Qole,

I understand that the council has no authority. This is different than having no power. Much like having a high post count is sometimes connected with experience, being identified as a council member can sometimes be connected with experience, respect, and authority.

By virtue of being voted onto the council (albeit by a low number) by community members, this implies that a council member has experience, dedication, respect, admiration, etc of (at least some) of the community. I don't believe a newcommer with no history in the community would get voted onto the council. Any new member of the community must assume you were voted onto the council for a reason. As such, any communication from a council member may (by default) carry more weight and thusly more "power" than a "regular" community member.

Case in point, qgil (I believe) at times has difficulty shedding his "employee of Nokia" persona. Not through any fault of his, it is just human nature to let the fact he is a Nokia employee color our perception of his comments and opinions.

If the council would like to shed some of the unintended influence on the community (particularly new members), I think that council members should drop their status from signature lines/titles.

I keep reading that the council is only there to facilitate. If this is true, there is no need to advertise status. A simple check of the council wiki pages would let interested parties know who to contact. if they feel they need help.

Bottom line, the council has power, whether intended or not, whether wanted or not. Get multiple council members chiming in with the same view in a thread certianly disuades all but the most vocal from expousing differing opinions. If that's not a type of power.....