Command Course Guide
Starfleet: The First Era Academy
Version 1.1, August 15, 2003
Capt Suzanna Batenburg <blanhe2@zensearch.com>
Credits
Various people have given their help and suggestions during this guide's
development and revision. We learn from the past so to those in the past, we
thank you. Some content was also adapted or taken from these sources:
* Command Guide v3.1.2 by Commodore Suzanna Blokpoel
* SF-TFE SIM Guide V2.0 by Sub-Cmdr Suzhran
List of Contents:
Chapter 1 - Overview of the Command Positions, and Command
1.2 Commanding Officer / Captain
Chapter 2 - In-Character Duties
2.1 CO and XO Responsibilities During a SIM
2.3 Absentee/Guest Position Assignments
2.6 Assigning/taking an Acting-CO position
2.8.2 LOSS OF CONTROL (How to keep it in-line)
Chapter 3 - Leadership Training
3.1.1 Leadership Begins with a Question
3.1.3 The First Thing You Do Is Agree
3.3 Playing the Part of the Leader: Dealing with others
Chapter 4 - Out-Of-Character Duties, How To
4.1.3 Accepting an existing TFE officer (Transfers, New Characters)
4.1.5 Removing crew from your SIM
4.3 Resigning/taking permanent CO position
4.4 Recruitment and Advertising
4.4.1 Post recruitment notices in newsgroups and on other SIMming
related lists or websites
4.4.2 Banner Exchanges, Top Site Lists and Webrings
4.5.1 Example of recruit Acceptance letter
4.5.2 Example Email SIM Report
4.5.3 Example of Recruitment letters
Welcome to the Command Course! If you are reading this, it means you are interested in either becoming a Command Level Officer, or you are looking to improve your skills as Command Level Officer. Many years of Command Experience are at the basis of this course guide, however this one document will not teach you everything about command. This document is just a theory, and nothing can beat actually doing it in practices. What this document is intended for is to open your eyes to the basics, to some of the theory behind what makes a Successful CO. Taking and passing this course doesn't necessarily mean that you are capable of running a SIM, it means that you know what the theoretical background is behind it. What to do to help make things easier, how to deal with certain problems, to help you avoid making some of the mistakes that were made while learning all this :).
Commanding a SIM is no easy task, there are many issues and things to think about. You need to know how to recruit, advertise your SIM, talk to your crew, create plots and keep your crew busy and happy at the same time, as well as run a quality plot.
Being a Command grade officer is a lot of responsibility. We as an organization entrust you with a group of 8 to 20 role-players and lead them to have fun SIMming in the Enterprise Era environment. You are their guiding light in the organization, you are the example they look up to and hope to be able to do what you do in the future, you are their link to the fun and exciting world of Star Trek.
This Guide acts merely as mini-encyclopedia; in it you will find procedures used by existing COs, hints, advice and examples pertaining to both administrative ("paper work") and SIM aspects of Command that otherwise come from experience (or not at all). As it is formatted in sections, it can be referred to again when you need it, and we recommend that you keep this and other materials in the Command Course handy. Even if you have a lot of experience as CO or XO, you should find new information, or information brought to you in a different way, be reminded of ideas or find slight alternatives within these pages.
For obvious reasons we expected that you are already familiar with the description of the Captain and First Officer as found in the SF-TFE SIM guide. In this section, we go over the positions of CO and XO in more depth.
As a character in the SIM, the First Officer is the next highest ranking officer of the ship, and a senior officer/department head. Unlike in the 24th century, it is not a dedicated position. The NX Class ships only have a maximum of 87 crew, and there is no need to have a dedicated XO. In this SIMming environment, the duties of the XO are more important on an OOC basis and with helping the CO run the plot.
Another duty is commanding the ship in place of the CO (unless the Captain is incapacitated or unavailable, this should be an explicit order). In this situation the XO takes on most responsibilities, notifying the CO if his attention is required. Notification should be given to the Commanding Officer about incoming communication, security alerts, and other important issues; minor problems need not be reported to the CO if the XO can handle the problem. If the CO is incapacitated or unavailable, then the XO takes all responsibilities until the CO is available and fit to resume command.
Som of the other duties for the XO are advising the Captain during diplomacy, ensuring the Captain's safety when he must leave the ship, and keeping tabs on how the crew feel about the Captain.
Out of character duties include helping to direct the plot, log on a regular basis, keep tabs on the crew. If one crew member his having problems, suggest a joint log, perhaps have the XO have an IC chat with that crewmemer.
SIMs are different in the respect of what OOC duties are assigned to the XO and what duties are not. Some COs ask their XOs to do part or the complete weekly SIM report. As the Executive officer, it is key to talk to your Commanding Officer and find out exactly what is expected of you, before you step onto the bridge for the first time.
The Commanding Officer is the central control person of the SIM. All bridge stations report to him/her when new information regarding the mission at hand comes up; new discoveries (eg "new ships appearing on sensors") or finished commands (eg "arrived in-system" or "hull plating is polarised"). Impulsively, or in response to new information, the Captain asks questions (to stimulate more input) and gives orders. This system forms a structure that both controls (so it doesn't get out of hand) and guides the SIM. If you are just learning to CO a SIM, have this "input/output" system in mind. More information about how to do this in later sections.
As CO, you should be well-versed in the responsibilities of all other SIM positions. You don't need to have an indepth knowledge of every position to be a CO, but a broad knowledge is required in order to know what to ask them and what to expect from them in return. If there are certain positions you are not familiar with, see the SimGuide and read over the advanced Academy guides (where available) to become familiar with them. Remember, if you are not sure of something technical, do not be afraid to find out the information in an IC fashion.
One bit of knowledge that some new First Officers do not have is the fact that only the person that has control of the bridge gives direct orders to the bridge crew and senior officers. Meaning, if the Captain is on the bridge, the First Officer cannot order the Helm officer to lay in a new course or the Ops officer to transfer power (and certainly cannot tell the Tactical officer to fire weapons!) unless expected (or has permission) from the Captain. Your relationship with the Commanding Officer has an effect on the extent of your control on the bridge. The First Officer, while he does not have control of the bridge, can only make suggestions to the Captain, and ask for additional information from the bridge and senior officers.
The same "control" applies to away missions; a First Officer, when leading an away team, gives direct orders to the others. Another member of the team cannot be giving orders to the other, unless it is the usual cooperativeness needed to get the job done. This same one-person-in-command also applies to chief/ assistant department structures, eg. the Chief Medical Officer gives orders to the two assistants, but one assistant doesn't give an order to the other unless the CMO is absent (then, of course, the first-assistant becomes the acting-Chief).
The major reason of this is because command requires that one person have a plan of action, and the ability to have their immediate subordinates fulfill that plan. If someone else is giving orders without the person-in-command's permission (eg. the First Officer is giving bridge orders while the Captain is on the bridge), this interrupts the commander's plan of what needs to happen when.
Thus, remember, unless you're the one in command, don't become over-enthusiastic to help and start giving orders, unless the CO gave you permission or asked you to log something in a certain way.
The Captain of a SIM has these responsibilities:
* Controlling the beginning and ending of the plot.
* Giving in-character direct orders to bridge crew and senior officers
* Speeding along the plot during slow times.
* Communicating with crew members in private for behind-the-scene orders (e.g.asking the Science Officer to find tetrion emissions).
* Keeping all officers involved in the current plot, if someone is not involved find something for them to do.
* Evaluate information that is received to find possible effects on the SIM.
* Write a weekly SIM report
The First Officer's responsibilities are:
* Assisting the Captain to direct the plot.
* Making in-character suggestions to the Captain.
* Help the CO with the OOC duties of the SIM
There are several characteristics and traits that apply to successulf Command Level Officers. Being a Command Officer means you are a leader, and demonstrate those leadership abilities and traits at all times. Leadership is all about providing purpose, motivation and direction to those following you, ie, your crew. Leadership means that you will step up, and take on that role to provide that to those that you lead, you are the one to take the initiative, to have the drive to want to run this SIM and do so consistently. Your crew will follow you if you do this consistently. At times it may be hard and as if you are out there on your own, and often, you don't see the results immediately. The following elements are key to help be a leader, and to run a successful, quality SIM.
Communication:
As stated, leadership is about providing purpose, motivation and direction,
this you do by communicating. This can be IC as well as OOC. In a plot, it is
important to paint a picture with words, and then make sure that your crew
knows what is expected of them. You do this by holding IC briefings, give out
orders, explain what you are doing etc. By explaining in the IC context why and
what is going to be done, and communicating this... the plot will start and the
crew will jump in and follow. Behind the scenes, communications between the XO
and CO are also important, the SIM will suffer if the two do not talk enough,
and end up contradicting each other.
Teamwork:
The CO and XO that work well together will complement each other in the
responsibilities of commanding a SIM, and result in a good SIM environment for
the rest of the crew. Leadership can be undermined if the XO starts to
contradicts the CO, or the other way round. Team work between the CO and XO
will filter down and be seen as a positive example by the crew. It will help to
motivate and provide direction.
Flexibility
If the plot is not going the way you planned it, try to adapt your grand plan to go with the flow of what everyone else is moving toward. It is better to let your crew take a plot somewhere then it is to have you direct it where they do not want the plot to go. Also, learn from the situation. Your goal can be set in stone, but the path that leads to it is far from drawn on any map.
Respect:
Onboard a SIM, the executive officer must support the decisions of the
Commanding Officer unless the decision endangers the lives of the crew or the
Commanding Officer. It is important for the crew to see you support the actions
of the CO especially in times of difficulty.
2.2 Beginning and Ending a SIM
It's the CO's, or in the CO's absence the XO's, responsibility to start the
plot. This is done by posting a 'plot starting log'. The plot starting log
should paint a picture of the situation as it is at the moment and give a good
indication of what can be expected, ie, what sort of direction the plot is
going. The latter is done by issuing specific orders to all Departments Heads.
They will then log accordingly, adding to the plot themselves as it develops.
Remember, unless you tell them IC in a briefing or other way, via message or
communicator.. they do not know things. You need to talk to your crew to get
them started in the plot.
Remember that as CO you have to look at the bigger picture, you need to
ensure that *all* your department heads are involved in the plot you create and
give them information and orders in your plot starting log. They will then
involve their assistants. If it is not possible to involve all the department
heads, you can consider creating a small subplot for them until you can get
them involved in the main plot.
Also, please note that as CO and XO, your logs are supposed to have more depth,
more description than the logs of your crew. You are setting the direction for
them, they need to know the background, they need to see the picture that you
paint with your words. Don't be afraid of writing a log that is 10K in txt
format and think it is too long.
