If we want this game to grow and develop, we need not only to include updates but also to strengthen game’s community.
The main mover of the game is our members. Therefore we would like to involve You more in game’s maintenance, development and growth.
Many seasons ago we had a team of volunteers that made the game more interesting: published game’s newspaper, organized contests, helped new game’s users, etc. This team gave a lot to the game but volunteers often used to appear and disappear, thus coordination of this team took a lot of time. Later we had to choose between coordination of this team and improvement of the game.
We would like to find and realize such system of game’s volunteers that would operate more or less automatically, without intense supervision from administration.

We want to present a few ideas on this topic. Presently we don’t know how much of it is worth realizing and when it could be done. When we have the final plan, step by step we will try to include it into the game. We will be waiting for your suggestions and comments.

Basketball federations
Every country that has some specific number of active users can “establish its federation”. Countries that have smaller number of active users could “cooperate” with other small communities and establish a combined federation (countries should be related by their geographic location or language).
Countries that do not have their federation would belong to “global” federation.

Team of federation (volunteers)
Every basketball federation would have its team of volunteers. Each “position” could be taken by game members of some “status” (according to user’s rank and other criteria).
Maybe federation could have its leader (elected by voting).

Communication of federation’s team
Every federation would have its section in press conferences that wouldn’t be visible to other countries. Federation would also be able to write news for federation’s users.
We could also consider separate sections in forum or possibility to send mass messages to federation’s users if it is needed.

Functions of federation

• Help new users of the federation
• Take care of federation’s growth
• Take care of national team’s achievements
• Maintain order in press conferences
• Confirm (reject) teams’ names
• Confirm (reject) names and surnames of denominative players
• Communicate with game’s administration and present federation’s expectations, suggestions, requests, etc.
• Take care that federation’s users could play the game in their own language
• Determine federation’s “time of home matches” - presently all matches take place on time that is convenient only for European countries. It would be better if every federation could choose from few time intervals and home matches (that are played in federation teams’ arenas) would take place on more convenient time.
• Determine native country’s advantage that native players give to their country’s teams in the market. The bigger this advantage is, the easier it is to keep native players in team. But on the same time it is more difficult to hire other countries’ players.
• Other

Helping new users (teachers)
Presently game members can become “teachers” of their country’s new users. If you would like to help new users, please contact a-ramune. The current system is very simple - newly registered user automatically gets a welcome message from volunteer teacher. If new user has questions, he can reply and ask the teacher that welcomed him.
We would like to turn this simple idea into automatic system that includes all countries. Every new user would get a teacher. He could refuse his present teacher and choose a new one. Teachers would get credits for achievements of their “students”, so it would motivate to help them.
It would be very helpful if users that use the current teachers’ system shared their experience and ideas how to make this system more convenient for teachers and for students.

Encouragement
Federation’s team of volunteers would get credits.
Presently given bonuses for National team’s achievements will be changed. All country’s users would get certain bonuses for the realized goals.
Every season the best basketball federation would be selected and would get some considerable bonus. For example, next season part of PREMIUM features would be available for free.

Points for consideration
If the above described idea is successfully realized, we could go even further:

• Federations could make decisions about the structure of national league. For example, instead of the current national leagues' structure federation could choose to use the structure of “Cup”.
• Federations could use match engine with special configuration in National tournament’s matches. For example, quarter could take 12 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
• Federations could have their budget of credits and themselves allocate it for the most active users, national teams’ needs, etc.

We will be waiting for your remarks, opinions and suggestions. Also please tell if you would like to use the new system and become representative of country (federation).