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Chapter 5- Interaction
Note- much of this chapter is the basis
for the second half of the QuickStart
Guide used by ALB students in training.
5.1
Basic Interaction
Most people in ASR have
never met face-to-face and few have even spoken with one another on
the telephone. So, it is very important that that a player in ASR be
familiar with the various means of communication in the club and the
formatting for communications to insure that they recieve prompt attention
from the appropriate people.
There are a number of forums
through which ASR communicates information. The basic forum for ASR
is the usenet newsgroup from which the club takes its name. All formal
announcements from the club administration are posted there as are all
posts for the units which form the club.
Today, virtually all ASR
business is carried out through e-mail mailing lists and list servs.
Formatting and subject lines are no less important for e-mail than for
newsgroup posts since many players and adminsitrators work with multiple
units and quick identification of the subject of a message is important
in seeing that it recieves the proper attention. The e-mail addresses
of the administrators are listed prominently on the club's homepage
and the e-mail addresses of key contacts for new members are listed
in the basic club documents which are sent regularly to the newsgroup.
The last basic medium of
communication for the club is the world wide web. The club has a homepage
and several mirrors. Additionally, the newsgroup can be read though
the web and many units have www post archives that contain a log of
that unit's stories. All of the club's major documents are available
through the world wide web.
5.2
Communication
Since the principle means
of communication in ASR is the written word, it is necessary to have
certain strictly enforced formalizations of the formatting of messages
for easy reference.
Messages in ASR take two
forms. The first type of message is an "In-Character" message
related to the action in the role playing game which are referred to
as RPG posts. All role playing game (RPG) posts should be posted
to the ASR newsgroup: alt.starfleet.rpg. Many E-mail programs
allow you to post directly to the newsgroup. If your E-mail program
does not allow you to do this, there are a couple of alternatives.
You can use a newsreader to post your messages; or, if you do not have
access to newsgroups, you can use Dejanews (www.dejanews.com) to post
to alt.starfleet.rpg. If you lack access to both the Web *and*
newsgroups, please be sure to let someone know along the way, whether
it be the Personnel Officer, your Holodeck instructor during your initial
"training exercise," or your Commanding Officer (once you are assigned
to a unit).
The second form that a message
may take is an "Out-of-Character" message related to real life (RL).
NRPG (non role playing game) messages should *not* be posted to the
newsgroup. These should only be e-mailed to the individuals concerned
with the matters being discussed. Examples of NRPG messages would
be a note that you will be out of town for the week or a note asking
another player to work with you on a joint RPG post.
Please make sure that all
your posts (including your bio) are written in plain ASCII code (plain
text), as this is the one code that will be readable regardless of computer
system or software. Please do not use any HTML tags, any fancy
fonts, any colours, or anything other than plain text. Also, please
make sure that your posts are legible. Don't crowd everything
together. Break things up into paragraphs and put in a blank line
between paragraphs. It is also a good idea to restrict your posts
to no more than 72 characters per line. This helps to make your
posts legible.
Also, most word processing
packages do introduce extra symbols for carriage return and some characters
- it *looks* like plain ASCII on the screen, but once it's put as a
file into an E-mail message, those symbols appear. You should
send a test mail *to yourself*, if you use a word processor as editor,
to see how it looks like once it has gone through mail. You should
also check your own postings on the newsgroup to see whether they look
all right.
5.2.1 Response Time
Whenever you are asking
a question of a commanding officer, another player, or an administrator
or when you are asked a question, it is considered polite to respond
within 48 to 72 hours if at all possible. However, since this
group is run by volunteers who all have RL responsibilities, and RL
always take precedence, it is not always possible to respond in that
time. If you do not receive a response within a reasonable amount
of time, you can send a polite E-mail message to the individual in question,
asking whether your message has been received. Similarly, if you
cannot respond within that time frame, be aware that the administrator
may have already had to make a decision. Please remember that
we do have lives outside of ASR, and a timely response may not always
be possible.
5.2.2 Language
ASR is a world-wide organization
and we welcome everyone, but, as you have probably figured out by this
point, English is the language used in all correspondence and posts.
So, basic knowledge of the English language is essential. Spelling,
grammar and punctuation are also important; if you have trouble spelling,
the use of a spell-checker is recommended. You do not need to
be a master writer, but your posts should be legible and readable.
Also, please note that all
writing in ASR is done in third person past tense. That is, we
use 'he or she' instead of 'I', and we say 'he packed his suitcase'
instead of 'he packs his suitcase'. Please use third person past
tense in all of your posts.
5.2.3 Subject Lines
Correct subject lines are
essential. There are so many units in ASR that the newsgroup would
easily become very disorganized if players did not use the correct subject
lines.
The subject lines of all
posts should always begin with your unit. Right now, that is ALB.