Email plots don't always have a clear ending, as one plot sometimes rolls into the next. But where possible a concluding log, which has a short overview of the events that have happened, and perhaps a mention of the performance of the crew is advisable. An example would be to use a 'Captain's log, Stardate:... ' for this purpose.
In SF-TFE, the requirement is for only one quality log a week. It can happen that the CO posts a log on Saturday in which he/she gives orders to, or requires information from, the CMO. The CMO, however, may not have the time to log until much later in the week and the CO/XO must be able to deal with this situation to avoid the plot coming to a stop while they wait for the CMO to respond. For that reason, always make sure the other department heads have something to do.
It should be stressed to the crew that they need to inform the CO and/or XO if they know that they will be unable to log that week, so that it can be taken into account when writing your logs. If the absence is only going to be one week, the CO or XO can speak for the officer involved, avoiding the plot having to wait for the officer to return (ie move the officer into NPC mode until he returns). If the absence is going to be longer, an acting chief can be appointed IC on a temporary basis. No matter how good someone may be, as CO you need to keep the best interests of the SIM in mind and put those first. You can wait a few days, even a week for a log from someone, but if an absence is starting to affect the SIM and the plot, it is your job as CO to move the plot forward.
Guests are relatively rare in Email SIMs and usually join during a fleet plot. Don't forget to thank your guest for attending at the end of the plot, and when you make your SIM Report, note them in the attendance.
As stated above, an email plot doesn't start without a 'plot starting log' from the CO, or in the CO's absence the XO. This log should contain enough background information and specific orders to set the scene, such that the rest of the crew has an indication of where the plot will be heading and what they need to do to get started in the plot.
There are several types of missions, depending on what you as a CO want to do during a particular plot. The different kinds can be broken down into this list:
* Exploration - Going to "uncharted sectors", and the like.
* Scientific - Investigating scientific phenomena, like "polarized nebula".
* Rescue - Investigating why a ship/outpost is experiencing trouble.
* Tactical - simulation involving combat, or military-related missions.
A combination of two or more is ofcourse also possible. At times two or more SIMs (or an entire fleet) may get together to do a joint plot, and often this may call upon more of one types of plot. For instance, when a fleet-wide plot has many SIMs fighting off an invading force, and as as result a lot of tactical plots. Afterwards, there may be some Rescue plot for fallen comrades. Two SIMs that agree to do a joint plot to travel to the outer rim of known space will have a combined Scientific and Exploration plot. And so on. As a general note, it is advisable to have a nice mix of plots, continued tactical/battle plots becomes boring after a while and the crew will start to drop out one by one.
Unlike the 24th century, in the 22nd century that we are SIMming, there is no rule yet that says the Captain shoulds stay on the ship, and the XO leads the Away Team. On Enterprise, we have often seen that Capt Archer takes T'Pol and/or Tucker with him as the leave the ship.
When preparing for an Away Team, make sure to select the appropriate officers for the teams needs. Almost always take a Medical officer (preferably the CMO) along in case illness befalls the Team. Tactical and/or Security officers (and, a "team" of NPC security personnel if wanted) are a good idea for potential combat. Science and Engineering are appropriate for situations that require scientific investigation or technological study/fixing.
As for equipment: Phasers or laser rifles and tricorders are usually appropriate for any situation where the Away Team is going into unknown situation, even if encountering hostilities doesn't seem likely. Environmental suits are needed for radiation, non-breathable (or complete lack of) atmosphere, and zero-gravity environments. The transporter is generally only used for cargo, and not too trusted yet by humans, so most Away Missions use the shuttle pod.
Once the team is ready, the away team leader should contact the bridge to let them know the shuttle pot is leaving, then notify the ship once you successfully land. Keep it in mind to notify the ship often as the mission unfolds. As soon as the away team leaves the vessel, the away team leader is in command, regardless of rank.
During the Away mission, make sure that you are focused on accomplishing the goals, as opposed to concentrating too much on one find. Away missions have a tendency to prolong the plot, and there is the risk that the Away Team becomes out of sync time wise with the crew back on the ship. This can cause problems if the outcome of the Away Mission is crucial for the plot and takes too long to complete, resulting in the crew back on the ship not being able to move the plot forward. It's then the CO's responsibility to ensure that both sub-plots, the away team and what happens on board, keep enough pace and don't run too far apart in the time line.
As an away team leader you take on the functions and responsibilities for that team, that the CO has over the entire ship. As the leader you control the activities of the crew assigned to you. You must keep the plot moving along and be able to keep the team on task.
It is rare that anyone who becomes a Commanding Officer will never have to take a LOA. When this happens, BE SURE TO GIVE ADVANCED NOTICE to your First and Second Officers. It is inappropriate to miss that step except when it can not be helped (ie: the computer completely crashed, you had to take a family member to the hospital, you are in the hospital, etc.). Giving notice to all of your crew is recommended, but optional. In your leave, assign your XO, or if they can not make it, assign your Second Officer to take command of the SIM, this is on an OOC basis. Give the assigned individual the plot details they may not be aware of, where to take the plot or a note on where not to take the plot may be more appropriate, and instructions for doing the weekly SIM report.
When taking over for your Captain, you should try to run the plot as smoothly as your Captain would. If the leave of absence is a short one and expected, then run the plot assuming the CO is still actively IC onboard, speaking for the CO as his/her character, as and when required (ie the CO is in NPC mode, but played by the XO). If the leave of absence is unexpected or for a longer period (more then 3 weeks), then it may be better to have the CO in sickbay, temporarily off duty or off the ship. The key thing is how it fits into the plot at the time. I have ran a SIM with the CO in NPC mode for nearly 3 months once, that was what worked best for the plot at the time. So what ever fits best in the current plot line, and the XO running the plot as ACO until the situation is sorted out. The XO is responsible for the OOC duties like welcoming cadets and doing the SIM report during the entire absence of the CO. Be sure to keep in touch with your Subfleet Commander in cases like this, they will be able to provide you with OOC advice as and when you need it.
One thing to remember, if you are considering moving your CO into sickbay or off the ship, IC time and OOC time do not usually match up in email, at times, depending on what happens in a plot, the IC time of 24 hours is SIMmed for 3 weeks, which is then followed by an IC time jump. So be careful with moving the CO into sickbay or off the ship for short LOA periods.
In Email, after the plot has been started and the crew has started logging based on the 'plot starting log', the CO will need to post logs as and when the plot requires it. Please remember that the general logging requirement is only one log per week and the crew will need *at least* 48 hours to respond to logs. In your logs, as CO, you need to clarify situations, make decisions, and in doing so steer the plot in the direction you want it to go.
It's the CO's and XO's responsibility to ensure that the logs posted by the crew are tied into the main plot line and story. This is done by creating a sequence of events from the crew logs, confirming details established in those logs from the crew and on a regular basis establishing an overview of what has happened in your logs (the latter can be achieved by reflecting back briefly over what has happened in the last few hours/days for example) before moving the plot forward again. This is to make sure that the logs posted by the crew make sense within the plot, creating cohesion and become a story rather then stay loose and 'bitty'. A loose and bitty story can cause a lot of confusion for the crew.
You can, and at times, will need to speak for some of your officers in your logs to ensure that your orders are carried out and for the plot to be moved forward. Care should be taken though that when you do, you portrait the character correctly. Play it on the side of caution if you are unsure, and keep the conversation to a minimum without harming the log or the plot.
Attention to the *DETAILS* in the logs from your crew is *CRUCIAL*, and whenever possible you should use them. The logs from the crew need to be confirmed in the logs from the CO and XO. Not necessarily by quoting them literally, but by using the information given in those logs to move the plot forward and dealing with the situations in the subplots created by the crew. The crew wants and *NEEDS* to have the freedom to add to the plot, move it forward with their, with their own ideas as well. They will become disillusioned and eventually drop out if they can't or if they *feel* they can't, and if they are always only filling in the bits after the event so to speak. They each have a great imagination, let them help you write the plot and unfold the story.
Having said that, the crew should be made aware that major changes to the plot should be cleared by the CO and/or XO before being posted to the list.
Extra subplots should only be introduced by the CO if the crew are not doing so themselves, or if the plot needs to be guided into a specific direction. Email SIMs have more depth rather than width, and creation of subplots by the CO for the sake of it, is not encouraged. Too many subplots make the plot too complicated and confuse the crew. They won't know what to focus on and the result is half finished subplots that haven't had the opportunity to be properly developed because of time constraints and the possible confusion. This in turn will harm the overall quality of the plot and the SIM.
Also, be aware *NEVER* to end your log with a cliff hanger, it may look good for a general non-participating reader. But unless someone else in the crew knows how you want to move the plot forward and will do so within 24 hours of your cliff hanger, such an end of the CO's log will stop the plot dead in the water until you log again and move the plot forward.
Email SIMs move slower then IRC/chat based SIMs, they are generally less 'action packed' in the sense of direct interactive action, but they more then make up for that in having more depth and background. Allow at least 48 hours for the crew to respond to logs and as CO you should not expect more then one log per week from each of your crew members.
It should also be noted that as an Email CO has less *direct* control over the plot. If something has been posted in a log, it *has happened* and you as CO and XO need to deal with it. It should, in principle, not just be ignored. It requires the ability to improvise and adaptability on the part of the Email CO to be able to deal with the things your crew will add to your plot. Everything fits, otherwise we'll make it fit... and doing exactly that is half the fun of Email COing ;-).
At times, a SIM may run slowly. Primarily, this is due to key officers not having much to do, being incompetent in playing their role, or experiencing Email or OOC RL trouble. When the SIM is going slowly, and you do not suspect OOC/Email trouble, try to prompt key officers into getting more involved. Ask for more input from them, or order them into doing a long-term activity like keeping watch for certain conditions, going to a part of the ship to fix something, etc. The executive officer should be watching for occasions such as this and should handle them personally if possible.
You do this by posting a log, specifically asking them for, or ordering them to do the above mentioned suggestions. It is not advisable to create a completely new subplot in an attempt to speed up the plot in these circumstances. This could only cause (more) confusion with the officer involved and even the rest of the crew. Remember to leave enough time for the existing subplots to develop in Email.
Also check whether an officer that seem quiet or hesitant is such because of their incompetence in playing their role. You may need to coach them in what they need to do, or in a more extreme case, asking them to yield their post to another crewmember.
Part of the job of the Executive Officer is to make sure that the crew is able to do their duties. The CO may flag out a specific individual to the XO so that the individual may be instructed with OOC Emails or IC interaction for Email SIMs. The XO is an extension of the Academy in the effect that it is their responsibility to ensure the training at the academy took hold and that individual is ready to do their job; if not... train them.
