I did intend to join in this discussion before.. oh well, better late than never!!

: Posted by Commodore Katherine Dedul (Academy Commandant/Commanding Officer (USS Columbia)) in Admin Menu Course
: : Posted by Commodore Katherine Dedul (Academy Commandant/Commanding Officer (USS Columbia)) in Admin Menu Course
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: <massive snippage>
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: I pondered simply posting the changes to my copy already posted, but I thought that might get a little tedious(But if someone calls foul, I could do it that way). This is the next version of the course. I have hopefully gotten rid of all the run-on sentences and typos(There are days where I seem to be allergic to using my period key it seems!).
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: I've expanded Lesson Two, which is about character creating and editing. I figured it would be more useful to explain each section of the edit screen that an administrator would be able to see. I compared character edit screens between where I am an administrator and where I am not so to attempt to explain what's new about that screen to a new administrator on a ship. The paragraph Jen mentioned she could not quite understand is gone(looking at it fresh, it's been about a month since I'd written the original draft, even I couldn't figure out precisely what I was trying to get across).
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: And I am thanking everyone who has essentially taken the time to read the course and offer up an opinion on it. It takes a bit of time on your part, you should be recognized for that. :)
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: Introduction:
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: Welcome to the Admin course, designed for COs, XOs, and GMs to get them acquainted with the functions of the administrative menu. There is no exam to take, or grade to worry about. This course simply goes through the functions of all the administrative areas of each ship.
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: Now, if you look on the ship's MOTD(Message Of The Day), along the top right-hand side, you will see 3 brand new tabs("Admin", "Edit" and "E-mail"), we will examine the functions of each of these new tabs in detail throughout this course.
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: Lesson One: The Tabs
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: Before we go into a lot of detail, it's time to discuss the basic functions of these three new tabs.
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: Admin: The place COs/XOs and GMs go to add new characters, view all characters on the ship, create log entries and add and remove subscribers as well as a few other functions that will be discussed in greater detail over the next few pages of the course.
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: Edit: This is where you can edit the MOTD, both the basic look of it and simply updating your own special section of it. You need to be familiar with HTML coding as well as other codes that may be employed in the maintenance of the MOTD. If only to avoid undoing someone's hard work by accidentally deleting code.
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: E-mail: Sends a mass e-mail to all subscribers on your board. Not recommended for use, it may be a good idea to simply ignore this and carry on. Generally, if you need to reach all the members of your crew, it would probably be easiest to simply post a note on the ship regarding it rather than to spam everyone who has happened to subscribe to your board. We'll go into what subscribers are and how that works later in the course.

I know its mentioned further down but it might be worth mentioning here that if sending an email you should make sure that the subscribers list only contains the people who should be on there.
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: Lesson Two: Characters - Editing & Creating
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: The first two options under the Admin tab will be discussed together as they are related.
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: Character List:
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: This link brings you to the list that is your full roster, including AWOLed and unrostered characters, unrostered NPCs, unrostered GM Controlled Characters, etc.
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: This section allows you to see the "sort order" of every character on the ship. Sort order sets the order in which the character displays on the roster, without sort order, every character is organized alphabetically by character name. COs can organize characters however they wish(as an XO or GM, you may want to adhere to the sort orders to keep your CO happy).
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: To start the editing process either to assign a sort order or some other option, you click on the character name on the roster or in the character list and when the character information window opens, you'll note at the top of the window in the right hand corner is an "edit" tab, clicking on that brings up the character editing screen.
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: The options available under this screen are numerous, let's discuss them one by one:
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: Rank: Obviously as CO, you'll occasionally see the need to promote people. This permits you to select their rank from a drop down menu. It is very important to note that as CO, you can only promote a character above the rank of Lt. Commander if that player already has a rank higher than Lt. Commander or with permission from your FComm. When in doubt, ask your FComm, they should be able to clear up any confusion you might have on this topic.
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: Position & Custom Position: Again, typically COs only use this function, but occasionally an XO may be given permission by the CO to use this. Position is another drop-down menu, with all the standard positions organized by department. Note, the CNS is located under the medical department and the CTO is located under the security department.
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: If you have a unique swing position on your ship(ie: a lot of alt-RPGs are in this situation, but some standard ships can have these too), you'll be using the "custom position" option, which is a dialog box permitting you to type in whatever you please.
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: Character Name: This can be changed by you or by the owner of that character. Generally when adding a new character to the ship, you'll use this box to note the character name.
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: Rostered: This option is a drop down menu that permits you to choose whether or not that character displays on the public roster that is viewable by everyone(That character will still display on your administrative roster). You may also be using this tab to unroster an AWOL player for a period before deleting them completely from the roster.
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: Species: Allows you to assign a species or race to each character(Human, Vulcan, etc.). Regular players do not have the option of editing this, but COs should ensure that any changes to this are at the wish of the player of the character.
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: Sort-Order: This option permits you to select the order in which that character displays on the roster. You can assign more than one person to the same sort order. For example, if you have five Lieutenants on the ship, you can assign them all "4" and they'll appear after those at level 1, 2, and 3, but will display alphabetically within their "order". You have the numeric range of -10(first to display on roster) to 10(last to display on roster), so you have quite a bit of numbers by which to sort characters on the ship.
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: Biography: Allows you or the owner of the character to enter a biography, limited HTML tags are allowed(The ones permitted are listed beneath the dialogue box as well as a bit more information about links). Very rarely will you use this function as it's available to the owner of the character to edit themselves. The only reason I can think of is if someone asks you to code up their biography with the limited HTML tags because they aren't familiar with HTML. I think for the most part this is a "hands-off" type of section of the character edit screen.
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: Audience: Permits you to select the area or ship to which a particular character is assigned. The default of the present ship you're working from is automatically checked off(ie: if you're editing from the USS Genesis, that's the box that will be checked). Typically you'll only look at this quickly to ensure there isn't a bug in the system and to make sure you're adding or keeping that character on the right ship. As an aside note, the only areas you will see under the audience option are the areas to which you are a subscriber.

