SWG's Galactic Senate

Star Wars Galaxies announced a short while back that it would be creating a Galactic Senate from its playerbase. While this sounds like an amazing move towards a more democratic MMO, unfortunately it's not really: the players - Galactic Senators - were nominated by the playerbase, but chosen by SOE staff.

As with all standard dictatorships, the method by which the Senators were chosen remains secret.

Appointment

Candidates for the Galactic Senate may be nominated by any player in good standing, and self-nominations are also considered. Clarity and influence are among the top desired traits for a Senator to possess. An election commission comprising of the Star Wars Galaxies Community Team will appoint the title of Senator to players from the pool of nominations. Once appointed, a Senator will serve a 6 month term at which point the position will be open to new candidates.

What a Senator Can Do

• Propose Senate topics for a vote.
• Request a redress of issues by the development team.
• Attend the Convocation in-game event.
• Vote on Senate legislation

What a Senator Cannot Do

• Propose any backwards regression of updates.
• Ban players
• Squelch or otherwise mute players.

Maybe they're chosen based on their forums reputation and performance?

The list of the chosen is here, not that it really means much to anyone who doesn't play (or probably anyone who does, seeing as the chances of your sharing a server with, and knowing the Senator in question, are minimal).