Other examples are the USS NEBULA and SB DELTA. Note that unit names
are always in capitals.
Non role playing posts (NRPG)
should begin with the unit, immediately followed by NRPG. For example:
The specific format for
subject lines follows:
Some examples of good subject
lines:
-
ALB Holodeck
20: Greeting the Ensigns
-
ALB Holodeck
20: NRPG: Betazoid Powers?
-
SB DELTA:
Ensign Jones Reporting
-
USS NEBULA:
Captain's Arrival
-
USS NEBULA:
NRPG: Change of Email Address
Examples of bad subject
lines (comments are bracketed in [[ ]]):
-
ALB [[No
location]]
-
Armstrong
Lunar Base: Holodeck 20 [[should use abbreviation]]
-
Holodeck
20: NRPG [[No unit]]
-
ALB: NRPG:
WHAT IS GOING ON!!! [[Using all capitals is judged rude]]
-
PUMA:
Bridge --> Ready Room [[No "USS"]]
-
Uss Yosemite:
Away Team [[USS and YOSEMITE should be all capitals]]
-
Holodeck
20: ALB [[Unit name should go first]]
5.2.4 Stardates
Star Trek has long used
the concept of a "stardate" to keep track of the passage of time. In
the television series and movies, the principle rule is that later stardate
has a bigger number. The first digit of a stardate is based on the season
that the show is in and is generally accepted to correspond to the passage
of years.
In ASR, it is necessary
to definte a more absolute method for determining stardates. A full
stardates is laid out in the format
where YYYY is for the year,
MM for the month, and DD for the day, hh is for the hour, mm is for
the minute, and ss is for the second.
In most cases, the full
stardate will not be used. It is very rare to see seconds ever noted
with a stardate. Hours and minutes may be used to keep track of the
passage of time within a day, but are seldom recorded in permanent records
like bio files.
Also, the first three digits
are commonly dropped if one is dealing with a date inside a single decade.
For example, the 19 January 2411 would correspond to Stardate 10119.
For dates in 2410 or previous years, the first two digits are often
dropped, for example, 31 December 2410 would be 101231. Similarly to
distinguish 2409 from 2419, one would write 4 July
2409 as 090704.
For cases where dates might
span a century or more, the full year-month-day stardate can be used
to prevent confusion. In such a case, the 19th of January 2410
would be written as SD 24100119.
The conversion between real
year and game year is accomplished by adding 412 years.
-
1993 ->
2405
-
1994 ->
2406
-
1995 ->
2407
-
1996 ->
2408
-
1997 ->
2409
-
1998 ->
2410
-
1999 ->
2411
-
2000 ->
2412
-
2001 ->
2413
-
2002 ->
2414
-
2003 ->
2415
-
2004 ->
2416
-
2005 ->
2417
-
2006 ->
2418
-
2007 ->
2419
5.2.5 Mission Dates
Mission Dates (or MDs) are
used by some units to ease the maintenance of continuity within the
plotline(s). Some units use MDs to construct time lines of happenings
on the ship so writers can keep track of who is doing what with whom
where at any given time.
There are two parts to the
Mission Dates -- the day and the time. They are laid out as follows:
'DD' is for the day.
The Mission Dates begin at the start of a mission, and is reset at the
start of the next one. The 'hhmm' is for the time in the day,
in military time (24-hour). For example, a scene happening at
2:00 pm on the 5th day of the mission would be dated:
Mission Dates are useful
in storylines in which the crew splits into Away Teams, or there are
multiple threads and subplots.
5.2.6 Beginning a Post
Posts should begin with
the Mission Date, if your unit uses them, followed by a Scene or Location
that lets the reader know where the post is taking place. The
Scene can also describe when the post is taking place, in game time.
A good Scene tag will orient the reader, letting him or her know where
and when the post is taking place.
5.2.7 Non Role Playing Discussions
Sometimes it will be necessary
to break out of role playing mode and speak directly to the reader.
Such statements should be preceded by the letters "NRPG" (non role-playing
game) in order to distinguish it from the role play.
Posts will almost always
end with an NRPG section for general statements, questions, and clarification.
In the NRPG section you can ask for other players to follow up on parts
of your post, or you can explain some of your ideas, even ask for feedback.
Commanding officers and other players with command billets will often
use the NRPG section to give instructions to players, or to explain
each player's task or assignment. So, do not forget to read the
NRPGs at the end of each post.
Any message that you send
out that is strictly NRPG (ie. that contains no role play) should
not be sent to the newsgroup.
5.2.8 Signing Off
At the end of each post,
always give your name, your character's name, your character's billet
and your email address. This helps to identify who wrote the post.
This may seem superfluous, but it is quite helpful.
The following format is
suggested:
For example:
Many variations on the above
are used, but the same basic information should be communicated.
