For those who might not be aware, and for those that might need a reminder, here are some important things we need all Gamemasters (regardless of rank/current status) to know:

Archive submissions:

Submissions/updates for new and current sims are done through the new Amanda Noon Archive. Please see this post for detailed info/instructions: https://www.star-fleet.com/core/command/gmd/posts/136271/

Sim End Note: we need more than a couple lines describing your sim. Keep in mind that people who were not a part of that sim are going to read these, perhaps much later down the road. You wouldn’t give your crew a sim update that only had a couple lines, so please don’t do so to the Archive. Give us details! It makes a difference.

Archive submissions are not optional, and every GM is required to fill them out. We’d really appreciate it if we were all able to make a concerted effort to keep on top of these as we continue our work on filling all the gaps in the archive where they exist. Thank you in advance.

In a situation where GMs are unable to submit info, the responsibility falls to the ship’s CO. They can delegate that to their XO as needed, and the FComm is also welcome and encouraged to ensure this is done. In the instance of a GMT not finishing and not available to submit, the GMM is then responsible for ensuring this is done.

Older/Missing Entries:

Are you a GM who has been around for awhile? Do you perhaps have sim info you can contribute? Submit the info to the new Archive for sim that are not already displaying. If you don’t know specific dates, that’s okay, we’ll do our best to investigate. But the more you know, the better. Contact us and we will help with this process as we can.

Also, we ask that every GM (active and inactive) take a look through their GM record and ensure that the sims you have on record are correct? If a sim was started, but not completed, we need to know when you last posted in it, in order to properly evaluate GM rank (see #3 below). While we can’t update the old Archive, adding information where we can to the new Archive helps us form a better picture of the sims that have happened on any given ship.

Vacancies:

We do our best to keep the list of vacancies up to date. If you take on a new ship, please announce it in the GMD so we can remove that vacancy ASAP.

As a reminder, OGRE states explicitly that all GM appointments must be approved by the FComm prior to mission start. If you and the CO are chatting about you coming on board, include the FComm so that everyone is in the loop and there are no unpleasant surprises. The FComm has the right to veto a GM appointment, so be courteous and keep them informed.

IMPORTANT: Further to this, the GMD Mandates ask all GMs to check with us if they are going to be taking on MORE THAN TWO ships. Beyond two ships, you will need additional GMD approval for the following reasons:

-we want an even a spread of GMs across the club so no one GM is carrying us. We’ve been in tricky situations where a GM will take on several ships. If they suddenly step down or go AWOL, we are, well, screwed. We want to make sure that the club is never left in a position where we have too many vacancies we can’t fill, and this is one way to lessen the risk.

-we always want to have a consistently active GMT program.The goal is to regularly have 2-4 GMTs on the go. However, we have on multiple occasions been stuck on finding a suitable placement because vacancies were scooped up so quickly we never had a chance to arrange anything. Some ships get desperate, especially if they have been without a GM for awhile. This is understandable. All we ask is that you help us encourage the next generation of GMs by giving them a chance to do their training sim.

Disclaimer: Though X-Fleet does not count towards GM rank/sim count and we don’t archive those sims, we MAY take into consideration X-Fleet GMing if a licensed GM is requesting to GM more than two ships elsewhere in the club. X-Fleet may not affect mainfleet ships in other ways, but they potentially create situations where licensed GMs are either unavailable for mainfleet ships, or are taking on too much.

Your Rank:

Please can you let us know if your rank is incorrect (which is based on the records of sims completed and the positive reviews from the ships you have served on ← positive reviews do count. Sims that were incomplete due to AWOL/bad performance will not be counted towards your sim count/cumulative GMing time.).

GMD MOTD:

We want to make sure the MOTD is a solid resource and useful to all. If you have suggestions on how we can make it more user friendly, please comment here, or send us an email.

Encouraging GMing:

The best advice and encouragement to GM comes from… GMs themselves. If in your simming you come across a player who is not a GM and you think ‘wow, they’d be great’, email us! We’ll approach them about the GMT program. You can also encourage them to take the GM exam because that is their first stop anyway. [Make sure this is the NEW exam- old exams will no longer be accepted. Link is on the GMD MOTD]

Also, GMT recommendations are predominantly from GMs. Only if the player does not serve with enough qualified GMs will we accept CO and XO recommendations. These submissions are vital and if you think they would make a GM, please make it a priority to submit a recommendation to the archive. It only takes a couple of minutes. Remember, people took the time to recommend you so you could go on to be a GM, so kindly return the favour. If you are not sure how to fill the recommendations out, or the time requirements around them, just ask.

Special Circumstances Missions:

If you are a GM about to embark on a special circumstance mission as per OGRE, you MUST have prior written approval by the GMD. This includes licensed GMs who are the CO and they are going to GM their own ship. Short interludes one month and under are fine as they won’t count for the Archive, but anything else must be approved and documented. No exceptions!

And finally… please don’t forget we are here for you :) Anything you need, yell. Nothing is too small.

~Linds, GMDir