STF IRC Day 2015

Revision History
Revision 1 April 03, 2015

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Table of Contents

STF IRC Day 2015
STF's Fleet within Star Trek Online
STF's New Platform - Genesis
Marketing of STF
The work of the Gamemaster Department (GMDept)
The work of the Engineering Department (EDept)

STF IRC Day 2015

In March 2015, club members got together to discuss a variety of topics in the first ever STF IRC Day. The topics discussed were:

STF's Fleet within Star Trek Online

16:41 FAdmDipper: Firstly, thanks for coming along. This is the first time the club has tried to do some form of 'IRC Day'. Rather than being over ambitious, I have just got a few speakers to talk about various topics. It also made sense for it to be on the same day as the Awards.

16:42 ScubaSteven has joined

16:42 FAdmDipper: The idea is for the sessions to be informal - it's an opportunity for those speaking to impart their knowledge, and for you to ask questions.

16:42 FAdmDipper: Just a quick reminder of the topics.

16:42 Trellis is now known as CaptTrellis

16:42 JoeP is now known as CommodoreZebra

16:43 FAdmDipper: First we have Matt K introducing STF's STO fleet and discussing how it's changed since its creation, how people can get involved and what we can do in the fleet.

16:43 CdreCockRoach is now known as CommodoreRoach

16:43 CaptTasmanianDevil is now known as FtCaptTaz

16:43 FleetCaptain-Julia: Quick suggestion:

16:43 FAdmDipper: He will be followed by me, where I hope to expand on what the next version of the WeBB is going to look like, the concepts behind it, and where we are in terms of progress.

16:43 FleetCaptain-Julia: Could we use the titles with our real first names, not the animal nicks?

16:43 Luke21blue|Mobile has joined

16:44 FleetCaptain-Julia: since there are new folks here, and it's hard to pin nicks to player's names at first...#

16:44 FtCaptTaz is now known as Guest866

16:44 CommodoreRoach is now known as CommodoreArcher

16:44 CommodoreZebra: FleetCaptain-Julia: No.

16:45 FCaptMatthew is now known as FCaptSalmon

16:45 CommodoreArcher is now known as CommodoreRoach

16:45 CommodoreZebra: :P

16:45 FAdmDipper: People can choose what they want as their names; let's try to remain nice.

16:45 FCaptSalmon: :)

16:45 FleetCaptain-Julia: it was just a suggestion!

16:45 FCaptSalmon: okay, time for me to start guys, grettings!

16:45 FAdmDipper: Wait Matt

16:46 CaptTrellis is now known as CaptElizabeth

16:46 FAdmDipper: I haven't quite finished

16:46 LtCmdrSilkeF is now known as LtCmdrSilke

16:46 FCaptSalmon: oh, okay Jack :)

16:46 FAdmDipper: After I've done my bit on Genesis, I'll hand over to Amber (Guest866... I think) for a Marketing update.

16:47 Guest866: ummm

16:47 Guest866: dude

16:47 Guest866 is now known as FtCaptTaz

16:47 FAdmDipper: Before Linds talks about how to become a GM, and what it takes to run a great sim and navigate tricky scenarios.

16:48 FAdmDipper: And finally Rob (CommodoreRoach) will talk about the EDept, and how you can get involved.

16:48 FtCaptTaz is now known as Guest17955

16:49 CommodoreRoach: waves

16:49 Guest17955: grrr

16:49 FAdmDipper: If I can ask people to keep 'chatter' to the main room (#star-fleet), and discussion on the topics, questions, etc, in here :-)

16:49 FAdmDipper: On that note, I'll hand over to Matt

16:49 Guest17955 is now known as FltCaptTaz

16:49 FCaptSalmon: Thank you, Mr. President :)

16:50 FCaptSalmon: okay, so I'm here to talk about the fleet that we have on STO, Star Trek Online, and how it's been faring.

16:50 FltCaptTaz is now known as FtCaptTaz

16:51 FtCaptTaz: finally

16:53 FCaptSalmon: Now, I haven't always been around for the fleet. It was started long before I even started on the game, but as far as I've known, the fleet's primary purpose was like that of the chat: a place for STF folks to hang out and play STO.

16:54 FCaptSalmon: I know that Cerberus was the one who started it. It is my intent to continue making it a place that is attached to STF so anyone in this club has a place in the game to come hang out with people they know.

16:57 FCaptSalmon: When I first started the game though, I wasn't quite sure how to join the STO fleet, since we didn't really make it public knowledge. It was Kevin who helped me to get into the fleet, where I have been leading the charge ever since.

16:59 FCaptSalmon: Now, for as long as I've been a part of it, the fleet hasn't had much activity. I know how hard it can be to balance having time to play games, be posting on STF and having a life in general. Still, it is my pleasure to continue keeping the fleet going.

17:01 FCaptSalmon: Before I continue here, I'd like to know how many people have played other games in which there was a guild in it?

17:02 CommodoreRoach: not really for me

17:02 CommodoreRoach: **none

17:02 FleetCaptain-Julia: a guild?

17:03 CommodoreRoach: a group of players in a game julia

17:03 CommodoreRoach: with similar interests

17:03 CaptElizabeth: UPOF has guilds

17:03 CaptElizabeth: *UFOP

17:03 CaptElizabeth: 118

17:03 FleetCaptain-Julia: oh, as it is in GuildWars?

17:03 CmdreWiseOwl has joined

17:03 CommodoreRoach: i suppose so yes

17:03 CaptainMarmot: Biggest example.... world of warcraft

17:03 FCaptSalmon: Guilds are in most MMMOs what a fleet is to Star Trek Online.

17:04 FleetCaptain-Julia: yeah, I've been playing GW since it first came out

17:04 Cerberus|Mobile: has played games with guilds in, so poor Matthew can continue

17:04 Cdre_Steve: raises his hand

17:04 FCaptSalmon: yes, Steve?

17:04 CaptElizabeth: I don't have enough RAM to do STO.

17:04 Cdre_Steve: oh I was raising my hand that I play games with guilds

17:04 FCaptSalmon: ah. okay.

17:06 FCaptSalmon: So, when I first started in the STO fleet, there really wasn't much to the system. We had no place to hang out, so if we wanted to do anything, we had to find out where to meet each other in the game. Now though, the game has many more places for us to go and figure out what we'd like to do in it.

17:09 FCaptSalmon: I know that there are some who only wish to play the game in general for the story. the story is alright in my opinion, but as gamer, the story can only take me so far.

17:10 FleetCaptain-Julia: you mean to say there's a guild system in there like in GW and that all STF players of STO are in it?

17:10 FCaptSalmon: well, not all of STF's players. I know a few in here who were active in the past on the game.

17:11 CommodoreRoach: i dont think its exactly like GW julia

17:11 CommodoreRoach: but its similar i think

17:11 FleetCaptain-Julia: cool. and is it paid for with monthly fees like WoW or one-off payment like GW?

