| Revision History | |
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| Revision 2 | 16th February 2009 |
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Course proctors changed to Brian Olinski and Joe Fahey |
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Table of Contents
"You may be the boss, but you're only as good as the people who work for you."
Welcome to the Star-fleet Command Course for Commanding Officers (CO). So you think you are ready for that big step. You have your eye on that fabled centre chair and a command of your very own. Perhaps you are an experienced Executive Officer (XO) and want to check your readiness. Perhaps you are a fledgling CO just wanting to make sure you are covering the basics. Or maybe you are an experienced CO wanting to improve that little bit more. This course should have something for everyone.
This course aims to break down the basics and to provide you with the essential information that anyone needs to be a successful CO in any environment. All areas will be covered from in character work to out of character work. Make no mistake about it; this course will be one of the most important learning experiences you will have in STF.
Unlike other courses, this course has two writers to give a wider perspective on the most demanding position in the club. Fleet Captain Sarah Hemenway will be giving the benefits of her experience as a CO on several ships, including the USS Atlantis, USS Olympic and OP42, as well as being an Academy XO on the USS Challenger. Sarah will be writing the essential guide to the Administration side of being a CO, everything from Message of the Day (MOTD) design and updating, to the Internet Department (IDept) regulations you should be aware of.
Fleet Captain Symon Silvester has commanded the USS Vanguard, OEDV and SS Bonaventure, will be providing a guide to the actual role of a CO and what you should be doing to run your ship to the best of your ability.
"Commanding Officer (CO): Also known as the old man, the captain of the ship. The CO is ultimately responsible for everything that happens to and aboard his/her ship. It has been said the captain of a sea-going vessel is the closest thing to a god on earth."
Commanding Officer (CO)
The CO of an RPG Ship serves as the ship's Administrator and In-Character commanding officer. A CO is appointed by Presidential Edict, with the advise and consent of the Fleet Commander. A CO may be removed by Presidential Edict. In addition to RPG duties, the CO is responsible for ensuring that the crew stays active; managing personnel and enforcing AWOL policies on the ship; ensuring that new members are given adequate assistance as needed; maintaining the ship's MOTD; optionally maintaining a Ship or Captain's Log; and further duties as conferred upon the desire of the Fleet Commander, or established by Edict. The CO is responsible for ensuring the completion of all his duties, even if they are delegated to the XO.
The CO has the power to promote members of his crew up to and including the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The CO may promote members of his crew to the rank of Commander with the consent of the Fleet Commander, should the Fleet Commander choose to exercise such authority. Other powers may be specified by Edict or by the Fleet Commander.
No individual may hold more than one CO position simultaneously. The CO of Academy Training Ships does not count towards this limit. Acting CO does not count towards this limit.
The Commanding Officer (CO) is the role-playing head of a ship. Although as a CO you have total authority over hiring and firing of personnel for your ship and can run the ship your way, you are still responsible to the chain of command for the condition of your ship. A CO has one simple overall guiding principle that should always be remembered and that this course will come back to time and again.
"To maintain a healthy and active role-playing environment"
As a CO it is your job to run an efficient and active ship. You manage the resources available to it. You provide the direction for your ship and your own actions will have direct effect on whether that environment is a success or not. As a CO the authority is all yours, as is the responsibility. If the ship is failing...there is often no need to look past her CO for the cause.
You earned the right to have the position but you might find it more difficult to keep it. Being a CO is the most challenging role in the club and the most difficult to master. The pressure to keep the environment active and healthy is an ongoing one. There is no let up; the challenge and the pressure are continuous. A non active Commanding Officer is dead wood.
The role of a CO is to be the head of a ship both In Character and Out of Character. As such it is the most important role on the ship, but not necessarily the most critical.
As a CO you will be responsible for making the decisions about your ship both IC and OOC. OOC will include the recruitment of personnel to your ship and the appointment of crewmembers to the key roles DH, XO and GM. Each of those positions is critical to your ship...and if you get the wrong person it can be difficult, or worse, detrimental to your vessel.
Take, for example, the role of GM. We have all seen the effect of a truly awesome GM on a ship. They can inspire and interest the crew, keep the roster active and make recruitment a dream. But a poor GM can also destroy a ship, lose the players interest and cause the ship to drag down. Who is responsible for appointing a GM? You are. Who needs to make that decision to replace a GM that is performing poorly? You do. When do you keep encouraging someone or replace them? Again it is down to you, the Commanding Officer.