In Email cases of a crewmember or crewmembers seemingly experiencing OOC problems that prevent logging, you can wait until they recover by speaking for that character in the mean time in your logs (use them as NPC) if required, or re-assign someone to take their place if possible in an acting position if the problems lasts longer. The main thing is to make sure that the plot continues despite the trouble of one officer, unless of course that officer is singularly important to the plot.
Inexperienced members who freeze and stop logging in Email, are one thing, but one that causes loss of control is another. When faced with a situation where the plot is going where it's not supposed to, you must determine why. If a particular officer is at fault, you need to contact them in a private Email asking them what they had in mind for this subplot and pointing out that subplots with major implications to the main plot need to be cleared before being posted to the listserv.
If a log introduces a sub plot that is totally away from the plot direction you have in mind, you can send an OOC message over the listserv to retract the whole log, or part of the log. This should only be used as a *total LAST RESORT*, for instance in case of fleetplot where this log would impact on other SIMs in a major way. Generally speaking the CO and XO need to incorporate as much as possible from that log and only changing the very bare minimum of the details from the 'wayward' log in your own log as you steer the plot back in the direction you want it to go. This shows not only leadership on your part, but also the ability to improvise and adapt to the circumstances. Because, if it has been posted IC in a log.. you have to assume it has become fact and has happened and you need to deal with it. The key of doing this is in the creation of a sequence of events, doing this you can make nearly anything fit into your plot.
As stated, retracting a log should be AVOIDED at all cost and as said above, only ever be a LAST RESORT because the retraction of a log over the listserv not only crushes the self-confidence of the officer involved, he/she may not have been aware of the implications of their log, it also sends a message to the rest of the crew that will stifle their creative endeavours and their willingness to add to the plot for fear of a public retraction. If a log needs to be retracted or changed because it is impossible to 'fix' it in your own log, it would be better to contact the officer in question in private explaining the problem and asking them to change their log themselves, assuming that the circumstances in the plot allow for this of course.
If it seems the loss of control is due to no one particular person, private notes to key officers are likely what's needed.
Note that there is potential for one member of the crew (or a guest) to intentionally attempt to disrupt a plot. Don't tolerate it! Remove the person from the listserv and change the setting of your listserv so only people subscribed to the listserv have posting access. Report their behaviour to their CO if they belong to another SIM.
In Email SIMs it's important to keep track of the timeline and regular time skips are necessary. It's up to the CO and XO to pace the plot in your logs and any necessary time jumps need to be made clear in your logs. OOC time is very rarely the same as IC time. Different crew members can be logging about the same thing at different points during the week. And in general it is best to avoid too many direct references to time in logs. Do not assume that the logs posted on your listserv are following linear time.
Care should also be taken as it's very easy to get stuck logging about events that take IC only a few days for several weeks of OOC time when that was not the intention. If this has happened, the CO needs to make sure that a time jump happens before the new plot starts. As a good friend and my teacher once said.. in email SIMming.. the IC time is more like doggy years. For example, we promote people from Ensign to LtJg in 8 weeks, that would RL never happen, but in doggy years.. we are looking at just over a year, that is more realistic :).
Although the duty logs come first, the crew on Email SIMs needs time to do personal logs, and for that to happen IC time needs to pass. The crew needs time off duty to sleep and handle personal matters. Personal logs are very important in Email SIMs as they build the characters, they give an insight into them which will make it easier for other crew members to interact. As such, personal logs, promotes interaction among the crew, which in turn will help make them feel part of the team and that improves the overall quality of the SIM.
Leadership is one of those challenges that can be defined in countless ways. As
stated before in an abstract way, leadership is about providing purpose,
motivation and direction. Leading people is all about people skills. A leader
is expected to get other to work together to have fun. A real leader uses
teamwork and respect for others to get the job done.
Some Command officers currently use the leadership skills and don't even know
they are doing it. Observe a successful SIM and watch how the command staff
acts. Watch them closely. They generally ask a lot of suggestions and make many
suggestions. They also know when they need to make orders. (Note that orders
are given in the SIM, but when dealing with the crew it is better to ask for
suggestions and opinions before making a final decision out of character.) Use
the other COs as resources, when you face a new challenge, chances are they've
faced the same or a similar challege. One key thing to remember is that here in
ST-TFE, you are not alone, there are several COs out there that have experience,
and a situation may be new to you, but they may have had to deal with it
before.
There is a first for everything, and being new to Command is only a
disadvantage if you make it that way. Take advantage of the experience of your
fellow COs. One of the easiest ways to do this is by in the field work with
your own SIM and asking for advice. Experience in the field is a must. It will
help you discover what's expected of a leader in your position. When you know
how to be right, it's a lot easier to be right. The more often you can do the
right things, the more the other crew-- and people in general-- will respect
your leadership.
One important key to good leadership is a good question. Now it's not a
leader's job to get people to do things they don't want to do. Not at all. A
good leader gets things done by respecting others and helping them learn to
grow through their own SIM experience. He provides direct hands-on leadership
when he has to, but always with respect toward others as a guiding force. Ask
questions, if someone has an objection or concern, ask why. Find out about the
people that are on your crew, how they feel about things, what they would like
to do and achieve. Then use the information they give you to help them achieve
what you want to achieve and what they want to achieve.
Let's take a quick look at how this will work every time. Say you need some
help with a problem as an away team leader on a planet. PO2 Jackson, one of
your crew members is anxious for a chance to prove himself. If you are on top
of things you will know this. Because you know he wants to prove himself, you
can give him the opportunity to help solve the perplexing problem you face on
the
planet. You know Jackson will be anxious to help because he wants to prove
himself to the crew. So when you ask him to assist the ships webmaster with the
webpage, if he has the experience he will jump at the chance.
As important as a good question is, it's certainly not all you need to know to
be a good leader. Leadership is about relationships, problem solving, and
achieving goals. One skill is not going to make you a good leader. Each time
you add a new leadership skill though, you become a better leader. On a scale
of 1 to 5, you need all the skills to be a five. Any skill you lack makes you
that much of a leader. So if all you can do is ask questions, you probably have
some work to do.
Communication has to be one of the more important. You might think of this as
the ability to get and give information. If you communicate in such a way that
people understand what you need and why you need it, they respond the way you
want them to. There are many skills to communicating. We've all seen how the
"magic words" work. A "please" or a "thanks" is
always a good idea. Using "we" or "ours" will do much more
toward your leadership success than "I" or "me" A smile, (J
) is also a great thing to give. It's interesting-- no matter how many smiles
you give away, you never run out. Maybe it's because every time you give
someone a smile, they give you a smile right back. And, did you ever notice how
hard it is to stay mad at someone when you're smiling? It's nearly impossible.
How about a good laugh? That works every time, too, especially if you're laughing at yourself. We all make mistakes, and if the crew of your ship see that you recognize your mistakes with a laugh, they will be quicker to forget them. Laugh at your own mistakes, and not the mistakes of others or feelings will get hurt.
When someone says he doesn't want to work on an IC project with you because
it's a lot of work, don't argue. Agree with him and use the 'feel, felt found
method', ie, I understand how you feel. Others have felt the same way. But they
have tried it, they found that... Try responding this way: "You're right,
Jackson. It is a lot of work. That's what the fellas on the alpha shift thought
last month when they were assigned this diagnostic. But once they got into the
project, they found that time went by quickly and the work was soon
completed"
There are several important things happening here. First, by agreeing with
Jackson, you've stopped the argument. You agreed with him, so there's no one
for him to argue with. Then, you further tell him that others felt the same way
when they first started their work. This tells him that he's not some kind of
dummy for thinking the way he does. Now Jackson is listening to you rather than
arguing with you. You're speaking his language. So it's time to let him in on
what other crew members discovered when they gave it a try. You'll win him over
when he sees how he might have misunderstood the difficulty of the work ahead.
This method is most used when ordering is not crucial to the operation of a
ship. On a ship we use orders to get things done, but ensuring a fellow officer
about their feelings can never hurt.
Often a new leader gets frustrated because he tried to make all the decisions
himself. Once he recognizes that others can help, his job becomes much easier.
This is because he shares leadership. The Commanding officer shares leadership
to the crew by delegating different responsibilities to them. By discussing
things with the members of the crew the command staff share their leadership.
Each crewmember OOCly gets to voice their opinion about matters. This way the
plan that comes out of the crew meetings will incorporate the thoughts and
ideas of the rest of the crew, not just senior leaders.
There is an old saying that, "You have to inspect what you expect."
This means you need to let people know that once they've accepted an assignment
they're not going to be able to slide by without completing it. It's up to you
to help other crew on your ship become successful. Besides of that... you are
only as good as your back up system ;-). It is imperative that you as CO ensure
the continuity of your SIM by training your XO and 2XO to be able to take over
from you if you have to take an unexpected long term LOA.
Taking the time to listen closely to what people say is one way to share your
leadership. The other crew will like it when you listen to their ideas. It
tells them you care. It shows them you think their ideas are important. When a
leader isn't listening to those he's trying to lead, he really doesn't know if
they're following. Pretty soon he's trying to understand why everyone is always
grumbling behind his back. Why is the crew unhappy? Why did someone drop out?
Often the answer is that they didn't feel they were part of the action. Nobody
cared about his or her thoughts or feelings. As a Commanding officer the nobody
would be you.
In any organisation, especially one that is based on a military structure like
the various fleets are, there is a Chain of Command to the top level Fleet CO.
Dept. Head -> XO -> CO -> Fleet CO.
That means that an assistant with a problem should first go to the Department
Head, if it can't be resolved, it goes to the XO. From there if unresolved it
will go to the CO and then on to the Fleet Commander etc. In the case where for
instance, Fleet Commander is also the CO, the matter will be automatically
deferred to the Deputy.
If you do jump the chain of command, don't be surprised to be told to follow
the chain, and to take it to the right person. Anybody found jumping the chain
of command will referred back to the right person in the chain.
This is one of the most important aspects of leadership. As you can see, there
are a lot of things for a leader to do. Each leader is going to do these things
a little but different from another leader. And that is all right. Still, there
is one thing that every leader of a SIM wants and needs to do and that is set
the example!
Setting the example is the most crucial part to your job descriptions. Often
the crew you lead will learn most of what they know about SIMs from your
example. You are their model of what a Commanding Officer is. Your ideals will
become their ideals, your skills you will pass along to them. If it looks like
you think you can do things in a sloppy fashion, the crew will soon think they
can too. If you're always talking about how a plan you have won't work, that's
what your crew willthink as well. However, if you are enthusiastic, they will
be enthusiastic as well!
Remember, people do as you do, not as you say. Don't ask people to do things that you are not doing yourself. If you are rude to people, don't be surprised that your crew is rude too, and there is little you can say about it to them.
