The golden rule when it comes to your roster is to keep it clean. This helps the Personnel Department assign new members to your ship, but it also helps your crew know who is active and who isn't. An unsightly roster reflects on you and your ship. You can have characters that are both rostered and non-rostered (where the character is not on the roster itself, but accessed via the player's drop down menu when they post). This allows you to remove AWOL players or eLOA ones without losing their character information. More details about AWOLs are provided in the section below and more information about the Administrative Menu is provided in another Academy course.

Every fleet in STF has a designated AWOL policy, set by the Fleet Commander. This will be displayed on the Fleet Message of the Day (MOTD). This applies to all ships in the fleet, unless prior authorization from the FComm has been received. If you feel that the AWOL policy is wrong for your ship, drop your FComm an e-mail to explain the situation; they might be willing to allow you to set your own. Things to consider when you review your AWOL policy are is it too fast or too slow? Is your crew posting daily? Are people struggling to post regularly within the AWOL limits?

Standard AWOL limits are as follows. Posting within 3 days of your last post on a ship for CO, XO and GM. Posting within 5 days of their last post on a ship for DHs. Posting within 7 days of their last post on the ship for JOs. Exceeding these limits means that someone is AWOL.

Unfortunately, what comes along with posting requirements is actually enforcing them. This is one of those items that you might delegate to another member of your command staff; such as your XO. Make sure that you explain what you expect and that you are copied in on any AWOL email they send.

It is a common courtesy to e-mail someone once they have exceeded AWOL limits but a few days before you intend to remove them from the roster. This e-mail should not be threatening in nature at all, but rather serve as a pleasant reminder that the ship misses them. You might also want to include a date (a few days in the future) on which you intend to AWOL them if you don't see a post or a response to the e-mail.

In the ship Admin Menu there is an AWOL feature that allows you to take a role-player off the roster but not to lose their details completely. This is explained fully in the Academy Administrative Menu course, which is also located in the Academy Textbook.

Once in a while, someone will return after going AWOL. Do you have to let them back on? It's up to you. Make sure to consider all aspects of the situation before allowing or disallowing a member to return. You should consider how often the player has been AWOL; is this their first time or have they done this before? Is the role that they are filling crucial to the ship and the sim? Can you continue with their absence?

Remember AWOLing can create disagreements, especially if someone is removed from a position and returns later to find it has been filled. Make sure that you handle these situations carefully and politely. Remember that if you have delegated the AWOLing you should handle any disagreements that result.

New members can either be the best part of the ship or the worst. The end result is very much dependent on the welcome and support that a new member receives upon joining a ship. The Personnel Department provides a number of different resources to brand new members; however, one of the most direct influences is you. Longer serving members will have more experience.

Anyone joining your ship should receive a welcome e-mail from either you or your XO (or both). Just take a moment to introduce yourself, maybe elaborate on what opportunities you've had in STF, and definitely include your contact information, so that the member can get help if he needs it. You might also want to consider explaining the posting requirements of the ship and a little about the current mission. Explain anything unique to your ship or that will be of interest to that person. Despite all of this, be careful not to make it too long; you don't want to intimidate a new member (or they won't even read it!). Always ask for a reply to your email, just to make sure they received it.

Welcoming someone on the ship in an OOC note is a great way to make them feel part of your ship. Also think about IC ways to meet them or help them fit in. Don't ignore them!

As a CO, you do have control over what kind of characters you want on your ship. The FCOMM Edict outlines what character races are expressly forbidden in STF, but it is up to you to approve the characters you accept onto your ship. While you don't want to inhibit the creativity of your players, you do want to make sure that it's a fair environment for everyone. Most players should have characters that are Federation races. This means no Romulans or Cardassians, unless there's a very good back story. Make sure that you ask the candidate to explain their character background. If you have reservations you should address these at this stage.

A background might appear very realistic but it is usually very rare, or well played. Oh, and absolutely no Q! You also want to make sure that your players are being realistic with their characters' abilities. If you notice a player that's "stealing the show" with his super character, you might want to drop him an e-mail explaining how this creates a problem with the ship environment.

People become very attached to their characters and very possessive, so you have to be diplomatic with your comments to an individual. Make sure when you consider the application that you consider how that person's character will fit in on your ship. For example if the character is of a Klingon Warrior, how will that fit in on a science vessel?

Always feel free to ask a player for a bio. Most serious role-players will create something and be open to questions.

Just remember, by accepting someone onto your ship you have tacitly accepted their character and the consequences that might cause for your GM and the rest of your crew. Make sure you are sure before bringing someone aboard.

REMEMBER: As a CO, you MUST know what races are allowed or not. You are advised to read the FCOMM edict, which can be found here.

The very first thing a person sees when navigating to your ship is the Message of the Day (MOTD). It's very important to have a MOTD that loads quickly, presents information in a clean, crisp manner, and is short. The latter is significant because all the buttons to post are way down at the bottom of the screen; don't be cruel and make your crew break their scroll fingers! If you're not familiar with HTML, the Internet Department can help with their Frequently Asked Questions list. You can also find more information about policies and how to create your own new MOTD there. The department even provides some templates if you don't know where to begin! There is always a strong community of people who will happily help you create that MOTD you want. Ask around! See other MOTD's that you like and find out who did them.

Your MOTD is your way of selling your ship and creating that unique atmosphere. It is vital your MOTD contains the important information about your ship, like what positions you have open, a sim update and your AWOL policy. This is the first step in giving your ship an identity! Just remember it says a lot about you. The same way not keeping it up to date creates an impression too. Always try to keep your MOTD and your Captain's Log up to date! These are important tools; use them!

Good graphics on a ship are always attractive, but make sure that they are not copyrighted and that they don't slow the loading of your MOTD. The Internet Department (IDept) has formats for uploading images and naming files. Make sure you follow these rules when it comes to your MOTD.

Remember your MOTD is your responsibility. The IDept will police the club to make sure that it breaks no rules but otherwise the layout, design and updating are all yours. Use this tool wisely.

Many COs want to collect some information about their ship, whether it is the history, character biographies, or just some general ship-related specifics. STF allows you a place to put all this information: a ship web site. Every ship has a site. The format of the URL for the site is http://www.star-fleet.com/stfX/shipname/, where X is the fleet number and ship name is the FULL name of the ship. For example the OEDV website is http://www.star-fleet.com/stf6/oedv/

More information about what you can put on the web site can be found in the Internet Department. Please make sure that you read these policies, as you are accountable for knowing them. You are responsible for maintaining this site, although you can delegate the responsibility to any member of the club. You will have to give permission for that individual to upload changes to the Internet Department (IDept).

An external website gives your ship an advantage and can really sell your role-playing environment to potential applicants. It is an advertising tool but can also help new crew visualize your environment, what makes you unique. It can also be used to store crew bios and show the history of your ship. Make the most of these potential resources.

So important, it features twice!

Every Fleet Commander is required to file a monthly report regarding the status of his or her fleet. Often, this includes reports from the ship's command staff, including the CO. The format for these reports varies depending on the fleet, but there are a few items you should keep in mind to provide a good report:

Every Fleet Commander that we've worked with would love to get reports this detailed. Remember, the FComm can't help you and your ship if they don't know what's going on; help them help you! Also, remember to think about what you're writing and take it to heart; this is a time to reflect on your ship in the past month and see what changes what need to be made (or what needs to remain the same!).

Finally remember that these reports are seen in public. So make sure those that deserve praise get it! Everyone likes a pat on the back. Make sure that any criticism is made in private. No-one needs likes to be criticized in public. Talk about general situations but don't point fingers!