As the Commanding Officer it is your job to provide a clear direction for your ship, an example in character and out of it. You should always be focussing on that one statement. "To maintain a healthy and active role-playing environment."
The In Character (IC) job of a CO can be characterised as being the eye of a storm. Your crew will look to your for focus and direction; and you must respond. You should be calm, authoritative and decisive. Doesn't matter if the decision doesn't work out the way you hoped, at least you tried something.
However what this means to you as a role-player is big change from all the roles you have had before. The Commanding Officer is head of the ship and it is tempting to be heroic and to show every one your skills. However, that is not your job. Your role-playing skills are vital now but not to solve the problem, rather to delegate the problem to your crew. Your job now is to give orders that will keep the crew busy, often far busier than the CO themselves.
Why? The answer is obvious. People are on your ship to role-play, so you must give them tasks to be able to role-play. Do this by breaking up your orders and giving them to your Executive Officer (XO) and Department Heads (DH). It is tempting to try to leap in, but always restrain that enthusiasm. On many ships the CO is nearly always in his ready room, or sitting in the command chair, rather than being in on the actual action. That is the way it should be. Your own pleasure and enjoyment should be coming from seeing your whole crew active and interested.
In character you have to give the orders, but also let your crew do their job and don't try to overrule someone. After all you will have been a DH once so don't interfere with how they do the task you have assigned to them, unless you absolutely have to.
Listen to the IC advice from your Department Heads after all they are experts in their fields. Also rely on the support and advice from your XO. In Character and OOC the XO is your right hand.
Remember that your example IC and OOC is key on your ship. Your behaviour sets the tone for your ship. Your IC posts must be of the detail and nature that you wish your crew to follow. Laziness on your part will be seen as a good example by your crew. Post regularly and post well. You are a role model. If the CO doesn't seem interested in their own ship and the sim then the crew will be the same.
OOC you are the main cause and continuation of any atmosphere that your ship has. Aim to make your ship have a positive and friendly feel. People will follow your example. If you reinforce good posting with positive OOC comments your crew will be encouraged. Don't let OOC comments get out of hand or they can take over the ship, but always offer praise to your crew, even if only for everyone posting within the last day. Encourage good performances and make your crew feel noticed and wanted.
Similarly with negative OOC don't let it start on your ship and be quick to end it. Take it to email and resolve it there.
So to summarise what are your powers?
You have the right to promote someone that you feel has earned it for their in character actions. Promotions mean a lot to people as they care about their characters. Even people whose club rank is much higher than that of the character you are promoting can be pleased with it too. Just remember promotions should be used to set an example for good in character behaviour. Don't promote too often or the effect loses its' worth too. Most CO's will leave promotions until after a sim is completed as a reward for the participants who have shown the most commitment through the sim.
Remember the following!
When someone is an Ensign in a particular field and passes an academy course for that discipline, they are entitled to ask for a promotion for their character to Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Promotions to Full Commander are subject to the whim of the Fleet Commander. In many cases the Fleet Commander will only require notice of said promotion. It is your responsibility to know before you promote someone to the rank of Commander. If in doubt ask!
Although most promotions are done at the end of a sim, you can promote during a sim. This is useful if you are promoting someone to a position of authority, such as DH, and you are trying to show that they now have the in character rank to separate them from their Junior Officers.
Discipline can take many forms. Some characters might have committed offences within the military code that they would be operating under. Refusal to follow orders, disobeying orders and insubordination are all common examples. Another STF role-playing favourite is the fight. Characters everywhere love to have a fight, but this is an offence under military codes of behaviour. As such as the CO you have to choose to either turn a blind eye, or to punish.
Every ship operates on a code of discipline and the actions IC of a character can give an idea of what the CO is prepared to allow or to tolerate. For example, two of your characters have a fight and you turn a blind eye to it, effectively pretending IC it never happened. Other members of the crew may think this looked fun and stage their own fights. You have already set an example of ignoring one fight. Pretty soon you could have a ship full of characters fighting and no way to put a halt to it.
