the council will be reviewed and considered by the LOTRO Team. When possible, we will make note of the fact that certain features, changes, or additions are suggested or refined by the council. We may also discuss some aspects of council actions in Developer Chats or developer diaries. Council members are not a board of directors nor a governing body. They will make suggestions, offer alternatives, and provide highly focused feedback.

"How will the Council be held accountable to the full community?
The role of the council is to provide feedback as requested and suggestions as appropriate to the LOTRO Dev Team. It is not an elected body answerable to a constituency. Our expectation is that members of the council appreciate their role as influencers and seriously consider the interests of all community members and play styles when making their suggestions and providing their feedback. The size of the council was chosen to help insure a diversity of opinion on as wide a variety of topics as possible."

How long will the council serve? Can you be on the council forever? Who has oversight of the council?
The council will serve for a period of one year. Some members may be asked to serve additional time to help transition new council members or to provide some degree of continuity from council to council, but no member is considered to be a "permanent" member. It is intended for new voices to be the majority in each new council selected.

What about players not accepted into the council?
Applicants who were not selected for the council may be called upon to fill vacancies in the council should they arise. In addition we may, from time to time, reach out to the applicant pool for feedback to check the accuracy of council feedback or to provide additional feedback. Also players not selected must reapply in the future; applications are not carried over from year to year.

How can the general community help bring issues to the attention of the council?
The existing suggestion forum is the best place to start. The council will work to bring outstanding suggestions from the larger community to our attention. We recommend well written, well considered suggestions with plenty of detail as the most likely to catch the council’s eye.

What happened to the small council? Why isn't it included again this year?
The concept still exists. However we no longer call it out as a unique body to be brought to Turbine once a year. Last year we had two completely different and unique groups visit Turbine and this proved very successful. We'd like to maintain the flexibility of having council members come to the studio when it is most productive to do so. This may mean in the early part of their term, or several times through out the year by different members with different focus. We actually hope to have the first group visit fairly early in their term this year.

What if I’m chosen for the council and people harass or grief me in game because of my participation or if they don’t like suggestions the council made?
Harassment is harassment and a violation of the EULA, TOS and Community Guidelines. Players engaging in this behavior for any reason are subject to action based on the existing prohibitions against harassment. There will be a zero tolerance policy for harassing, insulting, or abusive behavior or comments towards the council.

As a council members, what special powers or abilities will I have?
None. Council members do not receive any special abilities or powers in game or out of game. They are treated the same as any other player when logged in and playing or posting outside of the Player Council forums. They also do not receive any priority or special consideration from GM's or others when submitting tickets or when dealing with account support.