17:11 Cdre_Steve: it is very similar

17:11 Cdre_Steve: to GW setup that is, I play both

17:11 FCaptSalmon: there's no fees.

17:11 CommodoreRoach: ah

17:11 CaptainMarmot: Free to play

17:12 FleetCaptain-Julia: no fees? how do they pay for the development then?

17:12 CommodoreRoach: its free to play less you want to pay for premium features ala ships and items etc

17:12 CommodoreRoach: thats how

17:12 FCaptSalmon: microtransactions ;)

17:12 CaptainMarmot: Pay to win

17:12 CaptainMarmot: Lol

17:12 FleetCaptain-Julia: ah, like in-app purchases

17:12 CommodoreRoach: yeah

17:12 CaptainMarmot: Yup

17:12 FCaptSalmon: it's nto Pay to win if you know what you're doing ;)

17:12 FleetCaptain-Julia: well well, I'll try it then. Sounds good! I hate regular payments. Reason why I don't play WoW

17:13 CaptainMarmot: Lol I know, just wanted to be devil's advocate there

17:13 FCaptSalmon: the point I want to make though is that I'd like for people to have fun playing with people who they know from the club.

17:14 FleetCaptain-Julia: That sounds great Matt. Such a game is much more fun if you have experienced players to show you around :)

17:14 FCaptSalmon: I'm as experienced now as ever :)

17:15 FCaptSalmon: the game has many missions that we can help each other out on, but that's for another time.

17:15 FCaptSalmon: Mr. Prez, how's my time here?

17:16 FAdmDipper: You've got 15 minutes... and I doubt I'll need the hour (depends on how tough my audience is ;-))

17:17 CommodoreZebra: ponders being tough just because the possibility has been raised

17:17 FCaptSalmon: Okay, I'm not sure what else to talk about, so you guys can ask me what you want about the fleet or the game.

17:17 FCaptSalmon: I'll be back in a moment. I need to make myself some breakfast.

17:17 CommodoreRoach: matt is there ever going to be efforts to try to schedule fleet activities?

17:18 CommodoreRoach: the small handful of times we did it it was fun but there never seems efforts to schedule them

17:19 Cdre_Steve: has there been any thought to making a fleet teamspeak channel? I know in other groups I am in it is easier to communicate in game with these, especially during combat

17:19 CommodoreRoach: i think its built into the game aint it?

17:19 CommodoreRoach: a voice chat

17:19 CmdreWiseOwl: What time are the awards at?

17:19 Cdre_Steve: the built in one has never worked well for me and others

17:19 CommodoreRoach: ah

17:20 Cdre_Steve: plus I think it is only accessible to gold/paying members or something like that

17:20 CommodoreRoach: oh i see

17:20 FCaptSalmon: well Rob, the problem is that it's hard to schedule stuff to do in the game is we don't have the time to do them ;)

17:21 CaptainMarmot: That's correct Steve

17:21 FleetCaptain-Julia: team speak is much better for gaming

17:21 CommodoreRoach: you could try posting idea times and see how bites but ok

17:21 FCaptSalmon: Krys, the awards are at 12:00 pm PST/3 pm EST.

17:21 CommodoreZebra: Yeah, sometimes people play on the TrekRadio Teamspeak. Or they were. I haven't been on there in months

17:22 FleetCaptain-Julia: a good place to announce them ahead of time and give some info about STO would be Ten Forward, don't you think?

17:22 CommodoreRoach: yeah

17:22 FCaptSalmon: I have used Ten Forward in the past, but chatter always seems to die there :)

17:23 FleetCaptain-Julia: I'd give it a corner on the MOTD...

17:23 FleetCaptain-Julia: just a thought

17:23 CommodoreRoach: nods

17:23 FtCaptTaz: we could also announce it on twitter and FB

17:23 CommodoreRoach: that too

17:23 FtCaptTaz: Community outreach, thats me :D

17:23 FCaptSalmon: it's my goal to work with Jack to give the fleet a bit more focus beyond having it in Ten Forward.

17:24 FCaptSalmon: Since the Bates/Dedul term, I've been wanting to have a page added that's specifcally for the fleet.

17:25 CommodoreRoach: not sure whats wrong with ten forward but ok

17:25 FCaptSalmon: Not everyone knows about Ten Forward.

17:25 Cdre_Steve is now known as CommodoreGorilla

17:25 CommodoreRoach: well i wont debate that here anyhow

17:25 FleetCaptain-Julia: yes, my perception was that anything that is not STF, should be in TenForward - related interests and stuff to talk about

17:26 CommodoreRoach: a simple FB/tiwtter post would help too as taz said

17:26 CommodoreRoach: and a front page notice for news

17:26 FCaptSalmon: I will attempt to use it again and start a follow up to what we talked about here with setting up ideas for the fleet to do based on what I know that's in game right now.

17:26 CommodoreGorilla: or put upcomming events in the IRC topic

17:26 CmdreWiseOwl: so one oclock my time, thx

17:27 CommodoreRoach: that too

17:27 CmdreWiseOwl: I am about:)

17:27 FCaptSalmon: I will need help getting things to the news bar. I do not have that kind of access since I'm not in the cabinet.

17:28 CommodoreRoach: talk to marketing?

17:28 FtCaptTaz: Absolutely

17:28 FtCaptTaz: points to self

17:28 FCaptSalmon: nods at the Taz.

17:29 CommodoreZebra: FCaptSalmon: You mean news bar in IRC?

17:29 CommodoreZebra: Just ask any op

17:29 FCaptSalmon: I know not everyone will think STO is for them. I do wish that people give it a try.

17:29 FleetCaptain-Julia: well I will, tomorrow :)

17:29 FCaptSalmon: and no. I mean the one that FComms, Qdirs and others post to the side bar on STF.

17:30 CommodoreZebra: Oh that.

17:30 FtCaptTaz: Ten Forward really is the best place for that

17:30 CommodoreZebra: Yeah then you have to ask a cabineteer

17:31 FtCaptTaz: Adding a whole other page link at this point when Ten Forward is so rarely used as it is seems giving us two boards that don't get much use. The whole purpose of Ten Forward is this stuff

17:31 FCaptSalmon: As I said though, we have to make sure that what I post in Ten Forward reaches out beyond just us.

17:31 FtCaptTaz: But that is my opinion.

17:31 FtCaptTaz: Thats why you need to coordinate with me

17:31 FtCaptTaz: I didnt even know you wanted to do something like this

17:31 FCaptSalmon: I think my time is up, so I'lll hand things off to the Coyote.

17:31 FtCaptTaz: Just send me an email. we will get it running

17:32 FCaptSalmon: I will. I'll be in the regular chat if people wish to talk to me more about the game.

STF's New Platform - Genesis

17:33 FAdmDipper: So, on to the next topic... Genesis

17:33 FAdmDipper: For those of you who don't know, Genesis is the project to replace the current website software we are using (WeBBspace).