Linked closely with setting the example is that Command Officers are expected
to have a professional and respectful attitude when dealing with our peers in
SF-TFE. Yes, this is a game, and we do it for fun, but we still need to bear
professionalism in what we do in mind, regardless of personal feelings,
especially when you get to the level of CO and higher.
It's a simple concept, treat people the way you want to be treated yourself.
Your Fleet Commander expects you as Command Officers to set an example and to
lead by this example. We can not ask people to do what we are not prepared to
do ourselves.
This also has to do with edification, talk positive about people. The
dictionary definition of 'to edify' states: To instruct, especially for moral
and personal improvement. What does it mean in practice... Talk positive about
those on your level and your superiors, to those under your command, and treat
everyone, regardless of status or who they are with respect. Think about it..
if you were to talk negative about your superiors to your crew. It not only
makes the superior look bad, but also this SIM group and you, yourself will
look bad... But what is there to stop your crew from talking equally negative
about you to their peers and those under their command? They will do as you do,
not as you say.
Ok... so you are mad at something... We all need to blow of steam at times and
are unhappy about things happening. That is understandable, but don't complain
down the chain of command, to your crew. If you feel the need to blow off
steam, talk and complain UP the chain of command.
An issue that has cropped up on the odd occasion in another SIM group that I
wish to touch upon here too, is something that is considered a very serious
issue of unacceptable behaviour. A few COs have been bashing/dissing other COs
to crew members of that CO. That sort
of behaviour is TOTALLY unacceptable. You don't have to like someone, but you
DON'T talk negative about a CO to that CO's crew.
Like I said above, if you as Command Officer feel the need to complain or blow of steam.. do so UP the chain of command, NOT down to your crew.. and NEVER to someone else's crew. It is extremely bad form.
When you first become a commanding officer, there are certain things that are
likely to happen. After everyone has congratulated you, someone is likely to
try to see if she can get some special attention from the new leader. Perhaps
she is a good friend and all she wants is to be promoted sooner then the
minimums, "just this one time." You know the promotion minimums are
in place for a reason but she is a really good friend: you enjoy your
friendship, and you want to keep it that way.
Look what happens if you give in to this request. First, you're going to feel
bad. You knew it wasn't the right thing to do, but you did it anyway. Then
you're going to possibly answer to someone above you as to why the promotion
took place. The other crew might find out and become unhappy about how you
played favourites. This individual is not respecting you as a leader, or as a
friend, and is using you selfishly. On your SIM you must take into account the
best interests of the crew. If you do a favour for one person, a favour will
often be expected from the others. Set you policies and stick by them.
Even though it isn't easy to say no, this does not excuse you from doing so
when necessary. No one likes to say no, especially to a friend. Still. If
that's the correct response, it's what a good leader will say. It is your
responsibility to gauge when a situation is right or wrong and make the call.
In a battle, if an engineering officer asks to run a level one diagnostic on
the systems, this would result in a no response. You as the Command officer on
the ship must make the final call and be firm in your decision.
Occasionally a troop or patrol will discover that it has a real "wise
guy" that is always causing trouble. This isn't the guy who likes to toss
in a joke once in a while. It isn't the crewmember who moans and groans when they
have to do an assignment. The troublemaker is the crewmember who constantly
pushes the newer crewmembers around. Maybe he thinks it's okay to always argue
with the Department Head or to make fun of everyone else's opinions. Chances
are that this is also the guy who always says, or wants to say, "No,"
and doesn't want to do much of anything.
It won't be easy to take action. Other crew may laugh at his antics. If you
read their laughs to mean they like having every SIM interrupted, you are
wrong. It won't be easy, but in the interest of your ship and your crew, you
will have to take action. If you want the others to follow your leadership,
they're going to need to see that you can take care of the tough jobs as well
as the easy ones.
Fortunately, I haven't much "real trouble" in SF-TFE. The people who join the group know up front what the group is all about and what is expected of them, they want to be here to have fun. Most are not joining because they are looking for trouble. Still, it can happen that you get faced with someone accused of doing something wrong to someone else. You can not let it pass. You must take a stand. If you don't you'll always know you should have, and it will bother you a lot. Even more important, what will happen to your ability to lead? The other guys are going to see that you walked away from a serious problem, rather than facing it the way a leader should. Whatever respect you've earned up to that point will quickly disappear. They will see that you don't have the courage to do what you know is right.
What do you do? The answer to this question is tough. The actions to take won't
always be the same. Still, there are certain things you will want to do just
about every time. Begin by taking a good, hard look at the facts. Be as certain
as you can that you know what really has happened. Be certain that the problem
is real. Does he admit it? If not, who's making the charges? Do you really
believe the charges are true? What is the proof? Try to give the accused
crewmember the benefit of the doubt. Did he know what he did was wrong? If not,
explain why the action can't take place again. Get a commitment from him not to
do it again. Make sure that he knows what actions you'll take if it does happen
again.
Maybe she says she doesn't like a certain rule. Let him explain while you listen carefully. Try to understand what he's saying and why he feels this way. Then explain why the rule exists and why it's important that everyone in the crew do their best to obey the rule. Maybe you'll convince him. Remember to use the "feel, felt, found" method which has been proven to work. If he won't agree to follow the rule, or if he breaks the rule again, talk to the Fleet CO.
Hopefully the crewmember that is causing the problem will do what is right when
you face up to him. But be careful not to spill all the details to everyone you
see. It's no one else's business. If the problem is really serious, though,
everything changes. Remember that you are not all alone. If you have a problem
that's too hot for you to handle, use your resources, and go up the Chain of
Command. Maybe the other crew on the ship can help. Again, you may want to
confide in those officers who you report to. Use the chain of Command, it is
there to help you.
If you can learn to view problems as opportunities, you will be well on your
way to success as a leader. Don't look at every SIM or activity as being
littered with problems. View them as activities filled with opportunities. You
can not demonstrate your leadership skills if you never get the opportunity.
Does that mean you want people to argue? No, of course not. But when it
happens, and it happens in the best of organizations and ships, you have the
opportunity to be a leader.
Every leader will get his share of criticism. You might want to think of it as the spice of leadership. After all, the right spice can turn a humdrum meal into something special. So, if you're getting honest, constructive and accurate criticism, you will want to be thankful. Criticism should help make you a better leader. If you're getting heavily peppered with criticism, there may be a problem. You need to ask yourself why. Maybe you need to ask another Command officer or your superiors for help and advice. But you don't want to object to useful criticism. Without it you might never know that something needs changing. If criticism is unfair, you have another kind of opportunity. Most likely your critic thinks he is being very fair. You're going to have to find out why. This is where the questions we talked about earlier can come into play again. Ask many questions. Find out why he feels this way. Let him talk while you listen closely. If you discover, while listening, that there is some truth to the criticism, address it positively. You'll be a better leader because of it.
Perhaps you can enlist the crews' assistance in solving problems; the crew is a
resource you have to use. In solving a problem, both of the people involved
will grow as a result.
In this section, the some of the most important procedures that should be done by a CO or XO of a SIM is explained, hopefully in full and accurate detail. Some of this may seem trivial, and you may ask youself why, but in my years of experience, I have seen the results in quality and stability of SIMs that did this, or not.
Some of these duties may be given to the XO, for instance doing the personnel-related issues of keeping a roster and replying to new-officer applications (although promotions in particular are only to be done and authorized by the CO). Whether the CO does all of these or the XO takes part depends on the CO.
However, it is recommended the XO at least be well informed of and involved with what the Captain is doing in respect to the roster changes, promotions, and SIM ideas. This is all part of the teamwork expected between the Captain and First Officer of a TFE SIM.
It's surprising how often such a simple but important list can be neglected for months. Keeping a list of crew and their assigned position is important because your crew must know each other and what position they SIM without having to guess; outsiders may also want to know who is in your SIM as well.
Given this importance, the roster should be kept accurate. Your crew should receive regular updates via email, and it should preferably be accessible to others via a webpage. Don't rely on your crew to look up the roster on a webpage if you have it there already -- they can't be bothered enough -- so DO send them regular updates. Also, as a CO, make sure that your XO has an accurate roster even when the rest of the crew haven't received an update in a while; at some time they will need to become an ACO, and having an out-of-date or no roster is unhealthy to that week's SIM when that time comes.
Simply put, to make and keep a roster, make a list of all posts in your SIM, and fill in the name of the officer and their current rank next to that post. Add more details if you wish (species and gender are good to include). Then, make changes whenever something occurs -- a new recruit joins, a promotion, replacement/removal when a crew member leaves the SIM or goes AWOL for too long, etc.
Personnally, I have this as a spreadsheet, and I keep my log count in it as well. So each week, I fill in the numbers, make updates, and then cut and paste it into my SIM report.
When a cadet resigns, transfers, goes on an extended LOA, or even goes AWOL, you should remove them from your active roster but save all the information you have on that person. There is always a chance you will be asked for that information in the future, and it might come in handy.
Also keep extra roster information in addition to what you publish to your crew and the world -- last promotion dates, when a new crewmember completed the Academy, which awards he won and when, attendance/logs-done, and possibly other data. This data assists you in doing your job as a commander of a SIM.
A SIM needs new people from time to time. If this process of adding new officers doesn't occur, eventually degradation will happen as each crewmember becomes either temporarily or permanently unable to attend anymore. So, it is vitally important to respond positively to new applications, assuming you're not receiving too many. Either the CO or XO can handle this process; which one will be a decision by the CO. Be sure that, if you're the one doing the personnel duty, your other-half is kept updated on happenings with personnel, possibly by CC:-ing them communications with cadets.
As a group, we have banner exchanges and we do recruit as a group, however, if you need crew don't wait for them to come to you, go out and recruit your own people. Recruitment can be done in many ways, just keep in mind to be friendly with everyone you meet. As you recruit you represent Starfleet: The First Era.
Whenever you recruit, ask your new people, to fill in the application form on the join page. Your own join page should be pointing to it as well. As you know, completing the Academy is compulsory for all new members to SF-TFE. The URL for the join page is:
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Yorktown/joinTFE.htm
When the new recruit fills in the join page, they get automatically processed by our application system. An Academy welcome letter is sent to them, with the details of their application at the bottom. This Welcome letter is also CCed to the CO, or the SIM Command list if there is one. Besides of that, the information is added to the weekly application report that is sent out over the Captains list every weekend. Always double check the application report to make sure you received all the applications.
The Academy process takes 3-5 weeks, in the welcome letter, the new recruit is requested to confirm enrolment and when they do, the theory exam and the practical requirements information is sent. Normal procedure is that a new recruit SIMs at the Academy for a few weeks (no less than 3 logs). Upon successful completion of that, which includes scoring 80% or higher on the theory exam and participating in the practical SIMming, the recruit is promoted to either Ensign, or Crewman, depending on whether they are officer or enlisted.