In character punishments for offences can often show people that although it was good role-playing, characters must face consequences for their actions. In this way you are setting a precedent for all role-players on your ship and enforcing positive behaviour.
A CO should never, ever, play favourites. You shouldn't excuse someone's character because you like the role-player or trust their role-playing. You should always enforce standards equally.
There are, however, circumstances where you might decide it is appropriate to ignore what a character just did. For example the role-player controlling the character might be inexperienced. A gentle chat to them by email might reveal that they didn't understand the implications of their actions. Rather than draw attention to it you can just ignore the post.
Maybe someone doesn't understand what the IC rules are. It is your job as a CO to help them, rather than punish them.
In character punishments should fit the nature of the crime committed. A case of insubordination could just be left to the XO or DH's to handle by way of a dressing down to the individual's character. Repeated insubordination should be treated more severely. Consider the possibilities of confining the individual to quarters or similar punishments.
There are many types of punishment. From the dressing down in private, to assigning cleaning duties, to time in the in the brig and court martial leading to demotion and/or dismissal from the service.
These punishments are open to any CO In Character. However, it is advised that the CO makes sure that the role-players involved are okay with the level of punishment. To suddenly threaten a player with court martial or demotion could alienate the role-player.
Most experienced role-players will be aware of the nature of the punishment they are likely to incur and in fact will be more than willing to discuss punishments with you to fit in with where their character story could go.
As a general rule, if you think a character needs to be punished, email the person involved and explain that you although you appreciate their characterisation, your character will need to punish their character as a realistic response to their actions. Ask them what they think would be suitable.
Finally, sometimes all a character needs is an in character dressing down. However, remember the attachment people have for their characters. Make sure that the role-player doesn't think you are dressing them down! In character discipline should always be considered carefully.
The temptation of all CO's is to try to be at the heart of the action or everywhere at once. Sooner or later, regardless of time lines, you have to realise that you must trust your crew.
In fact most of the time you will find your character spends most of their time on the bridge or in the ready room. Your time as a hero is at an end. It is your job to make sure that everyone has tasks to do.
As mentioned previously delegate tasks. This may be by breaking down a mission task and assigning it to departments, or something as simple as telling the XO to select an away team.
You are the CO and your authority is absolute. You can assign people to roles as required. In character and out of character no-one expects you to be perfect, but they will expect results. So make sure you make the best use of your resources. Make sure IC and OOC the RIGHT people are in the RIGHT roles. You can assign people to roles or tasks, you can reassign them and you can remove them too.
The choice is yours. In character try to find characters with the right skills and abilities, out of character try to make sure that everyone gets a chance to shine.
When to do so will give other members of the crew tasks and allow them to post creatively without endangering the progress of the sim.
Well as a CO you are always in charge, even if you aren't physically there. What you should do is monitor a situation. If progress isn't being made, such as several people are not posting, or no-one seems to know what to do, it is okay to have your character check on progress. This can be done via the communications badge as well as personal visits.
Use your common sense. Is the ship in immediate danger? Would you not reacting and unifying the chain of command result in danger to the ship and the crew? You are ultimately responsible for the ship and her crew. You have to make the tough decisions, life and death decisions.
If the sim presents that the ship is under attack or in immediate danger as CO you should be in command and in charge. That is your job.
STAR-FLEET EXPECTS THAT EVERY PERSON WILL DO THEIR DUTY
This might sound strange but you are in charge of the ship and the crew. You can delegate the responsibility, but you are the person that gives the direction, points the finger and says "Engage."
The crew can't make decisions for you. So tell them what to do. Order your course, order your speed, fight your ship and fire your weapons. In a crisis do you really want your ship being handled by someone else?
All that the crew of a star-ship really do is to make sure the thing is working so when the Captain says go...it goes!
So make sure you develop that command persona. Imagine the examples from the shows, Kirk, Janeway, Sisko, Picard and Archer. When they gave an order it was obeyed without dispute. So be decisive! When you give an order, it should be obeyed. Speak with authority and presence. You earned your rank and your position. Star-fleet is a military organisation with a military chain of command. Make sure you give the direction both In Character and Out Of Character that your ship needs.
This is part of your In Character position. You are the person ultimately in charge of the ship. Her performance reflects your own as Captain.