5.3
Handling Problems
ASR is a game and the basic
reason to be a member of this club is to have fun. There are a number
of rules that attempt to protect everyone's fun and to insure that the
integrity of this large and complex shared-universe is maintained for
everyone. But, there are still occasions when problems arise and need
to be dealt with.
Generally, problem resolution
follows a military chain of command. If a player has a problem with
another player in his unit, he should contact the unit's commanding
officer. If the player is not satisfied with the commanding officer's
responce or has a problem with the commanding officer, that player should
contact the task force or fleet commander as appropriate for the unit.
If the problem cannot be resolved within the fleet or deals with a situation
between fleets (such as a question about a cross-fleet transfer), the
Chief of Star Fleet Operations (CSFO) may become involved. In the rare
event that the CSFO cannot resolve the situation, the CINCSF may also
become involved.
5.4
Administrators
This section lists current
administrative billets in ASR. A more detailed description may be found
in the appendix.
-
CINCSF - Commander in Chief Star Fleet
- Senior Club Officer
- Supervises CSFO and COMLOG
-
CSFO - Chief of Star Fleet Operations
- Club Executive Officer
- Director of Bureau of Personnel
- Supervises Fleet Commanders
-
CINC(FLEET) - Commander "Color" Fleet (GOLD, GREEN, INDIGO,
SILVER, VIOLET)
- Oversees daily fleet business including launching/closing ships,
assigning and recruiting personnel, and writingship mission orders
-
COMALB - Commandant, Armstron Lunar Base
- Supervises ALB intake and training
-
COM(BRANCH) - Commander, Star Fleet Branch
- Oversees one of the branches charged with developing supplemental
material for the ASR universe
-
COMJAG -- Commander, Judge Advocate
General Corps
-
COMPA -- Commander, Public Affairs
-
COMREC -- Commander, Star Fleet Records
-
COMSFE(NG) -- Commander, Star Fleet
Engineering
-
COMSFESCI -- Commander, Star Fleet
Sciences
-
DSFI --
Director, Office of Star Fleet Intelligence
-
MEDCOM -- Commander, Star Fleet Medical
Corps
-
CoS/SFMC -- Chief of Staff, Star Fleet
Marine Corps
- Also, there are two
UFP branches, their heads have civil service titles equivalent to
flag rank. They are:
-
UFPDOCA -- United Federation of Planets,
Department of Colonial Affairs
-
UFPESCO -- United Federation of Planets,
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
-
(FLEET)XO - Color Fleet Executive Officer
- Assistants to the Fleet Commanders
- Duties as specified by fleet commanders
5.5
Awards
I. Definition of Awards
A.
Character Awards: There are two varieties of character awards.
The first are 'Star Fleet' awards, restricted only to Star Fleet personnel.
The second are 'Federation' awards, presented to -any- Federation citizen
or other person deemed deserving (including Star Fleet personnel). The
second form of award may thus be granted to ambassadors, civilian mission
specialists, irregular unit characters, etc., as well as Star Fleet
officers and crew.
B.
Unit Awards: These are awards given to a rp unit in recognition
of superior rp, conduct of mission and command, etc. Characters serving
with a unit so awarded are permitted to wear the decoration. These include
such things as "campaign ribbons".
C.
Player Awards: Player Awards are handled by honors lists. They
are to recognize superior player contributions to role play, administration,
writing, and related aspects of ASR, and are separate and distinct from
character awards.
II. Classifications of Awards
All three types of awards
(character, unit, and player) have different tiers--routine commendations,
minor, major, and extraordinary. The use of the four-tier system is
to establish who can approve the award, and who should bestow it on
the player, unit, or character.
A.
Routine: Routine awards are given by superiors in the chain of
command, and consist of commendations or recognitions of service, officially
attaching such things as, "mentioned in dispatches for bravery" to the
officer's permanent service record, publicly acknowledging a player's
contributions, etc.
They may also include things
like "commendations for original thinking," "initiative," etc. Routine
commendations are most often handled by the commanding officer, or,
in the case of the command personnel (XO, CO) the task force commander,
fleet executive officer, etc.
Commanding officers also
have the authority to recognize players on their ships with honors lists.
These include things like "most improved writer, most reliable, etc."
At the discretion of the CO, these can also take on a more humorous
bent.
B.
Minor Awards: Minor awards are service ribbons, medals, etc.
given in recognition of superior service. In the case of character awards,
the unit's commanding officer or executive officer will write the fleet
commander (and task force commander should one be applicable) and nominate
the character for the award. If the fleet commander approves, he may
bestow the awards immediately without consulting his superiors.
If a non-command player
wishes to nominate command characters (CO, XO) for minor awards, he
should write the fleet commander directly with the recommendation. The
same applies to unit gamemasters.