When you as CO receive the application, as CC to the Welcome letter, it is important that you also send a Welcome letter to the new applicant. Accepting their application, assigning them a position, which you will keep open for them until they graduate from the Academy. Also, please let the Academy know what position you assign someone, at the end of the training, when we graduate the new recruits, the Academy gives them their new IC assignments.
For those new members that have extensive experience, we have an Academy waiver policy. This means that they still have to complete the theory exam with a score of 80% or higher, but instead of SIMming at Jupiter Station Faculty, they will be requested to write two logs. The waiver policy is not automatically granted, they have to demonstrate their logging ability before, by sending in two recent logs for review and have a recommendation from you as CO.
In short, your welcome letter should include:
* That their application is accepted
* Which position you are offering them. If you are offering them something different as requested, also offer to ask other COs if they have the requested position available.
* Note that their current rank is Cadet or Crewman Recruit, depending on whether they are officer or enlisted, and that they have to attend the Academy before they can join the ship IC.
* Information about your SIM, the URL for your message archive so they can read up, who your XO is, who their department head will be
* Give them info about the SIM, the URL of your website, how and where to find the channel in IRC, if you have one.
An example welcome-letter is shown in section 4.4.1 near the end of this guide.
Sometimes an existing TFE officer wants to either drop their simming with another SIM and SIM with you instead (or the other way around), or may decide to be on your SIM in addition to being on another SIM.
The procedure for both is simple:
Transfers:
In the case of moving their character from the previous SIM, is called a transfer. Preferably, a member should use the join form found on the TFE website, and make a note in the comment section about it being a transfer. Both the previous and next COs of the transfer will receive notice of the request.
When an officer of yours is transfering out, you should reply to the transfer request -- TO: the new CO, CC: your officer and the personnel officer forwarding the request, and including:
Thanking the SIMmer for this time on your SIM, and include the basic information, when Academy completion was done, any awards, date of last promotion etc. A CO can not stop someone wanting to transfer off their SIM, only the receiving CO can reject a transfer from joining their SIM. A reason for that rejection should be given.
When you are receiving a transfer, you reply confirming your acceptance or rejection of the transfer, and acknowledge receipt of the data from the previous CO.
Once both sides have confirmed the transfer, the member is officially a member of the new SIM. Be sure to note the addition to your next SIM report.
New Characters:
When creating a new character on your SIM, is a simple matter of accepting the officer into your SIM. The new character must start at Ensign or Crewman (ifan enlisted character) -- they cannot use a rank they have already earned, as this is a new character. You may record their first attendance / log as their last-promoted date for consideration when they are promoted to LtJg/PO3.
Finally, note the roster change in your next SIM report for personnel to see.
Traps: when accepting an existing officer's new character, check that..
* ..that they are not using the same character on two (or more) SIMs. One character can not be in two places at the same time. If they already have that character on another SIM (and not transferring), and ask them to create a new one -- it will help add creativity to your SIM.
* ..that they are not on too many SIMs. So called multi simmers. When this occurs, simming ability can be thinly stretched; it can take away from your SIM, and may prevent new members arriving if your ship is nearly full. Talk with your officer if you know they are on multiple SIMs -- it may be wise to refuse, or observe their performance just in case.
I am always very wary of multi simmers and tend to be very hesitant to accepting multi simmers that already have two characters on Email SIMs. Too often I have seen how SIMs suffer when multi simmers are overstretched. Keep a close eye on the ratio of multi SIMmers on your SIM. I recommend that you keep the ratio of multi SIMmers below 50%.
4.1.4.1 Promotion of positions
When faced with crew leaving, especially at XO and Senior Officer level, be it for RL reasons a person no longer having the time to SIM, or be it for a transfer to another SIM. Always look INSIDE your own SIM first for a replacement, and do not be put off by a 'low' rank. I've seen COs look outside their SIM for these positions and when I questioned why not promote from within the SIM, I heard the answer 'they are not ready' or 'their rank is too low'.
They may not be ready at this moment in time, don't dismiss inexperience without thinking about it. You were inexperienced once too, and someone gave you the chance to CO. Give them a chance. You show not only to the officer in question that you have confidence in their potential, you also show the rest of your crew that you believe in them and their abilities. You show that you are prepared to train and invest time and effort in your own crew. Sometimes all a junior officer needs is a little push, be challenged or given the chance to show what her or she is capable of. To give an indication, I was assigned as IC XO on an email SIM 4 weeks into LtJg, when I had barely figured out what I was supposed to do as Chief Science. I didn't think I was ready. But the CO had seen the potential that was there and threw the challenge at me. I was given direction and clear orders IC and OOC hints as to what was expected and within a few weeks I started to grow into the position and the rest is history ;-). Don't ever be put off by a low rank or someone being in an assistant position, I have seen several Cadets who started out in Assistant Positions or Department Head positions go on over time to XO and CO positions.
If a Senior Officer leaves your SIM, assign first of all an Assistant in an acting Capacity for a period of 4 weeks and give them a probationary period during this time. Advice them to take the Senior Officer and the Advanced course for their department if not already taken and available, during that time and that you will review their performance during this time. You catch more than one bird with this stone, it solves your immediate problem of the vacancy in a key position. It sets a positive example to your crew and if it doesn't work out you will know within two weeks, and you have bought yourself some time to look at alternatives.
4.1.4.2 Rank promotions
Promotions are relatively straightforward on most SIMs. Once a crewmember has reached the minimum number of weeks active logging, and has shown acceptable attendance and simming quality for their level, hold a promotion ceremony in which the officer is promoted. As a CO, you may make additional requirements to the minimums, eg. "A Lt. must show willingness to help newer officers before becoming LtCmdr."; these are at your discretion. We are try to be friends with the crew, however promotions must reflect what you expect to see in the rank you are promoting that individual to. Even if the individual meets the basic requirments it is up to you to decide if they reflect what you believe a person of that rank should be.
Promotions on the minimums are for exceptional officers, if individuals are always
promoted on the minimums there may not be a maturity progression over the
period of time. Ranks reflect the maturity of an individual within the
organization and the amount of work they do, it is a reward for acting as
someone should who holds that rank. We are trying to mold the command
generation which will follow us... so be careful how you promote, it is a
serious matter.
On Email SIMs promotions and awards are *always* handled IC and in a log. The
CO should post a log in which he/she 'physically' hands out the required pips
and/or IC medals/ribbons *individually* to the officers involved. In Email,
things only happen if it has been written out in a log. The officers on your
crew work hard for their promotion and an IC ceremony is the least they
deserve. As far as promotions and awards are concerned, it is nice to surprise
your crew by promoting them IC in a log if the plot allows for it, before it is
announced OOC in the SIM report. The only exceptions I personally make for that
is when an officer becomes eligible and has earned his promotion and it will be
several weeks (3+) before there is an IC time to do a promotion.
Level 1
-------
Junior Officer ranks: Ens, LtJg, Lt
Junior NCO ranks: Cwm, PO3, PO2, PO1
Ens -> LtJg: no less than 8 weeks
LtJg -> Lt: no less than 16 weeks
Lt -> LtCmdr: no less than 24 weeks
Cwm -> PO3: no less than 5
PO3 -> PO2: no less than 7 weeks
PO2 -> PO1: no less than 14 weeks
PO1 -> CPO: no less than 22 weeks
Level 2
-------
Senior Officer ranks: LtCdr, Cdr, Capt
Senior NCO ranks: CPO, SCPO, MCPO
LtCmdr -> Cmdr: no less than 32 weeks
Cmdr -> Capt: no less than 9 months and command of a fully approved SIM + Fleet CO approval
CPO -> SPCO: no less then 24 weeks
SPCO -> MCPO: no less then 28 weeks
Level 3
-------
Flag ranks: FCapt & Commo
WO ranks: WO-1, CWO-2, CWO-3, & CWO-4
Capt -> FCapt: no less than 10 months; Hold a Command position, Fleet CO approval
FCapt -> Commo: no less then 12 months; hold a flag position.
CPO -> WO-1: no less then 6 months; CO Approval
SCPO ->WO-1: no less then 7 months; CO Approval
MCPO -> WO-1: no less than 8 months; CO Approval
WO-1 -> CWO-2: no less than 9 months; CO Approval
CWO-2 -> CWO-3: no less then 10 months; CO Approval
CWO-3 -> CWO-4: no less then 12 months; CO Approval
* All new characters will start at a minimum rank of Ensign for commissioned officers or Crewman for Enlisted. The rank of Cadet (for Officers, and please note that Cadet's have the authority equal to an E-3/Crewman only, meaning they cannot command NCO's who have the experience and training over them, until they are commissioned, ref: Starfleet Academy and Starfleet protocol.) and Crewman Recruit (for Enlisted) is issued to new members of the First Era who have no role-playing experience. A rank up to Lieutenant Junior (for Officers) and PO3/PO2 (for Enlisted) may be granted to members who have role-playing experience, however, this is not a given right, this is subject to the COs discretion. Characters from other groups may request a rank transfer from their previous group but this is subject discretion of the Fleet Commander.
* No two officers in the same Department may hold the senior rank of Commander
at the same time. There will only be one Senior ranked Commander within a department.
* The rank of Captain will be tied directly to Command of a full approved SIM. Officers eligible for Captain serving in a XO position will only be eligible for Captain if the CO is promoted to the rank of FCpt/Como, and only then with the full recommendation of the CO and Fleet CO. When a new CO is assigned to a SIM who does not have the rank of Captain, Fleet Command will grant him the rank of Acting Captain upon Confirmation of Command. The missing weeks of time requirement will be added to the time to the next promotion.
* No officer aboard a SIM will be promoted to the same or higher rank than the
SIM CO's rank. That means if a SIM were COed by a Cmdr all officers below him
wouldn't be eligible for promotion until the CO was promoted to Captain. This
maintains not only the CO's authority over the SIM it also goes hand in hand
with the change of command.
* The rank of Commo and above is reserved for those officers who comman the
Fleet.
Special Notes:
* All mentioned time periods are *bare minimums* only!
* All promotions will be considered on a character basis.