Your XO is your right hand man. It is their job In Character to encourage and monitor the effectiveness of the ship, but you should always feel free to ask for status reports and performance drills. Why? Because it is your ship and you should know how good your crew are and what their performance will be like in a crisis.
You will rely on your XO but you must also monitor their performance too, you should ask your XO how the ship is performing, encourage improvements and never accept second best.
Ask for drills. You have a myriad to choose from including Fire Drills, Damage Control Drills, Target Drills and Battle Stations. These are always useful in sim dead time or when a particular department doesn't have anything to do. Make sure you use these events well. Remember that these events will constitute side sims and should not take the place of the main sim.
Do not circumvent your XO. Work with and through your XO to create a great In Character atmosphere and ship performance. Demonstrate your trust in your first officer.
This is one of the biggest aspects of any CO's life and is often one of the most time consuming. It is rare that someone will just happen to drop by your ship and offer to join. If they do it is a sign that your roster is full and active, the sim interesting and that the ship is moving in the right direction.
There is no real limit on the amount of people you can have on your roster. Some CO's believe the more the better. Others are happier with smaller rosters which are tight knit and active. The choice is yours. What is important though is that the roster is active. Do not let inactive role-players hold roles just on the off chance that they decide to post once more. Try to find a solution with the role-player but in the end the ship comes first.
There will be more details on roster keeping and cleaning later in this course.
Most often you will have to approach people or advertise roles to attract the right candidates for the positions you have. The first thing you should bear in mind is making sure you know what you are looking for in a position. Look at the role. Do you need someone experienced? Do you need someone who posts daily? Would it be a role for a promising newbie? Is experience in a similar role vital?
Make sure you know what you want to achieve. You can't sell a role to someone unless you know what you want. Above all be prepared to be rejected. Don't be discouraged by this. Most people will be genuinely too busy and will be flattered. Some people might rearrange ships to join you too. Recruitment is the life-blood of any ship from JO to DH to XO. Don't be put off by a no, move onto the next candidate. It is better to have someone who is genuinely keen on a role. That enthusiasm translates into their posting and approach to your ship.
There are several sources for recruiting that you should look at. These include:
Look within your own ship. Ask other role-players if they know of anyone who should be or could be approached about joining. It is sometimes worthwhile considering posting an announcement about recruitment on ships as well, especially if you wish to invite internal applicants for positions. Consult your XO and get their opinion. It might well be that someone on the ship knows someone looking for another ship.
Look at other ships you are on. Are there any role-players on those ships that catch your eye or that you think would be good additions to your ship? Do they match the criteria you set? Sometimes this is the best way to search for a candidate as you will see their role-playing first hand. Also look at other ships in your fleet and see who stands out for you.
Try to get your ship name into the open so people can notice it and might approach you about joining. There are several methods of doing this. First, place a note on your own MOTD about what positions are open and how to get hold of you. Next approach your Fleet Commander about placing a message about recruitment on the Fleet MOTD. Most Fleets will have options for advertising open positions within your ship or will be open to placing a news item on the MOTD about it. Finally, speak to the Personnel Department. They have access to an advert on the opening main page for STF. If you supply them with the text for your advert they will happily spotlight your ship for you.
Fleet reports always contain sections based on spotlighting role-players who excelled that month. Read the fleet reports published in command each month and see which role-players are spotlighted the most. Take this opportunity to have a look at that role-player.
Your friendly neighbourhood Personnel Department are there to help place people and match your needs. Speak to them about what positions you have open and general recruitment issues. They will be happy to help you.
Sometimes the best recruitment is done via IM. The personal touch always works best with people. They feel valued and wanted, not to mention they can discuss the role with you directly. The official IRC channel #star-fleet is always a good place to speak to people about positions. Remember to obey channel rules and be polite.
Speak to the Academy Commandant and ensure your ship is registered as one of the ships to take the new graduates. Always liaise with the Commandant or Vice-Commandant. Never approach cadets directly about recruitment. This is a direct breach of rules. If a cadet approaches you about joining your ship, you must refer the matter to the Commandant.
Always back up an offer with an official email this will make sure there is no miscommunication. Remember how you do your recruitment is down to you, but the responsibility is yours. No-one is going to do your recruitment for you. Be proactive!
Specialist recruiting is where you are searching for someone to fill the two key roles on any ship; those of your Executive Officer (XO) and the Gamesmaster (GM).