17:34 FleetCaptain-Julia: I'm relieved to hear it - as CO of the Genesis ;-)

17:34 CommodoreRoach: lol

17:34 FAdmDipper: The name originated from a bit of a discussion we had in IRC, and I quite liked it because The Wrath of Khan is my favourite ST movie.

17:35 Luke21blue|Mobile is now known as CaptElk

17:35 FAdmDipper: For those of you who haven't seen it, you're now all banned

17:36 CaptElk is now known as Guest13860

17:36 FAdmDipper: During the film, Project Genesis is a terraforming 'torpedo' (for lack of a better word), that can turn a dead moon into a living, breathing planet.

17:36 FAdmDipper: Anyway, enough about that.

17:36 VFAdmPony has joined

17:36 FAdmDipper: First, a little bit of background (because it's been a while since we've had a history lesson). Prior to WeBBspace, we used to use a bunch of perl scripts for the site (named effWeBB). This started to get become rather unstable (like the entire username and password file randomly disappearing), and so it was decided that a framework would be used for a future site. Back in 2007 (I think), we switched over to WeBBspace, which is based on

17:36 FAdmDipper: Drupal.

17:37 FCaptDolphin: December 2007

17:38 FCaptDolphin: shudders at the memory of that month

17:38 FAdmDipper: The issue with Drupal is that it's not really a framework, more of a content management system. It also had rather quick development cycle (a major version came out each year). This becomes an issue because you have to wait for modules to be upgraded before you can upgrade your site - and we rely on a large amount, because of the bespoke nature of the site.

17:38 VAdmBumblebee has joined

17:38 FAdmDipper: With us being several versions of Drupal behind, the decision was made to move away from Drupal and go for a more flexible framework. In the end, we have gone with Symfony which, actually, is a very good bit of software.

17:39 FAdmDipper: By going with a true framework, it provides us with the flexibility to tailor the software to what we want it to do. This was my main bug-bear with Drupal - it forced us to adapt our processes around something that was (and still is) quite clunky.

17:39 FAdmDipper: The obvious down side is that it has taken long to develop; but we are slowly getting there, and there are now two of us working on it (which is a relief!)

17:40 CommodoreRoach: yay!

17:40 FAdmDipper: (That's also a shameless plug for volunteers... more on that later)

17:40 FleetCaptain-Julia: who's the other one?

17:40 FAdmDipper: Ben Dobson

17:40 FAdmDipper: So, a bit of an introduction as to what my principles have been when programming the new software.

17:41 FAdmDipper: Firstly, I have built it with usability as the main focus. It needs to be simple, easy and intuitive to us.

17:41 FAdmDipper: *use

17:41 FAdmDipper: (I think we all agree Drupal isn't)

17:42 CommodoreRoach: nods

17:42 FAdmDipper: Secondly, I want it to automate as much of our rather cumbersome processes as possible. For example, the Personnel Department have to copy and paste information from application forms to create a users first character on a ship, and then end out welcome emails. In Genesis, it will create a character automatically based on the application.

17:42 CommodoreGorilla: cheers

17:42 FAdmDipper: To try to shoe-horn a quote from The Wrath of Khan in: In Drupal, applications were processed in six days. Now, watch out! Here comes Genesis! We'll do it for you in six minutes!

17:42 FAdmDipper: ducks the tomatoes

17:43 CommodoreRoach: chuckles

17:43 CommodoreBeaver has joined

17:43 Guest13860 is now known as CaptElk

17:44 CaptElk has left IRC (Remote host closed the connection)

17:44 FAdmDipper: Thirdly, I've designed it with speed in mind. At the moment, loading a page on Drupal will cause the database to be queried between 60-100 times (if not more)

17:44 FAdmDipper: That's been cut down to about 10 in Genesis

17:44 FleetCaptain-Julia: wow

17:44 CommodoreGorilla: impressive

17:45 CommodoreRoach: so means faster load times

17:45 FAdmDipper: And the final principle is security - but that's boring for users ;-)

17:45 CommodoreRoach: right?

17:45 CaptainMarmot: Nice! Talk about a performance improvement.

17:45 CommodoreRoach: hows genisis do on mobile devices?

17:45 CaptElizabeth: I'd like to see us beable to use HTML/CSS code to italicize or bold parts of posts, for emphasis.

17:45 FAdmDipper: I imagine page loads will be broadly the same as you see for notes, but when you query back into the past, it should be quicker.

17:45 CaptElizabeth: *be able

17:46 Luke21blue|Mobile has joined

17:46 FleetCaptain-Julia: Liz: SelfHTML ;)

17:46 FAdmDipper: In terms of mobile devices, that'll be my focus after the initial release

17:46 CaptElizabeth: ??

17:46 CommodoreRoach: ah ok jack

17:46 FAdmDipper: But the framework is flexible enough to easily implement different styles for different devices

17:47 FAdmDipper: As for formatting posts, CaptElizabeth, I have included something called MarkDown, which will allow people to add sensible styling to posts.

17:47 CommodoreGorilla: fancy

17:48 CaptElizabeth: Cool. The current one doesn't work for me, for some reason

17:48 FAdmDipper: So, on to the exciting stuff...

17:48 CommodoreZebra: CaptElizabeth: It's turned off everywhere on the current site. I don't remember exactly why that is, but we can sum it up to "Drupal sucks"

17:49 CaptElizabeth: Ah...

17:49 FCaptSalmon: giggles.

17:49 FAdmDipper: Actually, before I move on, I just want to touch on that point

17:50 FAdmDipper: As we are planning to move on to a new system, there won't be any development of Drupal, besides bug fixes.

17:50 FAdmDipper: Ok... exciting stuff time

17:50 CommodoreGorilla: show and tell???

17:51 FAdmDipper: Oh yes

17:51 FCaptDolphin: Jack, in terms of MOTDs, and the like... what kind of learning curve are we looking at?

17:51 FAdmDipper: I would do the front page first, but I seem to have messed it up

17:52 FAdmDipper: I'm trying to make things easier; part of that is changing the way MOTDs work

17:52 FAdmDipper: I'm not sure if that's going to be for the first release or not

17:52 FAdmDipper: But the concept is that there will be a library of MOTD styles; anyone can contribute to this library, which is vetted and approved by the IDept

17:53 FAdmDipper: A ship's CO can then pick a style, and add/remove 'boxes' as they need to

17:53 FleetCaptain-Julia: but we can keep the current ones, right?

17:53 CommodoreGorilla: interesting

17:53 Ens__BenPark has joined

17:53 Ens__BenPark: I think I did it

17:54 FleetCaptain-Julia: yes you did ;)

17:54 FAdmDipper: I haven't worked out how we are going to move the current site to the new one. I hope to keep MOTDs as they are, and provide support in moving them across.

17:54 FCaptDolphin: I recall MOTD transfer being an issue during the last move

17:54 FAdmDipper: nods

17:54 FleetCaptain-Julia is now known as julia-dinner

17:54 FCaptDolphin: one other question, Jack

17:55 FCaptDolphin: right now, we have a lot of static pages on star-fleet.com - both in the library and elsewhere

17:55 FAdmDipper: I expect that will move the MOTDs a few weeks before the whole site, to make sure they're working.

