Overview
STF is perhaps best described as an Elected Dictatorship, or a Constitutional Monarchy, depending on one's point of view. Every 8 months, approximately, the members of STF elect a President and Vice President. For the remainder of the President's term, he (although STF has had a female President in the past, I will use the male pronoun exclusively, for grammatical reasons) serves as an elected despot, with the authority to change virtually any facet of the club administration by the issuance of an Edict. The only matter which the President cannot change, in fact, is the date of the next election. At least, in theory.
In practice, because the President is elected by the membership, he must remain responsive to their concerns.
Also, because STF has become a larger club than it was when this method of governence was first enacted, power has moved from the top level, to the unelected bureaucracy of Cabinet officers, who head the various Fleets and Departments of STF. However, the President has the authority to hire and fire these officials at any time, which preserves a guarantee against a runaway cabinet officer.
Current Administration
Daniel Lerner took office as STF's current President on 28 March 2008, succeeding Sarah Hemenway.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet is composed of the heads of the five STF departments (Personnel, Gamemaster, Engineering, Internet and Academy), and the six Fleets (numbered 1-6) of STF. Each officer reports directly to the President and Vice President.
Although normally the Cabinet members tend to hold high RPG ranks, holding such a rank is not a requirement. In an earlier administration, the Academy Commandant, for example, held the rank of Lieutenant junior grade. However, the responsibility inherent in a Cabinet post tends to also be demonstrated in role-playing, and vice versa, so rank and cabinet positions often do indeed go hand in hand.
Current Cabinet
| Office | Chief | Primary Assistant |
| Commander, First Fleet | Captain Gene Gibbs | Captain Phillip Stonness |
| Commander, Second Fleet | Fleet Captain Katherine Dedul | Captain Jason Lee |
| Commander, Third Fleet | Commodore Kenson Koh | Captain Brandon Irvine |
| Commander, Fourth Fleet | Captain John Robert Lucas | Admiral Larry Garfield |
| Commander, Fifth Fleet | Captain Geoffrey Joosten | Captain Joe Fahey |
| Commander, Sixth Fleet | Captain Russell Watt | Captain Robert Spicer |
| Director, Personnel Department | Fleet Captain Andrew Robinson | Lieutenant Jemma Farrugia |
| Director, Engineering Department | Fleet Captain Lee Bridgeford | Lieutenant Todd Kes |
| Director, Gamemaster Department | Captain Phillip Stonness | Captain Gene Gibbs |
| Director, Internet Department | Admiral Larry Garfield | Captain David Wonderly |
| Commandant, Academy | Fleet Captain Jack Dipper | Captain Phillip Stonness |
Edicts and History
The current administration and several previous administrations were able to preserve and archive their edicts for posterity on this site. Unfortunately, the living history available is still highly limited, representing only a small fraction of STF's existence.
In 1991, STF's existence began as a purely military structure, with a pantheon of Admirals administering the group exclusively. Dissatisfaction with this led to several legislative bodies, from 1992s 'Senior Admirals' Council, (which evolved into the Officers, and later Advisory, Council) and 'Fleet Admirals' (which evolved into the Cabinet) Council. After the abdication of STF's second 'Flag Admiral,' Jim Midyette assumed the leadership, and instituted an elected Presidency atop the Councils. The lower councils themselves were determined to be a source of eternal bickering (like any other legislative body.. see the Congress or any Parliament..), and were phased out of existence in several abrupt steps. The higher council became, much like the US Cabinet, a politically appointed body, but the officers therein are generally selected for their aptitude for a given job, rather than as a means of implementing a specific agenda.
The former legislative council, however, did rise to prominence during a vacancy in the Presidency, which as a result briefly made STF a Parliamentary rather than an Executive system. During this time, several "OC bills" attained the same legal status as the more familiar Presidential Edict. With more clear rules on Presidential succession (namely, past the Vice President, the highest RPG ranked member becomes acting President, and holds immediate elections), such a situation should never arise again.
