STF

Office of the President: Resignation

Posted July 11, 2019, 1:45 p.m. by Harry Shires

Posted by Admiral Katherine Dedul (Academy Commandant) in Office of the President: Resignation

Posted by Commodore Cale Reilly (STF Surgeon General) in Office of the President: Resignation

Posted by Rear Admiral Krystelle McLean (FComm, Infinite Fleet / CMM) in Office of the President: Resignation
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
During the past three months real life has unfortunately taken one of those turns where unfortunate events, family and responsibility has taken its toll on me. I will explain more about those later so that people understand why I am stepping down without any confusion but the circumstances have left me without the time, energy, patience and pure desire needed to deal with the often toxic culture that elements of our senior membership in STF seem to thrive in.

STF is a science fiction writing site focusing on Star Trek. It is a Hobby that is supposed to be a fun way to spend our leisure time outside the realm of work and life. As it stands now, STF is a place where far from being a playground for fans of Star Trek and writing, it is a stomping ground for a vocal, prominent few. I have already had to, in Command and in an Email, ask senior members to treat each other with respect and remind them we are here to make STF a better place.

Over the past few days we have seen ‘members’ without any active characters in the club criticizing the leadership for inactivity when they themselves do not have active characters and only contribute through negative criticism. We have seen members posting in Command frequently, while being multiple days AWOL on their own ships. We have seen this discussion in Command ridiculed and made a mockery of in Discords main chat for all members, including any new member looking to join the club, to see. Considering this behaviour you have to ask yourself, what is the reason these people are here? It is clearly not to enjoy Star Trek with other fans of the franchise, while creating characters and stories to enjoy with their ‘friends’. Why is it so hard to understand what is making it hard to retain members?

We have questions asked in main chat as to why nobody under the rank of Fleet Captain is posting in Command to the discussion and that all members should feel free to contribute, yet we have comments from Cale that the first time she posted in Command she was told to ‘shut up and come back when she knew what she was talking about’. This has clearly not changed when have a member like Timothy Frogue being roasted and disrespected by the Senior Membership for offering his suggestions and thoughts, that behaviour again spilling into main chat with snide and snarky comments from people that should know better and set an example for everybody in this club. Why would anybody want to be a part of this? They are not the only examples and words are powerful.

We wonder why ‘nobody’ under the rank of Fleet Captain contributes in Command? STF has cultivated a culture where the elite few of a Senior membership focus their energy on antagonism and criticism of others ideas and efforts to contribute, often through manipulative and plain sneaky behaviour (passing around conversations between other members, anyone? Without the knowledge of all participants?). The majority of the club simply avoids this, writes Star Trek with their friends, and has learned not to bother trying to contribute. This club has the potential to be an enjoyable and extremely fun place to be. Until the behaviour and attitudes of much of the visible senior membership changes, the toxic environment they have created will remain.

As to the reasons I am stepping down, it is surprisingly not because of the above. Let’s be clear. I ran for President as I genuinely wanted to contribute to this club and address an issue that I see being a big one, our out of date resources that we and new members use to support our RP. That was what I aimed to do, and along the way we also managed to create something that ALL members of the club could come together in, a newsletter with which we could directly reach out to the members that do not contribute, that keep to themselves and do not read News or Command. To increase the feeling of Community in this Club. Unfortunately, even that met with resistance.

The real life reasons I mentioned at the start I am going to explain, although I do not need to. I do this because I am going to head off the rumors I am stepping down due to criticism. Anybody taking on a role of leadership has to be prepared for criticism and the last few days are nothing compared to life and what I do for a living. This is a fantasy website where we pretend to be fantasy Starship Captains and characters in our free time, while finding a balance with our families and friends.

During the election campaign I had two very close friends pass away. One from cancer, and one from complications from cystic fibrosis. Both had young families. During that time period my mother’s Alzheimer’s accelerated to the point she no longer knows who I or my brother or sisters are, nor her grandchildren and my father is showing the same signs along with developing heart issues once again among his other health problems. I find my time and attention elsewhere, and with the very real issue of dropping membership numbers, I acknowledge I am not the right person to lead the club and attempt to deal with these issues.

We owe it to ourselves to enjoy our time here, not waste it with toxic behaviours. Life is short, and hard enough.

I have been part of this Club for three years. I am proud to have contributed in a number of areas and I appreciate the real, actual friends I have made and lost here. By stepping down, I intend to return to being a nobody, to write science fiction stories in Star Trek and create amazing characters and have a great time with the people I consider friends.

James, Brother, I wish you the best of luck and advice, and you have my full support and friendship.

Cheers
Dave Shotton

Dave,

First let me start by saying thank you. You have devoted a lot of time and energy to this club, and your hard work and dedication in and out of the RP arena are greatly appreciated.

This is supposed to be a place where people come to enjoy themselves. To have fun and create. To be supported and encouraged in that endeavor. Your drive to get is back to that place was not wasted, and I will continue to push to get the club to that point.

I hereby accept your resignation, and thank you again for your time.

James Sinclair

Thank you, Dave for your service as President. You did indeed succeed with spearheading the newsletter and new Academy initiative along and we appreciate your drive and enthusiasm. I am terribly sorry to hear about your parents and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time.

Krys

Dave, I’m sorry real life has been so difficult for you recently and I really hope things start to improve really soon. Thank you for your time and your effort in leading the club and in everything else you do. You said in your post you are to return to being a nobody, I don’t think that’s either fair or true. You certainly aren’t that, you are a talented writer and a welcome player on every ship you are on and any you choose to join in the future and I think that it’s important that be said publicly.

Cale

Dave,

I’ll echo the above sentiments. I do hope your RL improves soon and yes, thank you for your effort that you put into this club. Being President in this club is difficult (no matter what the issue of the day is) and to try and continue to push forward with all of that going on in background would not likely end well for anyone involved so I have nothing but respect for your decision.

-Kat

Best of luck, Dave.

Harry


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