17:55 Ens__BenPark: IRC is so confusing. I am not a tech savvy guy here

17:55 FCaptDolphin: I take it that's not going to change?

17:55 FAdmDipper: Not straight away; but later down the line, yes.

17:56 CommodoreRoach: awesome

17:56 CommodoreRoach: cant wait

17:56 FAdmDipper: In terms of training, there is a bit of work that needs to be done in updating the players' handbook, and providing training material for members. I want to get that released before we switch over. (Again, shameless plug for volunteers).

17:56 FAdmDipper: Talking of MOTDs...

17:57 FAdmDipper: http://stf.jackdipper.com/motd.png

17:57 FAdmDipper: This is what the 'Asimov' themed MOTD will look in Genesis

17:57 CommodoreRoach: ooooh

17:57 FCaptDolphin has set topic: Current topic: Genesis - STF's future posting system. Remember, please keep off-topic comments in the main #star-fleet channel

17:57 FAdmDipper: (I'm happy for ooohs, and ahhhs to be in here)

17:58 CommodoreGorilla: oooh

17:58 CommodoreGorilla: ahhh

17:58 FAdmDipper: And any comments about the conversation too

17:58 CommodoreRoach: squeee!

17:58 Ens__BenPark: oooh ahhh

17:58 FCaptSalmon: oooh :)

17:58 CaptElizabeth: ooooh

17:58 FAdmDipper: Hahaha.

17:58 FAdmDipper: As you see, the menu has moved from the left to the top, and is now a drop down.

17:58 VFAdmPony: That looks sharp

17:58 CommodoreRoach: very much so!

17:58 CommodoreGorilla: isn't it technically against regs for the CO and XO to be the same person? :-P

17:58 CommodoreRoach: so sexy

17:59 CaptElizabeth: I am having trouble getting the "Read Notes, Etc" box into the SB 202 MOTD

17:59 FAdmDipper: The 'social' bit at the right allows people to like, etc, on Facebook

17:59 FCaptSalmon: there's a question I have. Have you planned on a beta test of this at all?

17:59 FAdmDipper: There will be a beta - and I will come on to that in a bit

17:59 FCaptSalmon: okay :)

17:59 FtCaptTaz: I have volunteered to QA the site when Jack is ready for that step

17:59 FAdmDipper: Scrolling down: http://stf.jackdipper.com/roster.png

18:00 FtCaptTaz: Since that is my real world job, I hope to help out doing it here

18:00 CommodoreGorilla: wait, wait, wait, Jack's crewing his entire ship by himself???

18:00 CommodoreRoach: he's a one man beast!

18:00 Ens__BenPark: Is that legal?

18:00 FAdmDipper: No... I have John Doe as the GM :P

18:01 VFAdmPony: Man, that would be a crazy X-Fleet ship

18:01 VAdmBumblebee: It's amazing he can fit that swelled head through doors..... lol

18:01 FAdmDipper: It was easier than creating 10 different accounts

18:01 CommodoreZebra: has a question related to testing

18:01 FAdmDipper: I'll come on to testing in a bit

18:01 FAdmDipper: The roster gives me a chance to talk about characters, and how they will be handled (which is different to how we do it now).

18:02 CommodoreZebra: Or rather schedule, but I'll let you continue since you may anticipate it

18:02 FAdmDipper: In Genesis, a member is responsible for their own characters.

18:02 FAdmDipper: ie, the character is assigned to them, rather than a ship

18:02 FAdmDipper: So, COs can't delete characters

18:03 FCaptDolphin is now known as Dolphin|lunch

18:03 CommodoreGorilla: could a CO reassign a character off of the ship?

18:03 FAdmDipper: Instead, COs will be able to create positions on their ship

18:03 FAdmDipper: CommodoreGorilla: Yes, I'll explain

18:03 CommodoreGorilla: sorry a bit anxious to hear how this works haha

18:03 FAdmDipper: So, for example, I would create the position of CMO on the Asimov

18:03 FCaptSalmon: so am I now :)

18:03 FAdmDipper: Let's say Joe Fahey is going to be my CMO

18:04 FAdmDipper: He'll create a character, with all of his details (or he might have one already created).

18:04 FAdmDipper: As the CO, I would then 'assign' Joe's character into that position.

18:06 FAdmDipper: This allows us to start tracking a character's assignments as well

18:06 FAdmDipper: And, it also means that I can have vacant positions on my ship

18:06 ScubaSteven has left IRC (Ping timeout: 250 seconds)

18:06 CommodoreGorilla: fancy

18:06 FAdmDipper: Which can then feed into an automated list of club vacancies

18:07 FtCaptTaz: :D

18:07 Ens__BenPark: oooh fancy

18:07 VFAdmPony: very nice

18:07 Zancrow: That is actually really cool.

18:07 CommodoreRoach: indeed

18:07 FAdmDipper: It also means that we can have members create characters and highlight them as wanting a position

18:08 FAdmDipper: So, we also get an automated list of people who want certain positions

18:08 CommodoreRoach: oh that is sweet!

18:08 FCaptSalmon: okay, that is a neat feature! The future of the club!

18:08 Ens__BenPark: tottally tubular

18:08 Zancrow: 10/10 for genesis so far.

18:09 CaptElizabeth: What timeline are we looking at, for the switchover, etc.?

18:09 FAdmDipper: I'll come on to that in a bit

18:09 FCaptSalmon: so, I assume this will mean the end of keeping characters in fleet 0.

18:09 CaptElizabeth: Okies

18:09 FAdmDipper: Talking of character bios: http://stf.jackdipper.com/bio.png

18:09 FAdmDipper: Yes, it will

18:10 FAdmDipper: Bios now include pictures, and will allow you to format the text

18:10 CommodoreRoach: oh nice

18:10 CommodoreGorilla: fancy

18:10 Zancrow: cool

18:10 Ens__BenPark: stand up ovation

18:10 CommodoreBeaver: I like the position tracking feature. that's very helpful

18:11 FAdmDipper: Are there any questions on bios/characters?

18:11 CommodoreRoach: just in awwww here

18:11 FAdmDipper: Ok... posts!

18:11 FAdmDipper: Firstly the dreaded post list

18:11 FAdmDipper: http://stf.jackdipper.com/list.png

18:12 FAdmDipper: So, here we have the post at the top, a few buttons, and the list of posts below

18:12 FAdmDipper: Firstly, the post at the top

18:12 FAdmDipper: You'll notice the title is broken down into 3 things

18:12 FAdmDipper: Ship - Location - Topic

18:13 FAdmDipper: Location is selected from a defined list of locations set by the ship's admin

18:13 FAdmDipper: (For those of you who remember effWeBB, similar to that)

18:13 FAdmDipper: The Topic is free text

18:13 CommodoreRoach: ahh nice

18:13 Luke21blue|Mobile is now known as CaptElk

18:13 CommodoreGorilla: that'll be nice to have again

18:14 FAdmDipper: You can navigate by:

18:14 CdrRobJ has joined

18:14 FAdmDipper: Rather, navigate to:

18:14 FAdmDipper: Next New Note

18:14 FAdmDipper: Next Note

18:14 FAdmDipper: Next note in Location

18:14 FAdmDipper: Next Note in Thread

18:14 FAdmDipper: And previous notes too, in a similar vein.

