by Jennifer_P » Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:09 am
Eh, I see it more as a matter of keeping control than a matter of trust. Suppose, for example, that the council has some idea like, "Hey, let's make everyone on the forum display a guild rank and department," and they have the feeling that part of the guild might object loudly to such a thing. Now, if they were to post and say, "So, we're thinking about having guild rank and department designation, fyi," then the idea could be fairly easily nipped in the bud by its critics. However, if the council were to completely create and think out arguments for their idea and answers for their opponents' criticisms beforehand (all done with ease and secrecy on the private forum) and then create a completed system for their idea... Well, then they could launch a full scale surprise attack on their opponents. Stalling arguments about different versions of the rank/department idea could be drowned out by the polished shine of the finished concept proposal, and prepared beforehand, the council could put up a united front and articulate its idea elegantly and convincingly while its unprepared opponents are still coming to grips with the idea and revving up to try to prevent it from coming to pass. The council might also try some trick like giving a "demo" version of the department designation/rank thing in every person's profile, just to show how it could work. Suddenly the question is more like "Do you want to keep things like they are now, or change them back to the old way?" rather than "Do you want this change to happen at all?" or "Do you like how this proposal we've drafted sounds, or would you change some parts before accepting it?" or "We're thinking of proposing this idea, what does everyone think?" Thus the power of inertia is removed from the side of the opponents and granted to the council.
Basically, if people know what the council is up to, they can stop or change things before they become too big and mature to be easily preventable. Also, the less efficient communication available among the council members prevents group coordination in pushing an idea and defending it from attacks. Bottom line: I think most people know subconsciously that a private forum makes it easier for the council to get things their way, and they worry that what the council may want will not be what they may want. So I think it's not that the council members themselves wouldn't trusted and in fact liked, but rather that their ideas might not be trusted or liked.