Is it worth noting that on character creation the audience box doesn't generally appear, usually only on edit I believe unless you have additional IDept, PDept access levels.

: Height, Age & Weight: Permits you to assign a height, age and weight to a particular character. Again unless it is your own character that you are editing, you will only be uploading info given to you by the author of that character. Only administrators can access these three boxes.
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: Authoring Information: Assigns which user this character belongs to. You'll need to know a person's username in order to use this.
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: Create New Character:
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: Clicking this will bring you back to the already familiar character edit screen, only it'll be completely blank. Assign all the information you have on the new character by filling in the boxes(typically Rank, Position, Character Name, Rostered, Sort Order).
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: At the bottom, you'll need to ensure you choose the proper "owner" of the character. In order to do this, you'll need to know the username of the person you wish to add, full names will not work(Unless of course that person's username and full name are the same, in which case it would work).
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: When editing and creating characters, you have the option to preview your changes/creation by clicking "preview" instead of "submit". On the preview screen, your changes appear right at the top, with the regard submit character boxes down below. In order for changes to be made permanent on your ship, you need to click "submit".
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: Lesson Three: Subscribers
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: This lesson involves the last two options under the Admin tab, Subscribers and Add Subscribers.
: In order to post on a ship, you need to be a subscriber of that ship(You can read all the notes you want as a non-subscriber).
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: Subscribers:
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: This page will permit you to see who can make a post on your ship and allow you to assign administrators to that ship. Typically this is the FComm, AFComm, CO, XO and GM of the ship. To create an administrator, you simply click on the "Admin:Create" link and follow the prompts.
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: The same is true for the "remove" option, this permits you to remove subscribers, for instance if you have a member who is no longer a member of your ship, you have the option of removing them, it's not necessary, but some COs may wish to clean up their subscriber lists on occasion.
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: It is recommended that you do keep your subscriber lists as clean as possible. Ideally subscribers are all the crew members of the ship, plus the Fleet Command staff(FComm and AFComm). I can't think of any reason a non-member of your crew might need to make a post unless they are part of the Fleet Command staff.
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: Add Subscribers:
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: To add a subscriber to your ship, you merely need to click this option from the admin tab, you're taken to a dialog box.
: You can add multiple users by separating each with a comma and as with the character creation, you need to know the user name of the person you wish to add.
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: Once all the names are typed in, you click submit and you're done.
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: Lesson Four: Log Entries, Notes & Pages
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: The last three options on the admin tab will be discussed together.
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: Create new Log Entry: Clicking this brings you to a dialogue screen where you type in what you want to say in your log and hit submit, that's then uploaded to the log entries where you and everyone else can read it. COs are the only ones permitted to use this function unless they have given permission for someone else to use it as well.
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: Create New Note: Preforms the same function as "Post Note" option does at the bottom of the MOTD.
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: Create New Page: A redundant section that mostly repeats what we've discussed earlier. Creating new characters, new notes, etc.
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: Lesson Five: The Edit Tab
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: The edit tab, as discussed in lesson one, requires a knowledge of html coding.
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: Three dialogue boxes are listed in this tab:
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: Slogan: A brief description for the group details block and group directory. ie: "The USS Columbia is a Discovery Class Vessel that has been training cadets since 2003."
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: MOTD: This is where you put all your essentials, coding the CO, XO, GM sections, the Departmental orders, etc. Uses mainly HTML coding.
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: CSS: This is for advanced users only, you need to know CSS in order to use this section.
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: If you have any questions on how to modify your MOTD, the IDept(Internet Department) is who to contact for answers and support.
: With the edit tab, you can preview any minor changes to the MOTD by clicking "preview" before you click "submit"(Which makes your changes permanent). However if you are completely changing the look of the MOTD, preview will not always work.
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: Conclusion
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: We have been through all the different options of the three tabs that appear once you've been made an administrator of a ship or board.
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: It's always a good idea to read over all your changes before clicking submit. This will help eliminate most of those dastardly typos which could wreak havoc on your poor MOTD!
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: Most of all, don't be discouraged if you make mistakes. We may play aliens in this club, but all of us are human and mistakes are part of that. There is nothing wrong with spotting a mistake after the fact. The Admin tabs are forgiving, you can just pop right back into the tab you need and correct that mistake easily enough. Don't be afraid to ask for help either.
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: Last and most importantly, congratulations and good luck with your new post. No doubt you've worked very hard for it and you deserve it! If you have any questions of the contents about this course, please contact the commandant(&#97;&#99;&#97;&#100;&#64;&#115;&#116;&#97;&#114;&#45;&#102;&#108;&#101;&#101;&#116;&#46;&#99;&#111;&#109;).
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: Thanks for reading my course!
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: And thank you to the following people who have graciously assisted me in producing that I hope was a very productive and relevant course for you:
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: -Robin Bird
: -Jen Herr
: -Terry Calvin
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: And a thank you to the previous author and contributors to the course for writing a comprehensive look at our old system's administrative menu, this course is vastly different from the old course of course, but I did use the previous course as a beginning template when I first started the re-write of this one.

This looks fab, great work ladies!!! -- Can't wait to see it in the library!

- Sam