A few remarks.
What to do?
Each octarch is responsible for one level. As far as I know, there\'s only a part of one level now, so what do we do about that? That leaves the 20 Vigesimi, unless you redefine the role of the octarchs to take care, for instance, of different issues in the current world (which would probably need to rewrite a part of the setting - a first in many years if I\'m not mistaken). Their role definitely needs to be more precisely defined before conjecturing any further.
The game is currently not balanced and crafting experimental, so everything related to economics, politics, ... does not have a strong enough basis to start with.
But it remains an interesting experience to try, and it certainly shouldn\'t stop us from imagining how it will be in the future. I think Talad only should give his opinion on when he sees this happening, and possibly what it will imply in practice.
Who to choose indeed?
Developers? Certainly not, they don\'t mix with the community and simply don\'t have the time. Perhaps they can show us the path, and guide the octarchs when they have some spare time for that, which will be extremely rare.
\"Dedicated, regular\" players? Be careful, there\'s no such a candidate in the first place. The only persons I know who have stayed with Planeshift long enough are not playing it regularly, only sometimes when something new appears. Most people show a burst of interest then leave. Others take it at a slower pace and stick around, keeping in touch rather than being involved in anything for the long term. It is possible, but they will have to take turns and be dependable enough to fulfil this role during their term.
Game Masters? Why not, that\'s part of their job, you don\'t think GMs are only there for OOC/moderation, do you? Theoretically, they should be formed to help players having a better experience, organise events, and coordinate the whole functionality of the game. Governing one level is probably better done with this goal in mind. It would ask that a handful of them dedicate most of their time being IC GMs, i.e. not moderating the OOC aspects of the game because it\'s not compatible. Thus, handing over that part of the job to other GMs. Because of that, and since the same remarks as above also apply, they will have to take turns.
How to choose?
If there are several thousands of players, I can only see the selection being done in several steps if we want to be fair. The chosen persons should be experienced Planeshift players (being involved at such a level without knowing people would be bad), have solid organisational skills and good leadership qualities. They should be interested in that aspect of the game, and able to dedicate enough time (i.e. possibly handing over guild leadership/occupation to someone else during that time).