In recruiting an XO you must make a decision whether to appoint someone with experience or to give someone a chance. There are several things to look at. Do you feel you would benefit from having an experienced XO as your second in command? Will it help you in settling into your role? Does your ship need the experienced leadership? With an inexperienced XO do you think you are ready to train someone in their duties? Can you teach them what they need to know? Will they be able to make a difference to your ship?
Selecting an XO means choosing someone to be your right hand person; you must be able to form a bond of trust with that person. Trust them to do their job and to give you support in doing yours. Make sure you choose wisely and take care in your selection. It is worth seeking opinions on a prospective candidate and taking time to make sure you are happy.
When appointing an XO ensure you are both clear on your expectations and the shared duties before the appointment is made.
Selecting a GM for a ship is just as important. It is important to consult with the Gamesmaster Department (GMD). They will have a list of active GMs and a list of those GMs who are looking for additional work. When choosing a GM it is worth looking up their previous missions and speaking to former CO's. Perhaps you might also have experience of that GM from your time on another ship. Make sure you are happy with their style.
Just with appointing an XO, there are options to appoint an experienced GM or a GM Trainee (GMT). Make sure you consider the possibilities well. The GMD will always be there to give you support and a GMT will come with a Mentor to keep them on track.
Think about whether you have specific requirements from your next sim. Some sims will concentrate on certain departments more than others. Work out what you would want from your next sim. It is important that you pass these stipulations onto a prospective GM so they can make sure they can fill them. Every GM will have their own style and preferred types of sim.
A GM is the heart and soul of your ship. You must be able to trust them to post regularly, keep your crew entertained and to be reliable. Take your time, seek opinions and make sure you choose wisely for you and your ship.
As CO it is your choice to make changes to your roster or not. Perhaps someone has left your ship and you want to appoint someone to the role. Well, it is for you to decide if you want to give someone else on your ships, perhaps a JO, a chance in that role; or if you intend to appoint someone from outside your ship.
There are pitfalls with either scenario. If you appoint from within the ship will the person be able to handle the step up to the position. Will you just create a new problem for yourself? Are there multiple candidates for the role? Will that just create resentment from the other applicants?
If you appoint from outside the ship will your current crew feel overlooked? Will they feel you have given them a fair chance?
You will often not know if these problems have occurred so good communication is always the key. Always explain your selection choices positively to all candidates.
As well as appointing people there is also the prospect of removing someone from a position. The most obvious case for this is when some one is AWOL and shows no signs of coming back or hasn't responded to your emails. This is permissible and you should act to keep your roster clean and active. There are more details on roster cleaning and AWOL's later in the course.
The other reason to remove someone from their position is for poor performance. Poor performance can take many forms and it is for you to judge what you think is the correct level of performance you would expect from someone in that role. Always bear in mind that that person may well not know that they are doing anything wrong.
Strong communication is the key. Talk to the person concerned and help them. Explain what you want, offer support and training. Removing someone should always be a last resort. However, in the end you may have to act and remove someone from a position. This should be done after discussions with them. It may well be they will agree with your reasons or that they may choose to leave the ship. This is one of those hard decisions every CO must make at some stage.
You are responsible for your roster and the performance of your crew. From your XO to the lowest JO you are responsible. No-one else on the ship has the authority to make those decisions. In the end you must make the right decision for your ship.
A GM's focus will be on providing a main sim for a ship, but most GM's are pretty flexible. If you have feedback you should provide it to the GM. Be positive in your approach.
Communicate any needs you think the ship has. If you feel that a particular department or individual is not being included in the sim you should be proactive and communicate this to the GM. Work with your GM in arranging to keep your crew busy. Discuss potential side sims before implementing them. Never just create a side sim and then dump it onto the GM to handle. That is unfair.
Ask the GM for their feedback. It may well be that the GM needs help to push the crew in a particular direction Work with your GM to ensure that the main sim pushes forward. GM's suffer from problems as much as any role-player and you should always ensure that your GM is happy in their position.
It is also important that you have good communications with your GM about areas such as LOAs. Your GM should be informed if you are planning on a LOA. It might well be something that can be worked into the sim and the GM can cover for your absence. You should also make sure that you know when your GM is going on LOA. You should ask for sim notes and be prepared to cover the sim yourself until the GM has come back. If the absence is to be for a long term and you are reluctant to GM, approach the GMD about acquiring a temporary GM.