18:15 EnsignAdamW is now known as EnsignAdamW|Away

18:15 FAdmDipper: The list of notes is below, with the one highlighted blue the one you're currently on

18:15 julia-dinner is now known as FCaptJulia

18:16 FAdmDipper: Finally, the dates on the right set the time frame for list of notes

18:16 FAdmDipper: And here's a note being posted: http://stf.jackdipper.com/create.png

18:17 FAdmDipper: Finally, you'll notice a "Post as log entry" check box

18:18 FAdmDipper: This creates a post, and then adds a log entry tag to it

18:18 CommodoreBeaver: ahhh, cool

18:18 FAdmDipper: As seen here: http://stf.jackdipper.com/tags.png

18:18 FAdmDipper: That bottom one also has a 'New' tag

18:18 CommodoreRoach: oh sweet

18:19 CommodoreRoach: so thats like 'tagging' someone here?

18:19 FAdmDipper: Oh, I forgot to say that the character drop down selects the last character you used in that thread, rather than the last one you used on the ship

18:19 FCaptJulia: that's great

18:19 FAdmDipper: No, Rob. It just adds a bit of context to the post.

18:20 FAdmDipper: (ie, it's a new post, or it's a COs log)

18:20 FAdmDipper: Also, other crew members can make log entries (it'll show as CMO's Log) for example

18:21 FCaptJulia: What happens to the old CO Log's entries?

18:21 FAdmDipper: They'll be moved across

18:21 FCaptJulia: fab

18:21 FAdmDipper: There's also going to be a page just for log entries too

18:21 FAdmDipper: But this way it makes it more obvious when they have been made

18:21 FAdmDipper: So, now that I've taken you through the shiny bit of the talk, on to the timeline bit.

18:22 FAdmDipper: I am hoping to move us across this year - probably September time

18:22 CommodoreRoach: squeeee

18:22 FAdmDipper: But that relies on several milestones being reached

18:23 CdrRobJ: will there be a lag, like a time that the site will be offline??

18:23 FAdmDipper: Firstly, there needs to be a good beta test

18:23 FAdmDipper: CdrRobJ: It's too early to tell

18:23 FAdmDipper: I want to get Genesis up and running with some test date and allow users to play around on it.

18:24 CommodoreZebra: What is the test date?

18:24 CommodoreZebra: Or is that undefined?

18:24 FAdmDipper: And, I expect it will take a couple of months from initial testing to having something ready to go

18:24 FAdmDipper: I expect June/July

18:25 FAdmDipper: That allows for sufficient testing

18:25 FAdmDipper: And also for training packages to be developed.

18:25 CommodoreZebra: So... functionality will be done in

18:25 FCaptJulia: I know what comes next.... :)

18:25 CommodoreZebra: June or July of 2015, and then a production deployment in September 2015?

18:26 FAdmDipper: Yeap

18:26 FAdmDipper: Unless of course there are issues raised in the beta

18:27 CommodoreZebra: ponders this for a moment before speaking again

18:28 FAdmDipper: (There isn't much point rolling out something with issues)

18:28 CommodoreZebra: Oh, of course.

18:29 CommodoreZebra: That would be a very bad idea.

18:29 CommodoreZebra: I guess though, that I'm starting to get a little bit worried about all of this.

18:29 FAdmDipper: So, in terms of volunteers, the main things I will need help with is beta testing, and writing a training package.

18:29 CaptElizabeth: I'm excited about this!

18:30 CommodoreZebra: Because the original schedule for a first production release was early 2014, and it's now you're saying we're going to be a year and three quarters late if nothing goes wrong

18:30 FAdmDipper: I will put up a post in Command over the next couple of weeks explaining in more detail

18:30 FAdmDipper: CommodoreZebra: As you know, RL gets us all, doesn't it ;-)

18:30 CommodoreZebra: And I looked in the source code repository and see that no real work has happened since August.

18:30 Captain-Morgan has joined

18:31 CommodoreZebra: Well, sure, and that's fair

18:32 CommodoreZebra: I guess I'm just wondering if this is actually going to happen in a timely fashion and whether or not we should still be on Drupal for that long.

18:32 CommodoreZebra: Since, the whole reason for doing this was to get us off of Drupal as fast as possible.

18:32 CommodoreZebra: I mean, don't get me wrong, these ideas are great

18:32 FCaptSalmon: I like to look at it as not being as easy as it sounds Joe :)

18:33 FAdmDipper: I'm confident that it will happen. It helps that there is now two of us working on it.

18:33 CommodoreZebra: FCaptSalmon: I like to look at it as technical debt we need paid off, and the last guy who said he would do it did nothing for five years. I don't think Jack will do that to us but I want to know that this is really happening soon.

18:34 FAdmDipper: As for staying on Drupal, I am trying to get us of it in the fastest and safest manner.

18:34 FAdmDipper: I don't think rushing to get off Drupal will do us any favours at all.

18:34 FCaptJulia: save is more important than fast!

18:35 CaptElizabeth: Agreed

18:35 CommodoreZebra: FCaptJulia: Being on Drupal 5 is an inherently unsafe state. I agree it shouldn't be rushed, but we're not very safe ~right now~ and that's a problem.

18:36 LtCmdrCassiaJackson has joined

18:36 FAdmDipper: In terms of the lack of activity between September and December, that was because of RL commitments. As you can see though, there was steady progress made last year, and some over Christmas.

18:36 FAdmDipper: https://github.com/STF-IDept/symwebb/graphs/contributors

18:36 FAdmDipper: Anyway, I have over run

18:36 FAdmDipper: Are there any other questions?

18:37 CommodoreRoach: nope i'm good thank you for your work jack

18:37 FAdmDipper: Thanks Rob; glad it's appreciated.

Marketing of STF

18:39 FtCaptTaz: So the way I am structuring this talk is: Current Efforts and Stats, Continuing Efforts, and New Efforts with a side of "How can people help?"

18:40 FtCaptTaz: Lets talk about stats! Ill try to keep it from being too boring

18:40 FtCaptTaz: OOPs

18:40 FtCaptTaz: First lets talk about what I am as MAC

18:41 FtCaptTaz: I am the Marketing and Advertising Coordinator. My job is to be the face of STF to the outside world. I am the immediate go to for answering questions people who are Not members have. I work to make sure that anything that is going on with STF is spread out as news via our social media.

18:42 FtCaptTaz: I look for new venues and speak with RpG leaders all over the internet about our amazing club.

18:42 FtCaptTaz: Those are the basics.