We never like doing it, but it is necessary. Like the pruning of dead weight in the garden so that the flowers, plants and trees will grow better, at times it is necessary to do that with your crew. A SIM is only alive if the crew is logging and positively participating. If they are not then you need to look at the options and take action, this can range from demoting them from a Chief position to an assistant position to removal from the SIM. There are two main reasons why you could need to look at removing someone they are:
1) Non posting/disappearance
2) Disruptive behaviour
4.1.5.1 Non posting/disappearance
The cases of non-posting crew need to be treated on an individual basis. It is a good idea to set a SIM policy so people know what the expectations and requirements are. A good idea is to have a note that non-posting for 3 or 4 weeks without excusal note will result in removal. At the same time you need to be flexible. If you have a SIMmer that has been very consistent for six months, and then suddenly disappears, then we don't necessarily remove him/her from the SIM immediately after 3 or 4 weeks, there may have been RL reasons why someone is out of touch. Always try to get hold of them, send them private emails and ask them to contact you. If after 3-4 weeks they still have not returned, then you can move them to ELOA (extended LOA mode). If they are a Chief and there is an assistant in the department, it more critical to keep things going and to ensure the Assistant is kept busy. In those cases it is worth considering to move the missing person into sickbay or on an IC LOA off the ship. If there is no Assistant, or the person in question is just an Assistant than the character can move to NPC mode for the time being.
If the person in question was inconsistent before disappearing, I tend to be more rigid with enforcing the rule with regard to posting. The overall thing to bear in mind is how the absence is affecting the SIM and the plot. When do you open up such a position on the join page for instance? There just is no black and white answer to be honest. Based on how well you know the person in quetsion and how consistent he/she is.
As a general rule, SIMmers do have to realise that they can not take an ELOA for more than eight weeks or so and still expect to come back to their old position. Especially if they were a Chief and there are assistants in their departments. Again, exceptions can be made, but you do need to bear the overall effect on the SIM.
4.1.5.2 Disruptive Behaviour
There is only one way to deal with this type of behaviour, professional but strict and consistent. Nothing is worse for a SIM than a disruptive SIMmer. The subject has already been mentioned in a previous section, but I will just touch upon it again here. If one of your crew is consistently being disruptive then talk to them and explain what it is they are doing (or not doing) and ask them to stop. If the behaviour persists, then you can moderate there posting rights on the list so that they can not post and the last resort is removal.
At times we come across people who are power SIMmers, often, they do not realise that is what they are doing. That is why it is important to explain it to them, try and work with them, listen to what they have to say and teach and train them. If they are not listening at all and ignoring your advise then no-post them (moderate on the Yahoo lists) and warn them about it, that if it continues they will be removed.
We have had the very odd case of nutcases joining. Either they joined with the intention to be difficult and causing trouble, or they were just a nutcase. One of the reasons that we have a positive 'yes' that HAS to be filled in before the application is process on TFE policy acceptance is so that we have a way to remove people when they break the rules. A copy can be found at:
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Academy/policies.htm
We have removed a few people from TFE for breaking these rules. As always, you need to think about what is best for your SIM. The aim is to have fun SIMming for as many people as possible, and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
When it comes to the decision to remove someone of the SIM, talk to Fleet Command in advance, they are on your listserv, so they will have seen it and can see the problem at hand. They may have advice in advance on how to handle the situation. They will also support your decision once it comes to it. When it happens, remove the SIMmer from the listserv, write them an email, CC fleet Command and your XO and explain that you are removing them from the SIM and why. Depending on the situation, It is also wise to send an email to your list once you have done that and inform them what you have done, giving the least necessary information. We are not here to make people look bad. It may be needed to say something in case the person in question starts emailing the rest of the crew in private after removal from the list and continues to be trouble.
A SIM report can seem like paper shuffling at times, but is very helpful to you and other administrative volunteers. For you and your crew, it summarizes the plot each week, it helps to recap the plot and at times on an OOC basis put the sequence of events in it. Especially when you have a high log count, it is veery helpful to do so, and makes your crew know how the log count is going, and also acts as a published reference into past attendance and a plot history.
The best plot summaries are when you summaries the logs for each
crewmember in one sentence. That way it shows that you have been paying
attention to their logs and what is going on in the SIM. For your fleet
commander, it lets them know what's going in within their command. For
personnel, the attendance and roster notes gives the information they need.
The main item for a SIM report are a plot summary, and adding to that the stardate, a list of attendance/logs-done, promotions or awards, and roster updates. Let's run that again through a list:
Stardate/Week of logging it covers;
Some OOC notes
Plot summary (what happened in the SIM)
Log count:
Guests logging that week
Promotions (if any)
Awards (if any)
Roster list & changes
Do note that it is required that, when listing promotions, you must include (in whatever format you please):
* Name of officer
*The old rank
*The new rank
*Time they have held the previous rank (date of last promotion)
*Comments (optional)
Adding some comments as to what the officer has done to deserve this promotion is a good way to say thank you to the officer in question and encourages your other crew members to follow the example.
After this is written up, of course you have to send it. When emailing
this, send it to captains list <st-tfe-command@yahoogroups.com> as well
as your crew listserv. An example SIM report can be found below.
It's not often that the command of a SIM changes hands, but it's important that such transitions are smoothly handled. Resignations should be send to the your direct superior and the Fleet Commander (if these are not one and the same). The current XO would need to be informed as well. IC and OOC the XO becomes the ACO until the Fleet Commander confirms this position as official or a different CO is appointed by the Fleet Commander. Please note that the CO will either have to write him/herself out of the plot IC or the XO, now ACO, will have to do that.
Here is a checklist of things a resigning Captain should transfer to their
successor:
* An up-to-date roster list.
* Last-promotion dates for all officers of rank Ensign and above.
* Information about current cadets - if they have gone to the Academy, and the number of SIMs attended thus far.
*Access to the SIM's website and listservs, or a copy of the website files if giving access is not reasonable.
After this information is turned over, the new Captain should be ready to select a First Officer. In an ideal case, the Second Officer, or simply the next most experienced member of the SIM, will qualify and be willing to take the position.
All COs and XOs are on the captain's list. When the ACO selects an AXO, (s)he should send an email to the captains list to inform everyone of the change of command. The Fleet CO will be in touch with the new ACO, if there was no contact before that time.
Handling all of this quickly is the easiest way to make the transition between COs with as little disruption to the SIM. If this will be you in the near future, then good luck, and may God have mercy on your soul...
Both recruitment and advertising is extremely important. Through the natural causes every SIM will lose crewmembers. Much as we would like every crew member to stay forever, RL does get in the way. There are several ways to advertise, and the TFE as a group advertises too. It is however very important that you as CO advertise and recruit for your own SIM as well. Advertisement is about visibility. To get your SIM heard and seen and to leave a positive impression. A professional Impression. As stated before, as Command Officers, you set the example for everyone, and you represent TFE. Your actions good or bad, will reflect on TFE, good or bad.
One of the main items of visibility we have are our SIMs websites. It is like our business card. Something we can point to and say.... 'there is more information there, if you still have questions, please let me know'. Make sure your website is up to date and all links are working. My advice is to update your website at least once a month. Make sure the crew roster is up to date. The sooner you add a new member that has started logging to the roster, the more quickly they will feel part of the team and the more likely they are going to stay.
Other items that helps is having a public email archive that can be read by non-members and are linked from the SIM's website are a great asset. It can give a potential new member a good idea of what the SIM is like. How active, if it is what he/she is expecting.
Other things that help is show the history of the SIM. There are many SIMs out there on the 'Net, but the best ones are around for some time. So if you can show your history and your quality, it will help. I have put all the SIM reports online too. It gives an overview of what the SIM has done, how long it has been around, how consistent the SIM reports and the SIM is.
As for advertising itself, there are several methods, they will be discussed below.
1) Post recruitment notices in newsgroups and on other SIMming related lists or websites.
2) Banner Exchanges, Top Site Lists and Webrings.
3) Word of mouth.
This method is quite effective, in many ways the notice is like a welcome letter, but a generic one. An example can be found below in section 4.5. Introduce yourself, explain a bit about your SIM, explain it is part of TFE, give the URL for the website and a list of the positions you are looking for. Do mention the Academy, mention any requirements you may have. Then simply point them to the join page, which on my website is linked to to a 'join' button.
A list of newsgroups that I have used in the past (and with success) is below.
alt.fan.surak
alt.startrek.creative
alt.startrek.role-playing
alt.startrek.soul.rpg
alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise
rec.arts.startrek.current
rec.arts.startrek.misc
uk.media.tv.sf.startrek
I use the same letter/notice to recruit at times in a number of Yahoo groups, success here is more limited since it seems that only other COs trying to recruit are on those lists. However, it does spread word of mouth and gives visibility to your SIM and website. A list of yahoogroups is here, you will have to join the groups before you can post there:
AlphaStarBase2
Sci-Fi_Sims_Recruitment_Centre
ufpsimmingadvicebureau
Another place where I have successfully advertised is at PBEM.com:
http://www.pbem.com/
If you go to the link " Game Masters: Post your game announcement!!!" It will take you through the process of posting an announcement. I use the same letter as for the newsgroups to post in this forum, and it has been very successful. TFE has gotten a fair percentage of new members through this forum. You have to fill in the information that you want, and have valid email address, you get to see a preview of the message and then they will send you a posting number at the email address you gave. With that posting number your recruitment advertisement will be published.
One piece of advice, do post regularly, but not too often. I tend to send messages out about not more than once per week. If you send too many advertisements to the newsgroups, you come across as too desperate and the other readers will get annoyed.
Banner exchanges, Top Site Lists and Webrings are another good way to get visibility to your SIM. All you need is a banner of a standard size (468x60 is one of the main standards) on a webserver and a 'links' page on your own website. All SIMs in TFE have a banner that has been created for them. If you need help with one, please contact Fleet Command.
The system is simple, in exchange for a link to them, they will place a link to your website. When you register your SIMs site with any of these, they will give you the code you need to add to your website to link to them. The general principal is that the more people come to their site from yours, the more exposure your banner will get on their or other sites.
Top Site Lists:
A number of Top Sites lists have disappeared recently, like the Webtrekkie, however there are a number of them still around. The URLs to register are:
http://www.trekconnection.com/centralcore/joinlist.asp
http://efa.trekconnection.com/tsl/JOINLIST.ASP
The Top site list has a code that links specifically to your account. the more hits to their site from yours will generate votes and the more votes, the higher you will be on the list. Generally only the top 7-10 sites will have their banner actually displayed, so getting plenty of votes is important. The system is cookie and IP address based, so it doesn't work to just click on the Top Site List banner on your page and do a 'back' on your browser to click again. Personally, I go to my links page once a day and click on all the Top Site List banners.
Banner Exchanges:
The banner exchange works similar but does not show things as a page with just a list of other websites.
http://warp9.scifiwebs.com/banex.htm
http://www.mjs-startrek.com/Services/BanEx/index.htm
When sign up you will be supplied with HTML code to add to your web site. Every time that someone visits the page that has this code on it another member's banner will be displayed. Your site's banner will be displayed on other Star Trek web sites within the Exchange and people will be able to visit your site by clicking on this banner. The more often people click on Banner Exchange site shown when they visit, the more exposure your banner gets on other sites.