A missing GM or one not posting regularly can disrupt a ship. Make sure you work with your GM to avoid this.
What is the Chain of Command? Well in any organisation there is a structure. In STF we operate an In Character and Out of Character Chain of Command based on the positions we occupy.
In character on a ship a JO should report to a DH, that DH should report to the XO, the XO to the CO and the CO to Starfleet Command. The Chain of Command operates as a two way filter. Orders filter down and information filters upwards. The DH is the first step in the link and they will pass the information up to the XO. The XO effectively then filters the information from the DH's decides what is important to pass onto the Captain and does so. In Character it should be rare that the XO cannot handle all but the most serious of problems before involving the Commanding Officer. As CO you will manage the ship and report on her effectiveness to Star-fleet Command. You will receive your orders from them and report on your mission progress to Command.
There is a clear chain of command for OOC work in STF too. Technically it follows much the same process as the In Character chain of command. Your JO's and DH's will report to the XO. Both the GM and XO will report to you. Sometimes a person lower down the chain might circumvent the XO and report to you directly. This is an activity you should discourage. Ask to be copied in on all communication concerning your ship where possible.
As a CO in a fleet you are responsible for your own ship and its' performance. You will report to your Fleet Commander (FComm) and the Assistant Fleet Commander (AFComm). You should seek support and advice from your Fleet Commander. They are there to help you and your ship. The Fleet Commander will report to the President ultimately. Make sure you utilise this resource. Don't feel that you are alone in your problems.
You won't get in trouble for using the chain of command. Establishing good communications is essential.
One thing you will get used to is admin requirements of being a CO. Fleet Reports are mandatory and there is no reason not to submit your reports. These reports will inform those above you in the chain of command as to your progress and that of your ship. They are vital and must be completed. There are three reports required from your ship in total, one from the CO, one from the XO and one from the GM. Remind your command staff. A lack of reports reflects badly on your ship and therefore on you!
There are times when people just don't get on. You will find someone is complaining or has an issue. Sometimes by the time that the issue gets to you it will be quite heated. Tempers can fray and people can get very upset.
Make sure that you stay calm and collected. Think about the following stages:
Make sure you respond to the person sending the email saying that you have received the information and are looking into it. If someone tries to complain to you via IM, always ask them to send an email with the details in for official purposes. This is your record. Don't commit to the complaint or agree with it. You must remain impartial. Agree to look into the matter further and, if possible, give a date when you will be back in touch with an update. Explain the situation if there is going to be a delay. Be polite, be clear and be understanding. Never agree with the problem until you have looked into the matter further. Remember to tell the person not to discuss this matter on the ship.
Is this an issue you can really deal with yourself? Can you make a judgment or a decision? Is this something simple or is this complex? Is this just miscommunication? Take your time; don't run into a hasty decision. Discuss the problem with your XO and get their input. They may have some a different view point or information. Finally, always feel free to approach the FComm for further advice. Remember to safe guard your evidence chain. This may be important later.
Contact the other participants in the problem, if required. Always be polite and be professional. Remember you could be dealing with hurt feelings or people who did not even know there was an issue. Try to get their side of the story and any supporting evidence. Be patient and be understanding. Remember what one person sees as an insult another might take as a compliment. Once more remind the participants that they should not discuss this matter on the ship.
Look at the evidence. Can you see what the cause of the problem is? Sometimes it can be something really small and simple that has hurt feelings. Never belittle the complaint. Always ask for discretion when discussing evidence with your XO or the FComm. It will do no-one any good to have rumours starting. If you need to send your evidence on this is when you need to make sure you have all the emails and logs you will require.
With the help of the previous four points and discussions you should be in a position to understand the problem and its cause. With this information you must make the decision as to whether you can handle this problem yourself or the problem should be handed upwards for the FComm to officially review. Remember to be calm, courteous, understanding and impartial. Your decision must be the best for the ship. Your personal feelings must not enter into this situation. 95% of all conflicts can be resolved at your level with no more than some sympathy and understanding. It is rare a conflict will become more, but in the end you have the authority to remove someone from the ship. Although not a move you should consider lightly, it is a power a CO has.