18:42 FtCaptTaz: Now stats :D

18:42 Capt_G_Shepherd has joined

18:43 FtCaptTaz: We have an STF Fan page on Facebook. It now has 563 members with valid FB accounts.

18:44 FtCaptTaz: During the last year, I redid the graphics a bit to be more suitable to a Fan page.

18:44 FtCaptTaz: I added Photos to our Photo albums to bring traffic to the page

18:44 CaptainMarmot has left IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer)

18:44 FtCaptTaz: We created the Player Spotlight and have done TWO wonderful spotlights, one featuring Lindsay Bayes and the other Daniel Lerner.

18:45 FCaptJulia: applauds

18:45 FtCaptTaz: Those brought a great deal of traffic to the FB fan page.

18:45 FtCaptTaz: Most people visit from our site and from here, IRC.

18:45 FtCaptTaz: But we do get some traffic from search engines.

18:47 FtCaptTaz: We also have a Group account for all those wonderful OOC chats. People love to post Memes, videos and other Sci Fi related finds that we can laugh about or discuss

18:47 FtCaptTaz: It has 204 legitimate FB members. It is active weekly., sometimes daily.

18:47 FtCaptTaz: I do cross post news from the site to the Group. I cross post important news to the FB fan page as well.

18:48 Capt_G_Shepherd: I'd do a spotlight at some point

18:48 FtCaptTaz: Sweet, Ill talk to you later!

18:48 Capt_G_Shepherd: no prob

18:48 FtCaptTaz: I do keep an eye on every post so that nobody posts an ad for a position more than once every two weeks

18:48 FtCaptTaz: And I make sure that there is no spam posts or inappropriate posts.

18:49 FtCaptTaz: Everyone seems to enjoy it and I encourage anyone with a FB to join :D

18:49 CaptainMarmot has joined

18:49 FtCaptTaz: Okay! On to Twitter.

18:49 FtCaptTaz: We have 161 followers including ROBERT BELTRAN!

18:50 FtCaptTaz: I redid the graphics there earlier this year to be more suitable to the type of Social Media it is.

18:50 FtCaptTaz: We have been actively retweeted by: StarTrekOnline, RPGNews, Geeking, TrekRadio, OngoingWorlds,

18:50 FtCaptTaz:

18:50 FtCaptTaz: :D

18:51 CaptainMarmot: doesn't remember who Beltran is off the top of his head

18:51 CaptElizabeth: Wat's the Twiiter ID?

18:51 FtCaptTaz: I keep an eye out for any new Star Trek related Twitter accounts to follow and repost things from them relevant to our interests. Usually its fun stuff.

18:51 FCaptJulia: can you post the channel name, so all can follow who don't do now?

18:51 FtCaptTaz: Chkotay?>

18:51 CaptElizabeth: *Twitter

18:51 CaptainMarmot: Ah ok

18:51 FtCaptTaz: https://twitter.com/StarfleetSTF

18:52 FtCaptTaz: FB Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/StarFleetRPG

18:52 FtCaptTaz: FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarFleetRPG/

18:52 Luke21blue|Mobile has joined

18:52 CdrRobJ: it is on the main channel too in the topic bar

18:52 FtCaptTaz: That it is!

18:53 CdrRobJ: is there an estimate on how many of the people who like the fan page are existing members, as well as the twitter??

18:53 FtCaptTaz: Those are our three main social outlets. Honestly, they are the best I have found for our purposes. Suggestions of course, can come when we talk about how to help :D

18:53 CaptElk has left IRC (Ping timeout: 272 seconds)

18:53 Walker has joined

18:54 Walker is now known as LtWalkerSheldon

18:54 FtCaptTaz: So, Current efforts are: Continuing to be the face for non members and members alike. I will continue to make myself as open and available as I can. I will continue to run our Social Media outlets . I will continue to bring out more Player Spotlights.

18:54 FtCaptTaz: I will of course, continue crossposting news both major and minor to social media.

18:55 FtCaptTaz: Onto New efforts:

18:56 FtCaptTaz: I have work to do to coordinate new advertising for our club on: Reddit, ForumRoleplay.com, rpgfix.com, roleplaygateway.com.

18:56 FtCaptTaz: Readvertising on older boards that are still active: roleplayadvertising.proboards.com, rpads.b1.jcink.com

18:57 FtCaptTaz: I will be looking for other new places to advertise as a lot of the forums I have kept trying to work on are just unsuitable because their clubs are not nearly as stable as ours.

18:57 FtCaptTaz: I will be adding STO events to all social media venues as soon as Matt gives me the information.

18:57 FCaptSalmon: :)

18:58 FtCaptTaz: I will be finishing the STF Google Plus page for those that are not on Facebook.

18:58 CommodoreRoach: cool

18:58 FCaptJulia: Question: If you had money to spend, where would you advertise?

18:58 FtCaptTaz: A lot of my time spent this last year was talking with other Rp forums leaders to get advertising there, but I am finding that task is taking too much of my time. So I am dropping that for now.

18:59 FtCaptTaz: I would advertise at Roleplay conventions and/or Science Fiction conventions.

18:59 CdrRobJ: sorry to point throguh but if there was money google adwords would go an awful long way

18:59 FCaptSalmon: I have a question too. When you're talking about adverstising on Reddit, are you talking about doing a subreddit?

18:59 FCaptJulia: I thought so too.

18:59 FtCaptTaz: Hold on

18:59 FtCaptTaz: Please, I have not gotten to questions yet

19:00 FtCaptTaz: And yes, subredit

19:00 CdrRobJ: sorry

19:00 CaptainMarmot has left IRC (Remote host closed the connection)

19:01 FCaptSalmon: sorry to Amber :)

19:01 FCaptJulia: yeah, sorry, I thought we could ask inbetween

19:01 FtCaptTaz: Okay, How people can help: Share the posts we have on our Fan Page. Not only does your share go to your friends, but their friends can like it and it will be seen on their page and their friends pages. Viral in the most basic and easy way.

19:01 FtCaptTaz: Comment on the Fan Page posts! Thats helpful too. Invite your friends to like the Fan page.

19:02 FtCaptTaz: OH! I also added new functionality to the FB Fan page, its a button that makes a fan easily be able to go straight to our web page create a character.

19:02 FtCaptTaz: Its called an Action button!

19:02 FtCaptTaz: So exciting!

19:03 Dolphin|lunch is now known as FCaptDolphin

19:03 FtCaptTaz: I would also like any input on new places to advertise. I would like you guys to share our link anywhere else that you actively are on. So if you are on Instagram, post a picture of our webpage and share it! Tumblr: Share your favorite story line posts!

19:04 Ens__BenPark: too bad none of my friends are intrested in Star Trek ORP

19:04 FtCaptTaz: Give me Player Spotlight Nominations.

19:05 CaptElizabeth: It would be good to spotlight award winners, for example. :)

19:05 FtCaptTaz: Yep!

19:05 FtCaptTaz: Now: Onto a big question that most people have. Advertising and a budget.