Minor unit awards are also
handled by the fleet commander. Fleet commanders may create campaign
ribbons -- e.g., Second Battle of Gamma--at their discretion, in addition
to awarding standard ones noted below.
Fleet commanders (and COMANC)
also have the authority to create fleetwide honors lists per the guidelines
above for ship honors lists.
C.
Major Awards: Major awards are those so prestigious that their
bestowal reflects on Star Fleet, or the Federation, as a whole. Authority
for approving them thus rests with the Chief of Star Fleet Operations
(CSFO). The process is the same as the one for minor awards, except
that the fleet commander must submit them to the CSFO for approval.
If the CSFO approves, the fleet commander has the authority to then
bestow the awards directly. COMANC should also submit major award nominations
for irregular units to the CSFO.
D.
Extraordinary Awards: There are two extraordinary character awards
in ASR -- one is military, the other is non-military. They are the Federation
Medal of Valor and the Federation Medal of Freedom. These awards are
conferred by the Federation Council, and this means the CINCSF of ASR
is the only player who has the authority to confer them.
Extraordinary awards must
be recommended by fleet commanders to the CSFO, who in turn endorses
them for final approval and bestowal, which rests with the CINCSF.
There are no extraordinary
unit awards at this time.
Extraordinary player awards
consist of an 'honors list' which the CINCSF presents to the Assembly
twice a year. Recommendations to the honors list may be made by any
ASR player and are subject to the sole discretion of the CINCSF.
With the exception of the
extraordinary awards, the list which follows is not exclusive. Other
specific awards are therefore acceptable as long as they are approved
by the formal bestowing authority -- the fleet commander for Minor Awards,
and the Chief of Star Fleet Operations for Major Awards.
III. Hierarchial List of
Awards
A.
Character Awards: These awards carry with them ribbons or medals.
Multiple bestowals of the same award are denoted by stars. Those players
who wish to adhere to the practices of the British system may, at their
leisure, add designated abbreviations for major awards after their characters'
names, c.f. CAPT John R. Smith, LS, in signoffs, etc.
The below is by no means
inclusive but is a listing of the awards currently bestowed. As mentioned,
approved alternates may be added.
1. Star Fleet Awards
a. Extraordinary:
---
1 - Medal of Valor
b. Major:
---
2 - Star Fleet Cross (aka Golden Nebula Medal)
3 - Latinum Star
4 - Star Fleet Medal
5 - Distinguished Service Medal
6 - Silver Star
7 - Legion of Merit
c. Minor:
---
8 - Cross of Alexander
9 - Bronze Star
10 - Hero of the Federation (aka Star of Hope) **Posthumous**
11 - The Pike Medallion for Heroic Injury (aka Wounded Lion)
12 - Meritorious Service Medal
13 - Star Fleet Commendation Medal
14 - Star Fleet Achievement Medal
15 - Prisoner of War Medal
2. Federation Awards
a. Extraordinary:
---
1 - Medal of Freedom
b. Major Awards:
---
2 - Gold Lifesaving Medal
c. Minor Awards:
---
3 - Medal for Merit (e.g., Zephram Cochrane[ENG], Richard Daystrom [SCI],
Leonard McCoy[MED], Hikaru Sulu[EXP], and Sarek[DIP] Medals)
4 - Silver Lifesaving Medal
B) Unit Awards
a. Major Awards
---
1 - Outstanding Star Fleet Unit Citation
b. Minor Awards
---
2 - Fleet Unit Commendation,
e.g. Blue Fleet Unit Commendation
3 - Theater/Battle/Action Ribbons, e.g. GAMMA Quadrant Action Ribbon
C) Player Awards
1 - Star Fleet Honors List
[Extraordinary]
2 - Fleet (Specific) Honors List [Minor]
3 - Ship (or Unit) Honors List [Routine]
IV. Descriptions of Key
Awards
Though a detailed description
of the awards is outside the proper scope of this proposal, the CINCSF
and CSFO are hereby required and authorized to produce a Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) providing such a description, and specifying the
criteria for the various extraordinary and major awards listed above.
The detailed description, along with ribbon and medal graphics for the
above awards are included as appendix D of this
manual.
Likewise, shipboard commanding
officers and fleet commanders are hereby authorized to produce similar
FAQs for routine and minor awards (and in the latter case approved alternates)
on an individual fleet- and unit-wide basis.
This is in recognition of
the reality that the individual fleets and ships have developed such
widely different rping styles and objectives for shared writing that
such authority is best vested in those administrators for the level
of award which they are authorized to grant.
Insofar as this concerns
individual commanding officers, this is a reiteration of the current
policy which permits commanding officers to write commendations/reprimands,
mention officers in dispatches, etc. Any shipboard commanding officer
who wishes to propose a new minor award must obtain approval from his
fleet commander as that office is the issuing authority for such awards.
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