Fleet 4 - AWOL Policy

AWOL? what's that?

AWOL stands for Absent WithOut leave, and this policy helps to determine how often you the roleplayer has to post in order to not be marked AWOL. It is here to help make sure that everyone stays active enough so that everyone can have fun!

Fleet four runs on a 3 / 5 / 7 policy (see below).

The Policy

The Command Positions ie. CO, XO, and GM have to post the most, since they are responsible for making sure the ship / starbase / outpost or planet remains active. Therefore they have to post at the bare minimum once every three (3) days, although every other day is recommended. This means that when the status column no longer shows a ok(3) you are AWOL!

The Department Head Positions ie. COS, CSO, CE, CNS, CMO, CTO, CIO or aDH have to post at the bare minimum once every five (5) days. This means that when the status column no longer shows a ok(5) you are AWOL!

The Junior Officer Positions ie. sec, tac, cns, eng, med or sci have to post at the bare minimum once every seven (7) days. This means that when the status column no longer shows a ok(7) you are AWOL!

Please note, the above time periods refer to Posting, not to just reading. The WeBB software can tell when you last posted, and it's this the policy goes by.

What happens if I AWOL?

When you are marked as being AWOL, your character will no longer be displayed on the ship's roster, and will be assigned the rank of AWOL. Your position is then eligible to be given to someone else.

Oops.. But.. I want to come back! So then what?

It is upto the CO of the ship in question to decide if you will be reinstated or not, especially if you have been gone for too long, or you have been chronically awol. The position you have occupied may have also been given to someone else, so you may have to be assigned to another related position on your return, again this is upto the CO. Unless of course you are the CO that has gone AWOL, then it is upto the FComm.

The CO may opt to reinstate you at a lower rank, if you were gone for long enough, although no one may be demoted below the Ensign rank.

Captains who are chronically AWOL, or AWOL for longer than a week will be removed from Command. GM's and XO's who display this kind of behaviour will be recommended to be removed and replaced by the FComm.

If you feel unfairly treated you may appeal to the FComm (or AFComm if the FComm is the CO in question). They do have the power to overturn the CO's decision if they feel it is warranted.

I'm not going to be around for a while, so then what?

Simple. Just declare a LOA, or Leave of Absence. Head back to the Main Page (the one you see after you login). There's a button at the bottom!

You can then safely leave for the time you've specified and come back with your position intact! If you don't return on the day you said you would, then the AWOL count starts from your declared return date

If your LOA is going to be more than six (6) weeks, then it is an Extended Leave of Absence or eLOA. In this case, a CO may deem it necessary to replace your character depending on it's position. IE. a department head is more likely to be replaced than a junior officer. However, when you return, you are eligible to do so at a position that is available and at the same rank as to which you left.

Who enforces all of this?

The CO of each ship is responsible for enforcing the AWOL policy on their ship. In many cases, a CO will not mark a character AWOL immediately, and you usually haven't been marked AWOL if your character is still listed on the MOTD. Some CO's like to grant a "grace period" and will email you if you cross awol limits but do not expect one.

However, AWOL XO's must be reported to Fleet Command by the CO

AWOL GM's must be reported to Fleet Command and the GMDir by the CO.

AWOL CO's must be reported to Fleet Command by the XO.