19:05 Marmot has joined

19:06 FCaptDolphin has set topic: Current topic: STF Marketing. Remember, please keep off-topic comments in the main #star-fleet channel

19:07 FtCaptTaz: A lot of people in the club are unaware that we have quite a bit of restrictions in advertising because of the fact that we are not officially a Star Trek Licensed club/thing. There are. When I speak of advertising, I am speaking of posting on Roleplay forums that are made specifically for internet people to try and find new places to roleplay.

19:07 Marmot is now known as CaptMarmot

19:08 Cassia has joined

19:09 FtCaptTaz: There is no actual budget. There was at one point, a brief FB budget. there were 8-20 likes each week for one month due to the advertising. However, most of those were from accounts that were deactivated within 3 months and had to be taken off the membership list of the fan page.

19:09 LtCmdrCassiaJackson has left IRC (Quit: http://www.kiwiirc.com/ - A hand crafted IRC client)

19:09 FCaptJulia: ah

19:10 Cassia is now known as LtCmdrCassia|away

19:11 FtCaptTaz: If I was to dream of advertising, It would be to have a table at some conventions where we handed out soem vista print type cards to people. In person at those places is targetting that would be best for us. However, we have no budget to by the print outs and no people willing to go to these conventions and spend their days doing this.

19:11 FtCaptTaz: I do occassionally go on Trek Radio and talk about STF also

19:11 Captain-Morgan: Depending on how many you were thinking Amber, I would be happy to pay for some printing.

19:12 CdrRobJ: I do have an idea for the end about funding

19:12 Luke21blue|Mobile has left IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer)

19:12 Luke21blue|Mobile has joined

19:13 FtCaptTaz: We also have to be careful about Advertising in the fact that Growth needs to be controlled. If we advertise and suddenly have 200 people join who need to use the academy, we are screwed.

19:13 FtCaptTaz: The best way is word out mouth, straight up.

19:13 FtCaptTaz: How so funding rob?

19:13 FCaptJulia: Are we allowed to ask questions yet?

19:13 FtCaptTaz: Yes

19:13 FtCaptTaz: Questions can be on now

19:13 FCaptJulia: So what do you think about AdWords?

19:13 FCaptJulia: in a limited time frame, so not to get too many at once

19:14 CdrRobJ: as for undraising a just giving page, those pages where people can donate however much they want

19:14 FtCaptTaz: I think its damned expensive and we likely would not get the kind of people who would stay.

19:14 FtCaptTaz: Crowd funding cant happen because of the restrictions of trademarks

19:15 CdrRobJ: right i didn't think we would be restricted

19:15 FCaptJulia: that depends on what you consider as damned expensive...

19:15 FtCaptTaz: To be effective, Adwords would need a LOT of money from us to be successfull in translating to added numbers of members

19:15 FCaptJulia: what is a LOT of money?

19:16 FCaptJulia: ok, we can take this into a PM too ;)

19:16 FCaptJulia: I'm just curious

19:16 FCaptDolphin: Amber, is there any coordination going on at the moment with the PDept - in terms of where new members are hearing about STF vs where we are targeting our marketing efforts?

19:16 FtCaptTaz: Minimum? 400 dollars for a start of regular legitimate members

19:16 CaptMarmot has left IRC (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)

19:17 CaptMarmot has joined

19:17 FAdmDipper: Ok, we're going to have to move things along, I think

19:17 FtCaptTaz: Yes. I do look at the PDept reports to make sure I am doing my best to cover those bases

19:17 Captain-Morgan: Question: You mentioned earlier conventions - how many club members have been asked to-date about attending a convention to promote the club?

19:17 LtWalkerSheldon: We do except donations?

19:17 CdrRobJ: the biggest way people find us is google (we are on the second page if you google star fleet and word of mouth

19:17 Captain-Morgan: Additionally, do you have any plans to ask members?

19:18 FtCaptTaz: Ill take this to the STF IRC channel so the other people can speak.

19:18 CaptMarmot has left IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer)

19:18 FCaptJulia: Anyhow, thank you Amber!

19:18 AndroUser2 has joined

19:18 FCaptJulia: Thank you for all the great work and effort and love you put into it.

19:19 FCaptJulia: applauds

19:19 Ens__BenPark: yes, Thank you Amber you rock applauds

19:19 FtCaptTaz: :D

The work of the Gamemaster Department (GMDept)

19:21 CommodoreBeaver: So, I just wanted to spend a short time talking about becoming a GM first.

19:21 AndroUser2 has left IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer)

19:21 AndroUser2 has joined

19:21 CommodoreBeaver: One of the biggest pushes we've done in the last couple terms is to get more GMTs on the go. Because without the new blood, we can't keep up with the usual turnover

19:22 CommodoreBeaver: Before I get into that though, I want to take a moment to direct current GMs to the list of vacancies on the MOTD. I will likely have a couple GMTs to go in there, but anyone with some spare energy to Gm... please? :P

19:22 AndChat|18324 has joined

19:24 CommodoreBeaver: Now, awhile ago, we had a discussion in the GMD about what it takes to get started as a GM, and the biggest thing that came up was simply being able to take a story in your mind and playing it out.

19:24 CommodoreBeaver: a lot of people do this with their characters all the time, and if you find yourself doing larger side sims, then you probably have the skills necessary to GM ;)

19:25 Luke21blue|Mobile has left IRC (Ping timeout: 272 seconds)

19:25 EnsignAdamW|Away is now known as EnsignAdamW

19:25 CommodoreBeaver: The GMT process starts with people taking the exam, and I'm going to get Julia to chat about the exam for a moment, since she's familiar with the new and old exam, adn has been the tutor

19:26 FCaptJulia: Yes, so the old GM exam was done by Amanda Noon

19:26 FCaptJulia: few people know her nowadays... and it was a lot more difficult!

19:27 FCaptJulia: and yet, we had I believe more GMs back then than we have now

19:27 CommodoreBeaver: We also had a larger club

19:27 FCaptJulia: The exam has been revised twice since then. First there was an altogether new version and then that got improved upon in a few ways if I remember correctly

19:28 Luke21blue|Mobile has joined

19:28 FCaptJulia: the current one is really not that difficutl anymore, but it does demand a few basic skills from a player/writer

19:29 FCaptJulia: and those are essential for becoming a GM. At the same time, what you do for your exam (a big part of it is to think out and plan your first sim), will be the ground works for your first sim as GMT

19:29 CaptElizabeth: I already GM on my X-Fleet sim

19:29 FCaptJulia: the X Fleet doesn't count into this as far as I know

19:29 FCaptJulia: but let's have the questions at the end as well ;)

19:29 CaptElizabeth: I know and that kinda sux

19:30 FCaptJulia: no it does not. And I'm just explaining why ;-)

19:30 FCaptJulia: so, you have the ground works for your first sim and that will help you do a really good first GMT sim, enjoyable for you and the crew.

19:31 AndChat|18324 has left IRC (Ping timeout: 244 seconds)

19:31 FCaptJulia: Anyone who loves writing, will have no problem with the exam

19:31 FCaptJulia: back to Linds

19:31 CommodoreBeaver: The biggest part of the GMT process, adn what makes it so successful, is the GMT/GMM pairing.