You are the CO. You are responsible for your ship and the happiness of your crew. Never ignore problems as they will only grow and become serious issues. Worse someone may think you don't care.
Remember the following. Listen. Understand. Be Fair. Be Decisive.
Get used to it! Being a CO requires dedication and time. There is a lot of hard work behind the glamour that you cannot escape. There is plenty of administration that needs to be done. Fleet Captain Sarah Hemenway outlines the essential areas of a CO's admin work below.
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:
Did anything out of the ordinary happen this month? You should include things here like in character conflicts that may have gotten out of hand, et cetera.
Is the ship posting like it normally does? Is it faster or slower than normal? Can you pin-point why?
Have any crew members done a particularly great job this month? Do any of them deserve a higher position than the one they have now?
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!
Submission Instructions
Write out your answers to the questions below.
E-mail them to the course grader: Symon Silvester, Brian Olinski and Sarah Hemenway
Be sure to include your full name at the top of the e-mail!
Send the original question followed by your answers.
Do not send your answers as an attachment.
Do not use "HTML-enriched" e-mail. It makes it harder to grade.
All answers must be original. Do not simply copy and paste from the lessons.
This examination is marked on a pass or fail basis. Any incorrect answers or additional comments will be returned for your information with the result.
There are no multiple choice questions here. There is a short answers section and an essay answers section. Attempt all the questions.
This exam requires an extremely high standard to pass and you should not be discouraged to not pass on your first attempt. Persistence and a desire to improve are hallmarks of a good Captain too.
Answer the following in your own words. Do NOT cut and paste.
Your GM has Real Life issues and wishes to take a month LOA. Explain your options and how you would handle this situation.
Outline four side sims that you would consider using as CO. Explain what departments they will involve.
A potential role-player approaches your ship about joining. They are inexperienced and want to play a Gorn character. They haven't really thought much about it. Explain what you would do, what checks you would make and how you respond.
You have a CMO who has been AWOL three times in the last four months. Each time they have only just been over the AWOL limit, but it is holding up the sim and the JO's are looking for assistance. The CMO has now just gone AWOL again. Explain what you would do.
You need to find a new CSO and some new JO's. Explain what you would look for in a candidate and how you would go about recruiting.
Explain what resources and support the IDept, the GMD and the PDept can provide to you and your ship.
Explain the benefits and drawbacks you would consider in promoting someone from within your ship to a position against those of appointing someone from outside the ship?
Write a welcoming email for a New Club member who has been placed on your ship. This is their first ship.
List in order from most important to least important, what you perceive as the crucial ways you can get your ship noticed for recruitment. Explain your reasons.
In character Ensign X has been in a brawl with Lieutenant Z. Ensign X started the matter and it has been brought to you for action IC. Explain how you would handle the matter, what punishments you would choose (if any) and what OOC considerations you would take into account.
You are the CO. You are having doubts about the ability of your XO. They seem to have little command presence, don't seem to be helping the crew and don't post regularly. Explain how you would address these issues and how you pursue this matter.
You are the Commanding Officer of the USS Nelson, a Pendragon Class Battle Cruiser. You have arrive at your destination planet where there is a deadly plague sweeping the planet below and threatening to kill all life. There is panic on the planet and many citizens are trying to flee. Star-fleet has ordered you to blockade the planet to control the spread of the contagion to other planets. You are asked by the planet government to help and send an away team. You are in the briefing room with your senior staff, all your Department Heads and XO. Write an In Character post assigning your orders and personnel to any potential away team. After your post do an OOC explanation as to the rationale for your orders and the assignment of personnel.
You recently advertised a position for COS on your ship. You had two applicants from within the ship who were both inexperienced. Ensign X has been on the ship for a while, but recently returned from being AWOL without explanation for 14 days. Ensign Y has a low standard of posting generally posting one liners and making inappropriate OOC comments. You finally appointed Lieutenant Z, an experienced COS, to the role from outside the ship.
THIS QUESTION IS IN TWO PARTS
Explain your reasoning to both Ensigns as to why you chose Lieutenant Z for the role. Give both Ensigns advice on how to improve.
Ensign X complains that you have not given him a chance and that you have something against him. He makes a post to that effect OOC on the ship as well. Explain how you would seek to resolve this matter.
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