Web Rings
Web rings work on a similar format, here sites join and with code links to other sites that have signed up and are displaying on the code. I had signed up to two Enterprise Era ones, however both seem to have disappeared. It is worth signing up to general Star Trek or SIMming related webrings though. Advertising and recruitment is all about visibility.
This is simple too and can be effective. Talk to people, not just your friends, but also strangers. Hang out in our IRC chat room #starfleet-thefirstera and create a room for your SIM. Always leave a positive and professional impression of both your SIM and TFE when you talk to people. Do not bash other SIMs or other Groups, that is bad form and will only harm us in the long run. Don't overembellish your own SIM, just display a confident positive picture. Don't push people in joining, encourage them, but don't push. If they are really interested, they will do so. If they are pushed they will only join to get you of their back and drop out sooner or later.
Be there for your crew, keep taps on your crew, talk to them OOC, help them have fun SIMming. If they are really happy with you as CO, and respect you, they will talk to other people and advertise for you. Be active in the TFE forum, answer your emails in a timely manner, show you are in command and know what you are doing. Don't be afraid to say you don't know, it is better to say 'I don't know, but I will find out and get back to you', than to give a wrong answer.
To: XXXXX
Subject:Yorktown Command] Welcome to NX-05 Yorktown - Charlie
Raymond
Cc: Yorktown Command
<yorktowncommand@yahoogroups.com>
From: Suzanna Batenburg
<blanhe2@virgilio.it>
Greetings,
We have received your application to NX-05 Yorktown and I would like to welcome you onboard I am Captain Suzanna Batenburg Commanding Officer of the Yorktown. Lt James Rice is our Chief Engineer and First Officer. I am pleased to offer you the position of Warp Specialist, with the starting rank of Crewman Recruit.
Please confirm receipt of this letter. Before you can join any of the SF:TFE SIMs,
you will have to complete your Academy training, this involves an exam and a short period of SIMming on Jupiter Station before you graduate and join us. I believe you have already been contacted by the Academy Commandant separately to arrange this. Any logs that you write for the Academy SIM should be posted to the Yorktown listserv as well, and will be counted towards your log count. It will give you the opportunity to get the hang of SIMming in The First Era, and our plot, and it will also give the crew the opportunity to get to know you on an OOC basis while you are preparing for Deep Space assignment.
For people with a lot of SIMming experience there is the possibility of using the
Academy Waiver policy for the Practical SIMming part. This means that you still
have to complete the Theory Exam, but instead of SIMming for 3-4 weeks at the
Academy you have to write two logs to a given scenario. Not everyone is eligible,
it depends on the quality of logs you have written before. Please contact the
Academy Commandant if you wish to take that up. We have at the moment, two other Yorktown recruits at the Academy, and you would be able to join them in their class still and graduate with them, if you wish.
Our goals are as follows:
1. For everyone to have Fun.
2. To make you the best crew in SF:TFE
3. To make the Yorktown the best SIM in SF:TFE
This is a team effort and no one member of the team is more important than another. The Command Team will provide all the crew with the purpose, direction, and motivation that is needed. All we ask is that you stay involved and pay attention to detail... Now that we have got the introductions out of the way let's get to business.
The Rules:
1. I require one quality duty log per crew member per week. Duty comes before
pleasure after all ;-). You may log more of course... but that is the minimum
standard.
2. Logs are to be submitted no later then midnight Friday night EST to be
considered for that week.
3. If you are not able to log for a week, that is no problem but you will need to
inform the Command Team to be excused.
4. Failure to log or receive official excuse for four weeks will result in removal
from the SIM. After 2 weeks, you will receive a first warning, after 3 weeks
without a word a final warning.
5. All crew members are required to complete the TFE Academy before consideration for their next promotions.
6. All crew members must complete and submit a BIO for continued promotion. The Template has been sent to you separately. Please fill it in and send it to myself or Lt Rice
7. All crew members will read and follow the Ten Rules for Email SIMming located in the TFE SIM Guide. The guide can be found at: http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Academy/SIMGuideV2.htm
8. The Chain of Command starts at department head and goes up through the XO, to the CO, to the Fleet CO.
9. Questions on anything not covered in these rules... Use the Chain of Command.
We will be reviewing everyone's duty performance on the ship and will give you counselling on areas where you are strong and weak in. Please take no offence in these critiques, they are only meant to improve your and the ship's overall SIM quality. We welcome comments as to our ability to Command. Your likes and dislikes or what you think we could be doing better.
I would like to point you to our web site where you can find more information about the Yorktown, her crew and our IC setting.
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Yorktown
You can read up on our recent adventures in our archive:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yorktown/messages/
The Fleet website can be found at:
http://members.shaw.ca/starfleet-thefirstera/index2.htm
You can contact the Command Team of the Yorktown on the following addy:<yorktowncommand@yahoogroups.com>
If you have any questions or comments, are unsure, please do ask. I hope you will enjoy your time at Jupiter Station Academy, and look forward to welcoming you on the Yorktown after you graduate. Please confirm acceptance of the position offered.
Once again... Welcome on board and I look forward to hearing from you and SIMming with you!
Suzanna
Real Name: XXXXXX
Character Name: Charlie Raymond
Email_Address: XXXXXXX
Character Race: Human
Character Age value=: 38
Character's Gender: Male
SIM Name: NX-05 Yorktown
Primary Choice: Warp Core Specialist
Secondary Choice: Engineering Officer
Additional Comments: Will be posting a bio shortly SIMming Experience?:
Yes, I have Email SIM experience
Officer/Enlisted: Enlisted
Location Method: Surfing the web for additional Star Trek sims Policy
Acceptance: Yes
======================================================================
OOC Comments:
======================================================================
Greetings!
After the long OOC last
week, this week I will keep it short :). I spent the day away from my computer,
enjoying the mountains and some walking there. I enjoyed it so much that I will
be on a short LOA for a couple of days mid week, I plan to go to the
Mediterranean for a couple of days of fresh air and no computer, but I will
make sure our plot is started before I go :).
Please help me welcome
Joseph Hodkiss and Thomas Bushby on board, they will complete their Academy
requirements at Jupiter Station before joining us IC. In the mean time, we'll
cross post their logs so you get to know them a little bit better on an OOC basis
:). I hope you both will enjoy SIMming with us.
Also... a huge welcome back
to Robert 'Patch' Thomas, before his LOA, he was assigned as Chief of the Boat,
and his timing is perfect... as COB he is part of the Command Team, and we'll
deal with the IC assignment, probably this week :).
I do also have a little bit
of bad news, LtJg Alex McNabb is forced to think more about RL, his 2nd year at
uni is a lot busier than he had anticipated and he is taking an ELOA/resigning
at least for now, since he can't see any improvement on his time coming any
time soon. Mark, the player behind McNabb, has been on the Yorktown since April
I think it was, and you will be missed!
Or unexcused absence after
last week's 0 jumped to 3 again.. as always, it is never a problem if you can't
log, but please do drop us a line and let us know. It is especially important
for those in Chief Positions to communicate so that we know and your Assistants
are not left high and dry with nothing to log about!
If you have any questions or
comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.. you can reach us at:
<yorktowncommand@yahoogroups.com>. If you are unsure what to log about,
also do let us know we are here to help!
More than enough rambling
from me.... on with the Report!
Suzanna
======================================================================
Plot Summary:
======================================================================
On the Yorktown, Capt
Batenburg holds a senior staff meeting, starting with an icebreaker before
decimating information and getting everyone up to speed and given some orders.
Science is to start prepping teams for future exploration missions, Ens Op De
Velde has been asked to assist, since he will also be going on plenty of away
missions. One of the items that is needed for the preparations is additional
weapons and survival training. Lt Thompson has been asked to help out with
that.
The final supplies and crew
transfers from Earth arrive, they include Ensign O'Conner and the new CMO, the
Andorian Defender Yodina Alo. Patch manages to catch up on some sleep, but has
not taken any free time down on the planet yet.
On Jupiter Station, Cadet
Joseph Hodkiss and Crewman Recruit Thomas Bushby start their final part of the
Academy training, they are assigned to Class A.
======================================================================
PERSONNEL ISSUES
======================================================================
Promotions:
*********
Name: William O'Conner
Old Rank: Cadet
New Rank: Ensign
Date: 215210.28
Comment: Ensign O'Conner did
a sterling job at the Academy, showing
great potential and helped
to run the plot for his class with the Instructor!
Awards:
******
Purple Academy Ribbon of
Excellence was awarded to Ensign William O'Conner
Congratulations and WELL
DONE!!!
New Players:
***********
Crw Rct Thomas Busby
<fhobi2002@hotmail.com> - Gunnery Mate
Cdt Joseph Hodkiss <joe8342001@yahoo.co.uk> - AEO
Crew dropped/resigned:
*********************
LtJg Alex McNabb -->
Sorry to see you go Mark! When RL improves, please let us know!
Academy results:
***************
The SIM Guide can be found
at:
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Academy/SIMguide.htm
Character Name : Joseph Philip Hodkiss
Rank : Cadet
Email addy : joe8342001@yahoo.co.uk
CO : Captain Suzanna Batenburg
CO Email : blanhe2@blankespoor.demon.co.uk
SIM : NX-05 Yorktown
Score : 88%
Date : 215211.02
Instructor : Commandant DaSilva
======================================================================
Important notes:
======================================================================
1.) All officers and crew
aboard Yorktown are required to have *FUN*,
in the spirit of this era ;).
2.) All officers and crew
aboard Yorktown are required to post one log
per week, or ask to be excused from logging.
CO: Capt Suzanna Batenburg
<blanhe2@virgilio.it>
XO: Lt James Rice
rice-nx05@blueyonder.co.uk >
Our website can be found at:
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/Yorktown
Check out the crew pages and
the database, the information will help you with your SIMming.
Our public archive can be
found via the link on the Yorktown website or
directly at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yorktown/messages
Remember, at least one
*quality* duty log is required per week on the Yorktown and if you can't find
the time to produce at least one log a week, at any given time, please let us know
and you can be excused from that weeks log count. Also, if any abuse of being
excused from log counts is observed, then you will force the Command Staff to
review your position on the Yorktown.
If anyone of you is unsure
as to what to log about, do ask, we are here to help you! Remember, there are
no stupid questions.. only stupid answers ;).
=====================================================================
QUOTABLE QUOTES -
======================================================================
** This says it all :)
'Wow, the Yorktown!' he
thought to himself.
Ens William O'Conner
-----------------------------------------------------------------
** 6'5".... that is
big... B I G, big :)
Def. Yodina Alo stepped out
of the transport, moments after Ens. O'Connor. Her 6'5" frame was a bit
cramped and she was grateful to be out of the craft.