19:32 CommodoreBeaver: as any academy cadet knows, having a mentor to work with directly can help greatly when you're stuck

19:32 CommodoreBeaver: we have a wealth of GMing experience and talents in the department, and these people are able to guide a GMT through the long months that a sim can take

19:33 CommodoreBeaver: the average length for a sim is about 9 months these days, so it takes real commitment

19:33 CommodoreBeaver: I'm aware of the time, adn I guess I'll cut this short, but i'd like to open it up to questions about GMing in general, GMTs etc.

19:33 AndChat|18324 has joined

19:34 FCaptSalmon: Let's not forget it also takes patience, depending on the ship you get paired with :)

19:34 CommodoreBeaver: definitely

19:35 CommodoreBeaver: pairings are more than just the GMT//GMT. we strive to place people on a ship that matches them.

19:35 CommodoreBeaver: not every GM is a good fit for every ship

19:35 CommodoreBeaver: and that's okay!

19:36 CommodoreBeaver: so if there's any concerns about that, be reassured that it does sometimes happen and that it's not a big deal to find a better fit

19:36 Luke21blue|Mobile has left IRC (Ping timeout: 244 seconds)

19:37 CommodoreBeaver: Any questions?

19:38 CommodoreBeaver: just so everyone knows, there will be some forthcoming posts in the GMD, which I'll announce in the news, that will help act as resources and sum up a lot of the information that new, aspiring adn veteran GMs need to know

19:38 FAdmDipper: Cool - thanks Linds :-)

19:38 FCaptSalmon: :)

19:38 CommodoreBeaver: and anyone interested in GMing, please just email me.

19:38 CommodoreBeaver: I'm happy to walk through things with you.

19:39 CommodoreBeaver: Alright, I guess that's it. thanks

19:39 FtCaptTaz: WOO HOO Thanks Linds!

19:39 LtWalkerSheldon: claps

19:39 FCaptJulia: applauds

The work of the Engineering Department (EDept)

19:40 CommodoreRoach: I want to give an update on things as of late in the EDept as well as a brief history of current events

19:40 CommodoreRoach: as well as what resources we offer to the club at large to be taken advantage of if needed

19:41 CommodoreRoach: this past year along the EDept has passed 6 new specifications, five of which were ship specs! One of which was a technical specification for future designers to use if they want

19:41 CommodoreRoach: for those tht dont know 'specs' are those pages you see that outline what your ship has as a roleplaying area in a sim

19:42 CommodoreRoach: as well as pages that detail a generally non-canon piece of tech that is stf specific

19:42 CommodoreRoach: two recent examples are as follows

19:43 CommodoreRoach: AMOS-I is alternate computer interface system which was passed this past year https://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/606660 you can see its temp page here

19:43 CommodoreRoach: a recent ship spec we passed as a founding federation historical era ship spec called the Unity class which you can find here as a temp page https://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/630186

19:44 CommodoreRoach: presently these and other temp pages are being coded for in the club's library technical manual

19:44 CommodoreRoach: its slow work but if anyone knows XML please let me know! since its slower for me to do it in my busy life!

19:45 CommodoreRoach: I've also in the past year trained Aaaron calhoun as my Assistant edir and since he finished his lessons I now am training walker sheldon

19:45 CommodoreRoach: my hope is to train new people to one day take over the running of the department

19:46 CommodoreRoach: I also have been helping people learn how to make a ship or tech spec for submission, in hte past submitting a design was seen ad tedious but now of days all you need is a concept and a few hours of work and typing which i'll even help you build on google docs

19:46 CommodoreRoach: to learn

19:47 CommodoreRoach: finally in covering the past year the EDept has also been more open to looking at 'new toy's as I call them for players and gms to use in sims

19:47 LtWalkerSheldon: nods

19:47 CommodoreRoach: like our recent discussion on rarely see tech in the shows/movies

19:47 AndChat|18324 is now known as CaptElk

19:47 CommodoreRoach: the plan in the coming months is to revisit this and expand on it with brief blurbs on how a gm or player can use them in a sim

19:48 CommodoreRoach: finally I before I approach questions is to encourage gms and players to approach EDept with questions we really dont bite and we really arent 'overlords' like some may call us in the past

19:49 CommodoreRoach: we here to offer advice and help you out when you got questions on how to handle something in a sim

19:49 CommodoreRoach: to keep it more true to trek canon or something similar if you're unsure or how to use it etc

19:49 CommodoreRoach: now then any questions?

19:50 CommodoreRoach: apoligizes for the shorter blurb on edept

19:50 CommodoreRoach: no one?

19:50 CommodoreBeaver: How useful is it to have non-ED staff chiming in on specs?

19:50 FAdmDipper: Note for next time - keep sessions at 60 minutes :)

19:50 LtWalkerSheldon: has a question

19:50 LtWalkerSheldon: Nvm

19:50 CommodoreRoach: first off anyone can chime in on specs

19:51 CommodoreRoach: long as they hold an active role in the club

19:51 AndroUser2: I'd just like to say that it was a great experience being part of the EDept team.

19:51 CommodoreBeaver: liek, I have very little tech knowledge, but I'm picky on grammar :P

19:51 CommodoreRoach: we're alwasys looking for people to find spelling and such errors

19:51 LtCmdrCassia|away is now known as LtCmdrCassiaJackson

19:51 AndroUser2 is now known as CaptMarmot

19:51 CommodoreRoach: the tech stuff is actually easy to pick up on

19:51 CaptMarmot: Oops now my nick is correct

19:51 CommodoreBeaver: but otherwise I can contribute very little, or I've found my overall suggestions less adopted than those with tech expereince

19:51 CommodoreRoach: and since much of it follows written similar barring some numbers

19:52 CommodoreRoach: generally linds i try to accept all input

19:52 FCaptDolphin: Andrew, what kind of feedback are you looking for when specs are up for review?

19:52 CommodoreRoach: biggest is balance

19:52 CommodoreRoach: by this i mean a designer has a concept

19:53 CaptMarmot: Andrew?? Do you mean Rob??

19:53 CommodoreRoach: does the concept fit a 'trek' role and the concept the deisgner is going for

19:53 CommodoreRoach: also is it avoiding the 'god mod' style where it can handle anything and everything

19:53 FAdmDipper: FCaptDolphin is showing his age

19:54 FCaptDolphin: bleh

19:54 CommodoreRoach: a science ship shouldnt do combat well (or be expected too) just as a combat ship shouldnt do science well

19:54 FCaptDolphin: I'm tired

19:54 CommodoreRoach: so i want input on basically does a spec fit the idea a designer is going for

19:54 FCaptDolphin: I did mean Rob, and I am showing my age here

19:54 CommodoreRoach: and would it fit in the trek universe

19:55 CommodoreRoach: anything else?

19:55 CommodoreRoach: if not jack its all you