Defender Yodina Alo
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome back to the
Yorktown.. we do try to keep you entertained :).
Mostly, it was all routine
and he forgot most of it. Just a blur of activity and bandages. It
wasn't until the battle ended that he realized he hadn't had any sleep for
forty eight hours.
PO1 Robert Thomas
======================================================================
Log count:
======================================================================
The SIM week runs from 00:01
am EST on Sunday (05.01 am GMT) until Midnight EST/05:00 am GMT the following Saturday
(Sunday on GMT). If you don't see your log counted in the log count, it may
have arrived after the 'deadline' and will be in next weeks report.
Please note: New crew
members will not be added to the roster until they have posted their first log!
Awaiting first log at
Jupiter Station:
Crw Rct Robert Shaw
Joseph Roberts
Awaiting first log at YT
(New recruits taking waiver policy):
Cdt Cerridwen
Gwydion<the-mental-one@ntlworld.com>
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Position Officer name Oct Nov
Command 27 5
12 19 26 2
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
CO Capt Suzanna Batenburg - 2 2
1 1 1
XO/CEO Lt James Rice 1
1 1 E E 0
XO/CSO(out) Sub-Cmdr
Suzhran 1 -
- - - -
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
BRIDGE CREW
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
COMMs Ens Marc op de Velde 1 1 1 1
1 E
HELM Ens Lou Abronski 1 E E E
E E
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
ARMORY
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
CAO Lt Michael Thompson E 1 1 0
4 E
AO Ens William O'Conner - 1 1 2
1 3
M AT
ARMS Cwm Keung Lee 0 E E 1
2 0
GMATE Crw Rct Thomas Bushby -
- - - - E
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
CSO Ens Robert Blake E 1 1 0
1 0
ASO OPEN
EXOB OPEN
SYS TECH OPEN
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
ENGINEERING
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
CEO Lt James Rice see above
AEO Cdt Joseph Hodkiss - - - -
- 2
AEO LtJg Alexander McNabb 1
E 0 E E R
C&E TECH OPEN
WSPEC OPEN
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
CMO Def. Yodina Alo - - - -
- 1
CMO Cdt Arthur Miller - 1 0 0
R R
CMAN PO1 Robert Thomas L L L L
L 1
NURSE OPEN
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
MESS SECTION
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
MCHEF OPEN
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
GUESTS/NPC
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Meridian Cdt Deeana Cruix - - -
- - 1
Trope Capt Michael Loren - 1 - -
- -
Trope Lt Masters -
1 - - - -
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
ELOA
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Total Yorktown logs 5 8
7 5 10 8
Total Guest Logs 0 2
0 0 0 1
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Total Combined Count 5 10
7 5 10 9
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
Total Crew 10 12
11 10 9 9
Excused 3 4
2 3 3 3
UnExcused 1 0
2 3 0 3
Guests 0 2
0 0 0 1
Open Posts 9 8
9 9 9 9
----------+------------------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+
E = Excused
L = LOA
R = Resigned or Dropped from
Roll
U = Under Review
** = Unexcused Second Week
Second Example
THE STORY SO FAR:
Welcome to another ship
report for the Meridian NX-06.
The Away Team consisting of
Captain Mendoza, Ensigns Garroway and Edwards and Crewman Coda(NPC) make their
way to the Greystone bridge. Once there, the begin investigations into what had
happened with the Boomer ship and where the crew was. After some searching
using the ship's sensors, they Team finds lifesigns clustered in another
portion of the ship.
The Team makes for the
location and, arriving, discover seven members of the Greystone crew. The seven
crew are what's left of the senior staff. Josey Willet(NPC), the Greystone's
First Officer and now commander of the Greystone due to their Captain's passing,
begins to tell Mendoza and the others the story of what happened. They
Greystone had come under attack from some Nausicans for their cargo and, as a
result, had become trapped in the atmosphere trying to stabilize their orbit.
During that time, a Nausican
shuttle had posed as a ship answering the Greystone distress call and tricked
the crew into letting them aboard. Too late, Willet(NPC) found out who their
help had truly been. Before he'd let the Nausicans aboard, however, he had
jettisoned the remaining 50 or so members of his crew down to the planet in the
Boomer ship's 2 Cargo Drop Pods.
The Nausicans on board,
having learned of this, became even more irate than normal and had planned on
killing the remainder of the crew - the senior staff - aboard the Greystone.
Willet(NPC) had locked himself and his crew into the room the Away Team had
found them in in the hopes of keeping them safe a little while longer. It was
at that time that Mendoza and his Away Team had arrived.
With the Greystone senior
staff safe for now, plans are put in motion to retrieve the 2 Drop Pods from
the planet's surface. The Pods, with Cargo and crew aboard, have been exposed
in the corrosive atmosphere for nearly an hour so it is a race against the
clock.
Meanwhile, aboard the
Meridian, plans to pull the Greystone out of the atmosphere have begun in
earnest. With Mendoza, Edwards(AO), Cruix(CMO), Douglasdale(NPC) and
Witter(NPC) heading down to look for the Pods, Palmer(CEO), Kravchik(EO) and
Garroway(HELM) remain aboard to put their plans in motion.
All the while, a wary eye is
being kept for any potential return of the Nausicans.
Stay tuned for more...
RECENT CREW ADDITIONS:
Ensign Deeana Cruix - Chief
Medical Officer. Welcome aboard!
CURRENT CREW (ACTIVE): [For
the week of October 27 - November 2]
Captain Jorge Mendoza (CO),
Posts: 3
Ensign Jeffrey O'Neil
(COMM), Posts: 0*
Ensign Thomas Garroway
(HELM), Posts: 5
Ensign Lilly Palmer (CEO),
Posts: 3
Ensign Markus Kravchik (EO),
Posts: 1
Ensign Jonathan Edwards
(AO), Posts: 4
Ensign Deeana Cruix (CMO),
Posts: 2
-------------------------------------------------------------
Total Posts: 18
Total Posts Last Week: 15
CURRENT CREW (INACTIVE):
[For the week of October 13 - October 19]
*Ensign Jeffrey O'Neil
(COMM) - No response to emails as yet. Removal potential.
DEPARTING CREW:
None
INCOMING CREW (ACADEMY):
[For the files of the Commandant, Capt. Amy DaSilva]
Cadet Frank Cole - Currently
participating at the academy. Upon graduation, will be assigned the rank of
Ensign and position of Assistant Medical Officer.
Cadet Pip - Currently participating
at the academy. Upon graduation, rank and position will be assigned once the
Cadet has made decision as to desired position.
Cadet Kayla Julian -
Currently participating at the academy. Upon graduation, will be assigned the
rank of Ensign and position of Communications Officer.
PROMOTIONS/COMMENDATION:
Pending Mission #1
completion.
POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
Science Officer (2
openings)*
Communications Officer (1
opening)*
Quartermaster (NCO)
Shuttle Pilot (NCO)
Communications Technician
(NCO)*
Exobiologist (NCO)*
Stellar Scientist (NCO)*
Medical Corpsman (NCO)*
Nurse (NCO)
Warp Field Specialist (NCO)*
Armory Crewman (NCO)*
Any other NCO positions not
listed are also available. *Denotes greater need.
COMMENTS/NOTES:
NEW - Fantastic showing
again by all active crewmembers this past week. There were 18 logs posted, 4
better than last week. Please, keep up the good work! :) Ensign Thomas Garroway
lead the way this week with a record-tying 5 logs in total for the week. (Ensign
Edwards held that distinction last week).
NEW - A very hearty Welcome
Aboard to Academy Graduate Ensign Deeana Cruix. Deeana, played by Lisa, has
joined the Meridian as the Chief Medical Officer. Good to have you with us.
NEW - If you have a favorite
quote for the last week you are more than welcomed to submit them. I'm looking
to start a section for that this month so keep those posts in mind. :)
NEW - I'd also like to take
this moment to recognize all those active players on the Meridian for the
quality of logs I've been priviledged to read. You are a great group of writers
and I feel lucky to have such a talented bunch.
REMINDER - If you have any
NPC characters you would like to create, send me the information and I'll place
it on the website. Please, only create Non-commissioned NPCs.
NEW - Mission #1,
"Shrouded" - The mission is still going very well. Everyone's doing a
nice job of moving plot along where needed. Seeing as how the posting rate is
very good, look for me to bring this mission to an end by next week. :)
REMINDER - The Meridian has
two Guest NPC's in the form of:
Defender Tybar (Andorian)
Warrior Chirac (Andorian)
*Feel free to use them as
you need. If you have any questions, please ask.
REMINDER - If anyone has any
ideas for future missions they'd like to see on the Meridian, please forward
them to me and I'll look things over.
REMINDER - Comments,
questions or concerns, please contact me and I'll do what I can for you.
REMINDER - Final note...have
fun!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Just to give you an idea,
I've submitted my own favorite quote for the last week. Remember, you can send
me yours at any time.
{"We want answers,
Pinkskin!" said a surly Andoran. The two 'diplomats' had cornered him and
practically thrown him against the wall. Garroway had already given his phase
pistol back to Edwards, and momentarily regretted it.}
~Written by Ensign Thomas
Garroway. Encountering the Andorian NPCs upon his return to the Meridian from
the Greystone.
CONTACT INFO:
website:
http://www.geocities.com/meridiannx06/index.html
CO's email:
meridiannx06@yahoo.ca
CO's Yahoo ID - meridiannx06
Greetings,
I am Captain Suzanna
Batenburg, Commanding Officer of Jupiter Station.
The Jupiter Station is an
Email only SIM. We are part of the Starfleet -
The First Era, the
internet's first 'Enterprise-Era' SIM group, our
SIMming is based on that
seen in Enterprise. I a have few positions
still available on the Jupiter
Station, and being new to SIMming is not
a problem as the TFE has
it's own Academy at which we can help you to
learn how to SIM.
Our requirements of you are
as follows:
1) Have FUN
2) Post one quality log per week
3) Submit a BIO
4) Complete the TFE Academy
The Jupiter Station has the
following still open:
Exobiologist
Master-at-Arms
Communications &
Electronics Technician
Assistant Science Officer
Assistant Communications
Officer
Assistant Medical Officer
For more information about
Jupiter Station please check out our web
site:
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/JupiterStation
For more information about
Starfleet-The First Era please check out our
Fleet Website:
http://members.shaw.ca/starfleet-thefirstera
If you are interested in
joining please follow the 'join' link on the website which will take you
through to our application form. If you have further questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Suzanna
--
=/\= Capt Suzanna Batenburg
=/\=
Commanding officer
Jupiter Station - Starfleet:
The First Era
"Everything fits,
otherwise we will make it fit."
http://www.blankespoor.demon.co.uk/JupiterStation